Course Number: (PHS 761)
Course Title: The Good, the Bad, the Beautiful, and the Ugly
Term: Fall 2017
Professor:
Peter A. Redpath
predpath@holyapostles.edu
Phone: 718-208-3710
1. COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is a study of the metaphysical and moral teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas concerning the nature of the metaphysical and moral principles of the good, bad, beautiful, and ugly.
2. ENVISIONED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Students will demonstrate, among other things, an improved understanding of St. Thomas Aquinas’s metaphysical and moral teaching about the good, bad, beautiful, and ugly and how it relates to his metaphysical teachings about, being and non-being, truth and falsity, and the one and the many.
3. COURSE SCHEDULE:
NOTE: Because of cancellation of classes on 22 November 2017 for Thanksgiving vacation, on the first day of class (Wednesday, 30 August 2017), we will cover the video-lectures, transcript, and other reading materials presently listed on the Populi site for weeks 1 and 2. If we do not make this adjustment at the start of the semester, where the content is easier to understand, I have found from prior experience teaching this class that making it toward the end of the course will tend to be much more difficult. Our second online meeting will cover the Populi assignment for Week 3. What is presently listed as on the Populi site as Week 15 will wind up being Week 14. Week 15 will become the week for the online oral exam. The syllabus below reflects the corrected order of the assignments as we will be covering them in class.
Week 1 A) (Week 1 on the Populi site): Introduction to explain the method of study used in this course; first discussion topic about the duty of those who seek wisdom to know the good and the true; God’s goodness as the highest good, cause of existence, unity, goodness, and beauty in all other things, and chief end of all created beings; divine goodness as the ultimate end and remote efficient cause of the existence, diversity, and all action and movement in the created order; the goodness of creation (different kinds of finite good and their opposites); the causes of plurality and diversity in all genera of things
Process:
- To start the course, before the start of week 2, post an introduction of yourself in the designated discussion “tab” of Populi which reads:
“Tell the members of the class something about yourself so we can get to know you a bit “
- Watch Video Lecture 1, both Videos.
Video lecture 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0And5aAXwv4&feature=youtu.be
Video lecture 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk2ph2-qatQ&feature=youtu.be
- Read “Transcript of Weekly Topics of Discussion” and required readings for Lecture 1 A).
Required readings*: Summa contra gentiles, Bk 1, chs. 1, 28–29, 37–41; Bk. 3, chs. 16–21; Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle, Bk. 1, Lectures 1 and 2; Summa theologiae, 1, 5; 1, 42, 1 and 1–2, 52, 1 respondeo; Compendium of Theology, Pt. 1, chs. 71–73, 101–103; Commentary on the de Trinitate of Boethius, 4, 1, reply and 2, reply; Commentary on the Metaphysics of Aristotle, Bk. 1, l. 7, n. 123; Bk. 5, l. 18, nn. 1036–1038
*NOTE: All required readings are available online for download from this website:
Suggested additional reading:
- A recently published book of mine covers in detail the topics discussed in this course. This work is entitled The Moral Psychology of St. Thomas Aquinas: An Introduction to Ragamuffin Ethics. Information about how to obtained this book is contained on this site:
http://enroutebooksandmedia.com/academic-books/
- If enrollment numbers permit, participate in 2-hour, online Instructor-led discussion of Video Lecture. Before the start of the course students enrolled in this class will be contacted and given information about online classroom.
Online Instructor-led discussion of Video-lecture and corresponding transcript pages for fall 2016 course will start at 8:30 PM, Eastern time (USA) on Wednesday evenings.
Participate in 1-hour online, taped, student-led discussion of previous 2-hour Instructor-led discussion.*
Online student-led, taped-discussion of Instructor-led discussion for fall 2016 course will start at 9:30 PM Eastern time (USA) on Thursday evenings.**
* NOTE: If enrollment numbers do not make online discussion feasible, in place of online, instructor-led discussion, each week students will email instructor a minimum 500-word commentary on the video lecture and corresponding transcript pages in which the student will summarize at least 3 topics discussed in the video lecture and transcript. Before the start of class, the instructor will notify the students enrolled about the online conferencing site provider that we will use in this course.
