“I am the Alpha and Omega, The Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” Rev. 22:13
“Man is the measure of all things.” Petagorus
“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” John 14:6a
“You will not surely die.” Satan (Gen. 3:4)
…so sums up our study over the last two years of the ideas of God, Man, Truth, and Lies. But, what about the ideas of Good and Evil? We run into these words almost every day and across many disciplines. One can hardly consider studies in theology, ethics, psychology, politics, or art (just to name a few), without wrestling with questions about the existence and manifestation of Good and Evil. To be sure, what we come to believe about Good and Evil will have a bearing on how we relate to truth and falsity; beauty and ugliness.
Mortimer Adler sates, “The true is the good of our thinking and the beautiful is a quality that certain things have when they are good as objects of contemplation, love, or as production.” While we might quibble with Adler’s ideas of truth, goodness, and beauty, we should agree that we can better understand goodness and beauty in terms of truth, and truth and goodness in terms of beauty. While they can be considered separately, they are best understood in relation to one another. You will recall that one of the primary aims of the study of the Great Ideas through the Great Books is to contemplate what is True, what is Good, and what is Beautiful.
As you have probably predicted, our view of Good and Evil will be rooted in our concept of God and Man. The psalmist writes, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!” (Psalm 136:1) This goodness of God expressed in this psalm is reiterated throughout Scripture. It is multi-faceted and speaks of God’s sovereign redemptive love; His kindness and generosity to all His creatures; His pity to those in distress; His patience.
On the other hand if, like Protagorus, a person sees “man as the measure of all things”, Good and Evil are not rooted in the character of a Supreme Being who has created man in His own image. These ideas then become, in the words of Montaigne, “in large part the opinion we have of them”. Like Shakespeare’s Hamlet we are free then to determine for ourselves what, if anything, is evil.
So the stage has been set and through the ages thinkers of all stripes have debated the existence, source, and effect of Good and Evil on our world. Some have sought the right application of Good for their own benefit; others for the Common Good of society; and the rest, the Greatest Good for the greatest number. Few have actually sought what they considered to be Evil. However, all, in one form or another, have had to decide on answer to key questions: Is there a God? If so, who is He? What is He like? What does He require of me? Does Truth exist? If so, how do I apply it to all areas of my life? They also probably wrestled with the same questions that you will tackle this year: Does Good and Evil exist? If so, what are their attributes? How do they affect my perception of the world? My actions? How am I to seek Good? What conflicts arise as I seek to do this?
“Hey, wait a minute!” you might be saying. “Haven’t I already dealt with many of these questions in the books, poems, and stories that I’ve read over the last two years?”
Congratulations! You’re quite astute if this has occurred to you at any time while you’ve been reading this introduction. (That’s the good news.) The better news is that you will, no doubt, re-visit many of the questions and ideas already studied and begin to explore their interconnectedness with this years’ ideas of Good and Evil. Welcome to the Great Conversation! Uncle Screwtape will not be happy.
Number of Credits: 3
Tuition: $350 (material costs extra)
Online-based course Tuition: $425
View a sample of the course outline.
View a sample of the online class course outline.
Great Ideas Through the Great Books: Level 3 (Good and Evil) Course
SKU: GIL3SET.
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Note: Please select the items for the Great Ideas course as needed. This set is to make it easier for educators to quickly purchase all materials required for a level.
The Study of the Great Ideas Through the Great Books is written for students who typically would be in Grades 9 to 12 (14-18 years of age)…although gifted students a bit younger may benefit from this program depending on their skill set and needs. Scroll down and read the product description for information specific to Level 3 (Good & Evil).
Great Ideas Level 3 is an advanced THREE credit course covering topics common to English Literature, Composition, World History, Religious Studies and Philosophy.
The polar opposite views studied in Great Ideas Level I (God & Man) and Level 2 (Truth & Lies) can be summarized in four questions:
“I am the Alpha and Omega, The Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” Rev. 22:13
“Man is the measure of all things.” Petagorus
“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” John 14:6a
“You will not surely die.” Satan (Gen. 3:4)
But, what about the ideas of Good and Evil? We run into these two ideas almost every day and across many disciplines. One can hardly consider studies in theology, ethics, psychology, politics, or art (just to name a few), without wrestling with questions about the existence and manifestation of Good and Evil. To be sure, what we come to believe about Good and Evil will have a bearing on how we relate to truth and falsity; beauty and ugliness.
Our view of Good and Evil will be rooted in our concept of God and Man. The psalmist writes, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!” (Psalm 136:1) This goodness of God expressed in this psalm is reiterated throughout Scripture. It is multi-faceted and speaks of God’s sovereign redemptive love; His kindness and generosity to all His creatures; His pity to those in distress; His patience.
On the other hand if, like Protagorus, a person sees “man as the measure of all things”, Good and Evil are not rooted in the character of a Supreme Being who has created man in His own image. These ideas then become, in the words of Montaigne, “in large part the opinion we have of them”. Like Shakespeare’s Hamlet we are free then to determine for ourselves what, if anything, is evil.
Through the ages thinkers of all stripes have debated the existence, source, and effect of Good and Evil on our world. Some have sought the right application of Good for their own benefit; others for the Common Good of society; and the rest, the Greatest Good for the greatest number. Few have actually sought what they considered to be Evil. However, all, in one form or another, have had to decide on answers to key questions: Is there a God? If so, who is He? What is He like? What does He require of me? Does Truth exist? If so, how do I apply it to all areas of my life? They also wrestled with the same questions that students studying Great Ideas Level 3 will tackle: Does Good and Evil exist? If so, what are their attributes? How do they affect my perception of the world…my actions? How am I to seek Good? What conflicts arise as I seek to do this?
Now…the astute reader might be saying that these questions sound similar to the ones studied in Levels 1 and 2 of Great Ideas. Quite right! Welcome to the Great Conversation! As the student works through Level 3 (Good & Evil), Uncle Screwtape will not be happy.
Click here for a comparison of the self-paced and online versions of the course.
Click here for a sample of the self-paced edition of the Student Manual for Level 3.
Click here for a sample of the on-line edition of the Student Manual for Level 3.
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