Course Description:

CVSP 207H: Human Nature reexamines what is the source of individual human identity, what is human nature, by reading, discussing and writing about ancient, mediaeval & Renaissance works that contributed to the development of the modern notion of the individual. The course will outline disagreements and debates among various authors and texts, including: Aristotle, Plato, Augustine, Leonardo da Vinci, The Egyptian Book of the Dead, Homer, Dante, Sophocles, Thomas Aquinas, Ibn Sina, al-Ghazali, and others. Key issues are: what is human nature? What makes a human being an 'individual' ?