If the course uses live, online, instructor-led discussion, but a student is unable to participate in the live, online discussion, the student will listen to a taped version of online discussion and email instructor a minimum 500-word commentary about the discussion in which the student will express agreement or disagreement with some claims made by at least one participant related to at least 2 topics discussed and state why the student agrees or disagrees. Email instructor your responses (at redpathp@gmail.com) so that instructor receives them by midnight the evening before the next instructor-led discussion class. Do not email the commentaries as an attachment! Put them into the body of the email. In the subject line of the email, put your Name, Lecture number, and type of discussion to which the email replies (for example, John Doe, Week 1, Instructor-led discussion; or John Doe, Week 1, student-led discussion).
** NOTE: If the course uses online discussion, but a student is unable to participate in the live, online, student-led discussion, the student will listen to a taped version of online, student-led, discussion and email instructor a minimum 500-word commentary on the discussion in which the student will express agreement or disagreement with some claims made by one or more student related to at least 2 topics discussed and state why the student agrees or disagrees. Name the student(s) who made the claim(s). Email instructor your responses (at predpath@gmail.com) so that instructor receives them by midnight the evening before the next instructor-led discussion class. Do not email the commentaries as an attachment! Put them into the body of the email. In the subject line of the email, put your Name, Lecture number, and type of Discussion to which the email replies (for example, John Doe, Week 1, Instructor-led discussion; or John Doe, Week 1, student-led discussion).
Week 1 B) (Week 2 on the Populi site): Divine providence: the order of goodness in divine rule of things; how every agent acts for an end that is good; how evil in things is not intended; how God rules the created order as a good governor, using higher beings to rule over lower ones; existence and nature of good and evil; good and evil considered in relation to being and non-being; the twofold good existing within the universe; the nature of order within the universe; whether good and being are identical; the meaning of good and evil in things; that evil has a foundation in good just as in a subject; good and evil considered as an end; good and evil considered in relation to the one and the many; good considered as a composite whole, harmony, and unity of opposites; good and evil as specific differences and contraries; evil as a defect within a potency; separability and inseparability of created goodness; evil as a defect in goodness; impossibility of a totally evil nature and of essential or supreme evil; evil desired under the aspect of good; the nature of good considered in general; why the universe has a twofold good; existence of two kinds of evil; three kinds of action and the evil of sin; the evil of punishment; the nature of punishment as opposed to the will; the perfection of the first man and the precepts given to him in the state of original justice; the state of original justice and the place that the first man held within it; the tree of knowledge of good and evil; Satan’s seduction of Eve and Eve’s sin; Adam’s sin; punishment regarding the necessity of dying; evils affecting the intellect and will
Process:
- Watch Video Lecture 2, both Videos.
Video lecture 1: http://youtu.be/ySgOkzxJfDI
Video lecture 2: http://youtu.be/HXfXA_mR57Y
- Read: Read “Transcript of Weekly Topics of Discussion” and required readings for Lecture 2
- Repeat step 4 done for Video Lecture 1 A).
Required readings: Compendium of Theology, Pt. 1, chs. 102, 111–112, 114–128; Pt. 2, chs. 183–193; Commentary on the Metaphysics of Aristotle, Bk. 1, l. 1, n. 71; Bk. 1, l. 7, n. 123; Bk. 12. l. 7, 2519–2529; Bk. 12, l. 1, nns. 2627–2637, and 2663; Summa contra gentiles, Bk. 3, chs. 2–6, 10–13, 16–22; Summa theologiae, 1–2, 27, 1; Commentary on the Physics of Aristotle, Bk. 1, l. 10, n. 78; Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle, Bk. 1, l. 1, n. 10; Bk. 4, l. 13, n. 808
Suggested additional reading:
- St. Thomas Aquinas, De malo (On Evil), 1. 1–5
Week 2 (Week 3 on the Populi site): The human good, the philosophical psychology that acts as the interior and proximate principle of all moral psychology, and the moral psychology that acts as an interior and proximate principle of moral activity
Process:
- Watch Video Lecture 3, both Videos.
Video lecture 1: http://youtu.be/nNsjy6bvh4w
Video lecture 2: http://youtu.be/WpuCRVVNL70
- Read “Transcript of Weekly Topics of Discussion” and required readings for Lecture 3
- Repeat step 4 done for Video Lecture 1 A).
