Tutors Talk (& Read) Books: Seth Appelbaum (A09)
Tutor
In this written and video interview, Santa Fe tutor Seth Appelbaum discusses and reads from Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics."
Philosophy, Theology, and Psychology
St. John’s offers what might be the strongest undergraduate philosophy curriculum in the world. Through it, we ask and attempt to answer weighty questions. What is the difference between science, knowledge, and opinion? What is characteristically human? What are the elements and the order of the soul? Whether by reading Genesis, Aristotle’s Metaphysics, Augustine’s Confessions, or Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil, students strive to know themselves both inside and outside the classroom as they explore the most challenging works in philosophy, theology, and psychology.
Reading List
Aeschylus Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Eumenides, Prometheus Bound
Aristophanes Clouds
Aristotle Poetics, Physics, Metaphysics, Nicomachaen Ethics, On Generation and Corruption, Politics, Parts of Animals, Generation of Animals
Euripides Hippolytus, Bacchae
Homer Iliad, Odyssey
Plato Meno, Gorgias, Republic, Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Symposium, Parmenides, Theaetetus, Sophist, Timaeus, Phaedrus
Plutarch “Lycurgus,” “Solon”
Sophocles Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, Philoctetes, Ajax
Dante Alighieri Divine Comedy
Anselm Proslogium
Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologiae
Aristotle De Anima, On Interpretation, Prior Analytics, Categories
Augustine Confessions
Francis Bacon Novum Organum
Geoffrey Chaucer Canterbury Tales
Michel de Montaigne Essays
René Descartes Geometry, Discourse on Method
Princess Elisabeth The Correspondence Between Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia and René Descartes
Epictetus Discourses, Manual
Niccolo Machiavelli The Prince, Discourses
Maimonides Guide for the Perplexed
Plotinus The Enneads
Plutarch “Caesar,” “Cato the Younger,” “Antony,” “Brutus”
William Shakespeare Richard II, Henry IV, The Tempest, As You Like It, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King Lear, Sonnets
Tacitus Annals
Virgil Aeneid
Hebrew Bible
New Testament
François de La Rochefoucauld Maxims
René Descartes Meditations, Rules for the Direction of the Mind
Aristotle Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, On the Heavens, Physics, Rhetoric, Poetics
Thomas Hobbes Leviathan
David Hume Treatise on Human Nature
Immanuel Kant Critique of Pure Reason, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Monadology, Discourse on Metaphysics, Principles of Nature and Grace, Essays
John Locke Second Treatise on Government
John Milton Paradise Lost
Molière Le Misanthrope
Blaise Pascal Pensées
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Social Contract, The Origin of Inequality
Baruch Spinoza Theologico-Political Treatise, Ethics
Jonathan Swift Gulliver’s Travels
James Baldwin Stranger in the Village, The Fire Next Time
Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness
Charles Darwin Origin of Species
Simone de Beauvoir The Second Sex
W. E. B. DuBois The Souls of Black Folk
William Faulkner Go Down, Moses
Sigmund Freud Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis, Mourning and Melancholia, Beyond the Pleasure Principle
Georg Hegel Phenomenology of Mind
Martin Heidegger Basic Writings, The Word of Nietzsche: God is Dead, Introduction to Metaphysics
Edmund Husserl The Crisis of the European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology
Søren Kierkegaard Philosophical Fragments, Fear and Trembling
Karl Marx Capital, The Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, The German Ideology
Friedrich Nietzsche Beyond Good and Evil
Plato Phaedrus
Hannah Arendt The Human Condition
Albert Camus The Stranger
Georg Hegel Philosophy of Nature; Elements of Philosophy of Right
Martin Heidegger What is Metaphysics?
Laozi Dao De Jing
Ibn Mājah The Sunan
Friedrich Nietzsche Gay Science
Pre-Socratic Philosophers
Ranier Maria Rilke The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge
Bertrand Russell An Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy
Voltaire Candide
Zhuangzi The Works of Zhuangzi
Emmanuel Levinas Totality and Infinity
Daode jing
Soren Kierkegaard Either/Or
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Emile
The Bhagavad Gita
Michel Foucault Discipline and Punish; Security, Territory, and Population
The information presented is for illustration purposes only and may not reflect the current reading list and preceptorial and study group offerings. Works listed are studied at one or both campuses, although not always in their entirety.
Sophia Cote (A21) Explores the Philosophy Behind Art Conservation
Johnnies
Unlike many of her fellow Hodson interns, Sophia Cote (A21) completed an art conservation internship with conservator Kenneth Milton in person.
Tutors Talk (& Read) Books: Jeff Black on Nietzsche
Tutor
In this written and video interview, Annapolis tutor Jeff Black reflects on Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, the permanence and impermanence of the Great Books, and more.
Johnnies Create Liberal Arts Education Company in South Korea
Johnnies
Since June 2020, Johnnies Eun Seo Oh (SF21), Minseok Kim (SF20), and Siwhan Cha (A23) have aimed to bring the joys of the Great Books to others with PhiloUs, a liberal arts education company.
