Harry Potter & Philosophy
Wizarding & Wisdom
Philosophy 276
Wednesdays 6:15 - 8:55pm
Wister Hall 206
Catalogue Description
J.K. Rowling’s seven-book series provides unique and imaginative material for engaging philosophical topics of perennial interest: good and evil, virtue and vice, friendship, personal identity, the use and abuse of technology, and so on. We will also frame discussion by considering the role literature plays in shaping a philosophical imagination and the relationship of fiction to philosophy.Prerequisite: Students are expected to have read at least several of the Harry Potter books prior to the course. It is best if you have read all seven.
Explanation
We will use the seven books of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling in order to stimulate discussion on philosophical topics.The book series functions across a number of genres – boarding school literature, coming of age story, fantasy, quest, mystery, social and political parody. As such, the books take many of the features of our world and experience and highlight them, exaggerating certain features for effect or drawing attention to particular narrative threads and themes. Thus they prove a useful lens through which to engage real-world issues, including many that intersect importantly with philosophy.
The several primary areas of philosophical discussion generated by the books involve ethics, hermeneutics and epistemology, and metaphysics.
In terms of ethics, the books raise questions of moral psychology (e.g., the nature of self-deception), virtue and vice (e.g., is ambition a virtue), ethical ambiguity (e.g., can a person be brave and good and yet be petty and vindictive), friendship and its analogues (e.g., how does common action among friends for good ends differ from allies in wrongdoing), the ethics of self-sacrifice, questions of politics and society, and so on.
In terms of hermeneutics and epistemology, the books raise questions of proper and multiple interpretation (e.g., competing claims regarding the character of the novels), memory and time (e.g., the objectivity of saved memories), the possibility of radical self-deception (e.g., self-interested failure to accept evident truth claims), the danger of false experiences (e.g., the possibility of altered memory or experience), the role of narrative misdirection (e.g., how we can be led away from truth by narrating events in particular ways), and so on.
In terms of metaphysics, the books raise questions of fiction in general (e.g., do fictional creatures in some sense exist), the nature of personal identity (e.g., can a fractured self maintain identity), the soul and post-mortem existence (e.g., if we can somehow survive death, what is it that survives), the character of science/technology over against alchemy, magic, hermeticism, and astrology, foreknowledge and freedom in relation to prophecy, and so on.
If you are already interested in Harry Potter and want to talk about the books, then your imagination and attention should engage readily with the material, resulting in an enjoyable course.
Texts:
Required text:Baggett, David and Shawn E. Klein, Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristote Ran Hogwarts (Open Court 2004).In addition to the Baggett and Klein volume, I will be handing out photocopied articles and will send you (via email) a variety of documents in Word and PDF formats, as well as occasional links to online materials.
If you do not own the books in the Harry Potter series, I would strongly recommend purchasing or borrowing them, so that you have them available for ready access. The first six are available in paperback. Having watched the available films will not be a sufficient basis for class discussion or writing.
Expectations:
If this class is going to be interesting and worthwhile, you will have to contribute substantially. This will require your attention to several areas:Participation: Much of the class will be revolve around discussion based upon the readings. Thus it is important to make sure you complete all the readings ahead of the class during which they will be discussed. You are also expected to fully participate in group activities, to ask and answer questions, and to contribute to discussion.
Readings: The readings for this class will involve a variety of chapters and articles, usually 2-4 per week. For a timetable of readings, consult the more detailed Schedule of Readings. The schedule also includes study questions to help guide your reading.
Homework: You will be assigned homework each week on most of the readings. These will take the form of answering questions, personal reflections, summaries, relating readings to one another, comparing and contrasting perspectives, and so on. These will form a significant part of your grade, so be sure to do them.
Debates: The class will be divided into four houses or 7 or 8 students each - Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Pairs of houses will debate a variety of issues in a series of five debates. Houses not debating will judge the debaters to determine winners. Each house will debate at least twice, using 4 members of their house as presenters per debate, using an adapted formal debate structure. These debates are part of your final grade.
Mid-Term Essay: A first essay will be due the Wednesday before Spring Break, February 27. This essay will be a 5-6 page critical analysis essay, based upon one of the articles we will have read, in relation to the content of the Harry Potter series.
Final Essay: A final essay will be due on the Wednesday of exam week, April 30. This essay will be a 8-10 page argumentative essay, proposing a philosophical thesis in relation to the content of the Harry Potter series, developing and arguing for that thesis, and answering objections to that thesis. The essay should interact with secondary literature, either from our readings in class or that you research on your own.
Grading:
The following is a breakdown of how your various grades will be weighed:|
Participation Homework Debate Mid-Term Essay Final Essay |
10% 15% 20% 25% 30% |