Courses:

Philosophy of Love in the Western World >> Content Detail



Lecture Notes



Lecture Notes

Special software is required to use some of the files in this section: .rm.

During the fall of 2004, four sessions of 24.261 were recorded especially for OpenCourseWare. Below are links to the videos, along with breakdowns of the video content.

These files are also available from iTunes® and YouTube™.



Session 1


Video: (RM - 56K) (RM - 80K) (RM - 220K)

SEG #SEGMENT TOPICSSTARTS AT
(H:MIN:SEC)
1Prof. Singer introduces himself and format of class meetings.00:00:15
2Singer discusses his new essay on same-sex marriage, included in a new version of his book, Sex: A Philosophical Primer.00:02:25
3Singer outlines a philosophy of pluralism.00:07:12
4Singer describes himself as a disciple of Socrates, for whom the most important question was how to live: how to live a good life, how to live with other people.00:10:53
5Singer defines philosophy as a conceptual art form, with 2 ingredients: a philosopher must be highly trained in logic, and a Ph.D. is certification of this; also philosophy must be in conversation with the fine arts and humanistic subjects, to address Socratic issues of how to live.00:14:28
6Singer instructs students to fill out information cards; students then introduce themselves and discuss their academic interests.00:20:50
7Singer makes the point that in the last 20 years, more than ever before in America, so much of music, literature, advertising, and other areas of culture appeals to some aspect of our sexual interest.01:04:02
8An important attitude in philosophy, Singer says, is to realize how little you know, and how important the process of investigation is.01:10:25
9Singer reviews the course reading list and requirements.01:15:00
10Singer discusses his views on homosexuality and his decision to write an essay on same-sex marriage.01:23:02
11Discussion of the next assigned reading, Singer's The Pursuit of Love.01:36:32
12Continuing overview of the syllabus, including myths of Tristan und Isolde and Don Juan.01:43:25
13Singer articulates his definitions of love and sex.02:28:25


Session 2


Video: (RM - 56K) (RM - 80K) (RM - 220K)

SEG #SEGMENT TOPICSSTARTS AT
(H:MIN:SEC)
1Class starts with discussion of Singer's same-sex marriage chapter.00:00:01
2Singer reviews history of homosexuality in literature and art; discusses the work of Marcel Proust, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.00:03:40
3Singer reviews Freud's theories on bisexuality and latent homosexuality.00:10:12
4Singer explains 2 issues that come up in debates over same-sex marriage: legitimization and benefits.00:15:35
5Singer discusses cultural stereotypes about homosexuals.00:27:05
6Singer and student discuss various levels of tolerance for homosexuality in different states in the U.S.00:45:07
7Singer discusses common attitudes among groups seeking political liberation: assimilationist and separatist.00:48:25
8Singer relates issues of religious discrimination to this debate.00:52:00
9Class discusses how different religious denominations view same-sex marriage.01:01:25
10Discussion, from the perspective of philosophy, of the concept of what constitutes family.01:12:20
11Veronica starts presentation on The Pursuit of Love, beginning with chapter on 2 myths of love.01:25:26
12Singer outlines a romantic theory of love, and continues discussion from there.01:29:12
13Discussion of distinctions between falling in love, being in love, staying in love.01:48:43
14Singer talks about intersections between marriage and feelings of love, between sexual activity and love.02:03:02
15Singer discusses the relevance of hormones and developments in contraceptive technologies to patterns of sexual activity.02:13:25


Session 3


Video: (RM - 56K) (RM - 80K) (RM - 220K)

SEG #SEGMENT TOPICSSTARTS AT
(H:MIN:SEC)
1Singer begins with quotation by Dorothy Parker.00:00:10
2Myraida starts presentation on the chapter on sexual love.00:01:30
3Singer takes over with a mini-lecture on Greek and Christian concepts of love.00:03:42
4Discussion of Saint Augustine.00:13:52
5Discussion of love in Judaic tradition.00:22:15
6Review of 4 concepts of Greek love; discussion of Saint Thomas Aquinas and Martin Luther.00:31:40
7Myraida continues presentation with discussion of sin.00:41:12
8Myraida reviews Singer's definition of sexual love as having 3 aspects: the libidinal, the erotic, and the romantic.00:49:40
9Singer talks about Freud's theories on the libido, and the distinction between libidinal and the libido.00:56:20
10Myraida turns discussion to the erotic.01:04:42
11Discussion of the romantic, of monogamy and polygamy.01:31:30
12Discussion of chapter on love and society; of relationship between shared values and friendship and love.01:35:35
13Student raises question on the relationship between judgment of a person's redeeming values and feelings of love.02:00:00
14Singer moves to next chapter on stage theory: peer love as a necessary condition for mature love.02:16:25
15Discussion of self-love as a necessary condition for loving others; Nietzsche's idea of the superman.02:28:30
16Brief mention of other topics in the chapter on love and society: compassion, love of country, religious love.02:41:40


Session 4


Video: (RM - 56K) (RM - 80K) (RM - 220K)

SEG #SEGMENT TOPICSSTARTS AT
(H:MIN:SEC)
1Singer announces beginning of the third part of the course; the first related to his book The Pursuit of Love, the second focused on myths of love, and the third is based on his book Explorations of Love and Sex.00:00:01
2Singer leads discussion of readings on the issues of appraisal and bestowal.00:14:16
3Discussion of the relationship between selfishness and love.00:28:20
4Anecdote on Jacques Derrida; continuing discussion of appraisal and bestowal.00:50:10
5Discussion of the question of acceptance of freedom versus paternalism.01:22:50
6Singer talks about his work on the book The Harmony of Nature and Spirit.01:39:40
7Student raises the topic of the love of things.01:46:00
8Discussion of whether reciprocity is necessary for the experience of love.01:59:30
9Discussion of personification of things as it relates to love; also, the issue of artificial intelligence.02:17:07

 








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