Santa Fe Alumnus Incorporates Philosophy into the Wellness Sphere
Alumni
Jeff Bausemer (SF11) specializes in health and wellness with a philosophical bent.
Embracing the Intellectual Life
Tutor
St. John's College tutor Zena Hitz (A95) earned a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend to finish writing a book on the intellectual life.
GI Alum Talks Augustine, Aristotle, and the Art of Filmmaking
Alumni
Jonathan Ignatius Green (AGI07) is the director of a new documentary film called “Social Animals.”
Johnnie Alum Considers Heidegger and Plato’s Place in Silicon Valley
Alumni
Adam Braus (SF08) is the curriculum developer at innovative institution Make School.
Treating the Mind
Alumni
Omar Manejwala (A93) explains how the loss of a fellow Johnnie inspired him to become a leading expert on the treatment of mental health and addiction.
Senior Essay
The Internally Determined Self: Spinoza's Ethics as a Remedy for Postmodernity's Identity Crisis
Senior Essay
Rousseau on Civil Society: Two Provocative and Troubling Accounts
Senior Essay
Machiavelli’s Man – On the Difference Between Men in The Prince
Senior Essay
The Role of Art in Nietzsche’s Moral Philosophy
The Exploration of Thought
Alumni
Nearly three dozen students received master’s degrees this summer from St. John’s College in Santa Fe and Annapolis.
Johnnie Delivers TED Talk
Johnnies
Cameron Byerly (A19) delivered a talk at a TEDx event this summer and spoke about the lessons he has learned at St. John’s.
Brains on his Mind
Alumni
Dan Lieberman (A85) recently wrote a book and delivered a TEDx talk on dopamine, a chemical that can play a powerful role in human behavior.
Gift Honors Refugee Tutors
Tutor
Refugee tutors once formed the backbone of St. John’s College.
Exploring the Johnnie Way: Annapolis to Santa Fe
Alumni
A member of the St. John’s Communications team embarked on an eight-day, 2,544-mile journey between the college’s campuses in Annapolis and Santa Fe.
From Nature to History
Alumni
Charles Zug (A15) will deliver the lecture titled “From Nature to History: The Search for Intelligible Necessities in Thucydides, Machiavelli, and Nietzsche” on July 12 in Annapolis.
Breaking the Cycle
Johnnies
Zoe Collins (A18) and Elaina Bowman (A20) completed Hodson Internships over the summer at House of Ruth in Baltimore.
Interns and Fellows
Internships
Dozens of Santa Fe students spent their summers at internships and fellowships all over the world.
Why We Read Eastern Classics
Tutor
The history of the Eastern Classics program in Santa Fe is discussed in the Fall 2017 issue of The College magazine.
In the Hole with Brian Lee McMahon
Alumni
When Santa Fe alumnus Brian Lee McMahon puts theory into practice, an entire town’s water supply is at stake.
Freedom to Learn
Alumni
Matthew Gioia (EC09) is director of admissions at Hudson Valley Sudbury School in New York, where students learn their own way.
Exploring Faith
Internships
Qiubai Jiang (SF19) studied the development of Christianity in China last summer during an Ariel Internship at the Big Data Research Center in his hometown of Chengdu.
Joining a Community of Learners
Johnnies
Nearly two dozen January Freshmen enrolled this spring on the Santa Fe campus.
Examining Socrates
St. John’s College alumna Mary Townsend (A04) recently completed her first book, The Woman Question in Plato’s Republic.
Alumna Works to Help Vets Overcome Trauma
Alumni
Shannon Wiltsey Stirman (SF97) works to deliver the most effective treatments possible to PTSD patients nationwide.
Lecture
Dante’s Beatrice: Between Idolatry and Iconoclasm
Gabriel Pihas
Senior Essay
An Essay on Einstein’s Special Relativity and the Reconciliation of Science and Religion
Senior Essay
Suffering and Gotama the Buddha: A Case Study of Enlightenment and the Elements of Its Attainment from the Bodhirajakumara Sutta
Senior Essay
Light Upon Light: Seeking Paths of Clarity in Ibn al-Arabi’s Ringstones of Wisdom
Alternative Dispute Resolutions Bureau
Internships
The Hodson and Ariel Internship Programs support Johnnies who want to pursue internships that would otherwise be unpaid.
Senior Essay
What Does It Mean to be Properly Human? An Examination of Humanity in Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis
Divine Inspiration: From Dante to the Ivy League
Johnnies
Peerawat Chiaranunt (SF17) will be taking his passion for theology to Yale Divinity School in the fall to pursue a master’s degree in religion and literature.
Tutors Talk Books: Patricia Locke
Tutor
Tutors Talk Books is a series of interviews with St. John’s College tutors. In this installment, we catch up with Patricia Locke.
