This course discusses the nature and function of logic in philosophical and nonphilosophical contexts. It teaches students the basic skills requisite for the appreciation of Aristotle's philosophy. It progresses through Aristotle's "Organon" presenting syllogistic and scientific reasoning. Exercises require evaluation and application of course materials in the contexts of philosophy, science, politics, and literature.

An introduction to moral and political philosophy with an emphasis on the concepts of right reason and right action as developed in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics and Politics. Focuses on the perfection of the soul through intellectual and moral virtues and the function of these virtues in the larger human context, along with an explanation of Aristotle's account of praxis.

The key concept of the first part of the course is nature in the sense of physis or natura. Comparisons to mathematical explanations are offered by the founders of modern physics and chemistry. Psyche or anima is the focus of the second part of the course. Exploration of parallels with explanatory principles in biology, psychology, and cognitive science.

Aristotle's Metaphysics and Aquinas' Summae Theologia provide the basis for the examination of the transition from being to a natural theology and the subsequent modern embrace of rationalism. "Ultimates" to be questioned include: Being, Truth, and the Good. Readings complemented by texts of David Hume and Immanuel Kant.