Theo-humanism: Grt Bks of God

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

In our age of surveillance capitalism, when high tech seeks to own our emotions, it needs to be asked: Should we work to cultivate greater/sharper awareness of the divine grounding to our existence—simply to be able to resist the online takeover of our souls? In this course, we consider the nature of humanism. Isn’t it properly qualified as secular humanism? Isn’t it about atheism? Theo-Humanism takes the human condition as point of departure to examine the spiritual side of our human experiences. Is there a divine grace to be discerned in the workings of our own humanity? If so, what implications would this higher-order aspect of our humanity have for medicine, law, and university knowledge pursuits in general? We consider these and other questions by taking up literary classics from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (theo-humanities) that look to the human being as a creature with transcendent aspiration. We take up writings on friendship, society, pleasure, suffering, nature, and the meaning of history, among other topics, which look to human activity to explain the ways of God. Through the lens of Theo-Humanism, students will be able to identify their own coursework at Georgetown University in relation to divine movements within their own lives.