Senior Essay
Don't think, look! Wittgenstein's Investigations: Turning Philosophy Around on the Axis of Meaning
Christian Fellowship
Student Group
Senior Essay
The Development of Moral Character in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
Guided by Intuition and Reason
Alumni
Yosef Trachtenberg (A15) writes about how St. John’s changed his life.
Lecture
Exploring the history of the Qur’ān: From Canonisation to Textual Criticism
Michael McCoy
Jewish Student’s Union
Student Group
Senior Essay
On Emerson’s Self-Reliance: Our Necessity for Authentic Living
Tutors Talk Books: Maggie Evans McGuinness
Tutor
In the second installment of our new Tutors Talk Books series, we catch up with Santa Fe tutor Maggie Evans McGuinness.
University of Colorado Social Neuroscience Lab
Internships
The Hodson and Ariel Internship Programs support Johnnies who want to pursue internships that would otherwise be unpaid.
Senior Essay
Kingship Under God in Ancient Israel: The Tragedy of Saul
Lecture
Robert E. Howard: Boxing and the Cult of Masculinity
Christopher Gruber
Senior Essay
In Search of God: Philosophy’s Role in Augustine’s Confession
Senior Essay
The Gadfly and the Cicadas: Countryside Madness in Plato’s Phaedrus
St. John’s Student to Teach and Serve After Graduation
Johnnies
After graduation, student Joe Kensok (A16) will serve as the assistant director of enrichment at a middle school in Milwaukee.
Tutors Talk Books: Krishnan Venkatesh
Tutor
“Tutors Talk Books” is a series of interviews with St. John’s College tutors. Today we feature Krishnan Venkatesh.
Senior Essay
Communism as Naturalism and Naturalism as Humanism: Karl Marx on Human Nature
Meditation Study and Sit
Student Group
American Institute for Behavioral Research & Technology
Internships
The Hodson and Ariel Internship Programs support Johnnies who want to pursue internships that would otherwise be unpaid.
Mindfulness Meditation
Student Group
Senior Essay
The Myth of Self—An Essay on the Réflexions ou sentences et maxims morales of François VI, Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Orthodox Christian Fellowship
Student Group
Senior Essay
Why Economics Cannot be Reduced to Mathematics: The Connection between Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations and Theory of Moral Sentiments
Lecture
A Commentary on Motherhood as Presented in Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex
Joseph B. Smith, Jr.
Senior Essay
The Old Man and The Sea: an Argument against the Hierarchy of Humanity and Animals explained in On the Soul
University of Chicago Department of Psychology
Internships
The Hodson and Ariel Internship Programs support Johnnies who want to pursue internships that would otherwise be unpaid.
Shammai
Student Group
Senior Essay
Are we at War? A Comparison Between the Lives of Civilians and Soldiers in The Warriors, by Glenn Gray
Senior Essay
The Internal Act of Believing: Aquinas on Intellect and Will
Lecture
Is Man the Measure of All Things? Plato’s Analysis of Relativism
Matthew K. Davis
Social Dynamics/Self Actualization Mastermind
Student Group
Lecture
Teleology as Death Wish: a Nietzschean Critique of Aristotle
David Roochnik
Lecture
Against Time
Eva T. H. Brann
Senior Essay
Searchers, Tempters, Experimenters: A Study of Transformation in Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Senior Essay
Blessed are the Meek—An Exploration of Self in War and Peace and Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit
Senior Essay
How to Fall from Grace: The Eve Story—An Examination of Eve’s Innocence and Sin in Milton’s Paradise Lost
Talmar Gardens Horticultural Therapy Center and Arundel Lodge
Internships
The Hodson and Ariel Internship Programs support Johnnies who want to pursue internships that would otherwise be unpaid.
Lecture
The Soul’s Choice of Life
Gregory Recco
Senior Essay
The Truth of Lies: on Discourse and Authenticity in Heidegger’s Being and Time
Senior Essay
The Land of Truth: The Epistemology of Objects in Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason
Lecture
Why Read Books?
Eva T. H. Brann
Senior Essay
The Language of the Sons of Men: An Essay on Moses Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed
Human Capital Research Collaborative
Internships
The Hodson and Ariel Internship Programs support Johnnies who want to pursue internships that would otherwise be unpaid.
Lecture
Everyone Sees How You Appear; Few Touch What You Are: Machiavelli on Human Nature
Jeff J. S. Black
University of Chicago, Experience in Cognition Lab
Internships
The Hodson and Ariel Internship Programs support Johnnies who want to pursue internships that would otherwise be unpaid.
Senior Essay
Hide Your Demons—An Exploration of the Quality of Silence in Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling
Georgetown University Department of Psychology, Culture & Emotions Lab
Internships
The Hodson and Ariel Internship Programs support Johnnies who want to pursue internships that would otherwise be unpaid.
Lecture
Does Beauty Have a Place in Liberal Education?
Daniel Harrell
Butler Hospital “Partial Hospital” Program
Internships
The Hodson and Ariel Internship Programs support Johnnies who want to pursue internships that would otherwise be unpaid.