Required readings: Summa theologiae, 1, 77–83
Week 3 (Week 4 on the Populi site): How, being created in the image of God (being an interior principle of moral activity) is fitting for man. General interior principles of moral activity considered as means of achieving human happiness as the summum bonum of human nature absolutely considered and circumstances and consequences of moral action
Process:
- Watch Video Lecture 4, both Videos
Video lecture 1: https://youtu.be/8eglgqDmkWU
Video lecture 2: http://youtu.be/EqhPcbOo84o
- Read “Transcript of Weekly Topics of Discussion” and required readings for Lecture 4
- Repeat step 4 done for Video Lecture 1 A).
Required reading: Summa theologiae, Prologue to 1–2, and 1 through 21
Suggested additional reading:
- Peter A. Redpath, The Moral Wisdom of St. Thomas (Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1983)
- Mortimer J. Adler, The Time of Our Lives: The Ethics of Common Sense (New York, Fordham University Press, 1996)
- Vernon J. Bourke, Ethics: A Textbook in Moral Philosophy (New York, The Macmillan Company, 1951)
- Henry B. Veatch, Rational Man: A Modern Interpretation of Aristotelian Ethics (Indianapolis, Ind., Liberty Fund, 2003)
- Richard Gerarghty. The Object of Moral Philosophy according to St. Thomas Aquinas (Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1983)
- Piotr Jaroszyński and Matt Anderson, The Drama of the Moral Life (Staten Island, NY: Alba House, 2003)
Week 4 (Week 5 on the Populi site): The human emotions considered in general and individually, how they differ from each other, their objects, causes, and effects, and as general interior principles of moral activity
Process:
- Watch Video Lecture 5, both Videos.
Video lecture 1: http://youtu.be/0UMpQQ0ULsE
Video lecture 2: http://youtu.be/le6Wk0ZXXqA
- Read “Transcript of Weekly Topics of Discussion” and required readings for Lecture 5.
- Repeat step 4 done for Video Lecture 1 A).
Required readings: Summa theologiae, 1–2, 22 through 48
Week 5 (Week 6 on the Populi site): Particular interior principles of moral activity: habits, virtues, and vices considered as such and as particular interior principles of moral activity; the substance of habits, their subject, the cause of their generation, augmentation, diminution, and corruption, and how they are distinguished from one another. Particular exterior principles of moral activity: God, the Devil, and law
Process:
- Watch Video Lecture 6, both Videos.
Video lecture 1: http://youtu.be/YvaALqbNMa0
Video lecture 2: http://youtu.be/uhk_-J8t6FM
- Read “Transcript of Weekly Topics of Discussion” and required readings for Lecture 6.
- Repeat step 4 done for Video Lecture 1 A).
Required readings: Summa theologiae, Prologue to 1–2, 49 and 49 through 65. Prologue to 1–2, q. 90 (which speaks about God and the Devil as the general exterior principles of good and evil in creation) and 1–2,questions 90–98, and 107
Suggested additional reading:
- Peter A. Redpath, Classifying the Moral Teaching of St. Thomas,” in The Medieval Tradition of Natural Law, ed. Harold J. Johnson, Kalamazoo, Michigan: Medieval Institute Publications, Western Michigan University, 1987), pp. 137–148
- Peter A. Redpath, “Why Double Effect and Proportionality are not Moral Principles for St. Thomas,” in Vera Lex (Winter, 2004), pp. 25–42.
Week 6 (Week 7 on the Populi site): Human happiness considered as the summum bonum of living the good earthly life: The difference of ends; happiness: the summum bonum of human nature; the two parts of the soul [rational and irrational]; and virtue
Process:
- Watch Video Lecture 7, both Videos.
Video lecture 1: http://youtu.be/A_9AaaKaKt4
Video lecture 2: http://youtu.be/j0aP-1Kq1pU
- Read “Transcript of Weekly Topics of Discussion” and required readings for Lecture 7.
- Repeat step 4 done for Video Lecture 1 A).
Required reading: St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle: Bk. 1
Suggested additional reading:
- Mortimer J. Adler, The Time of Our Lives: The Common Sense of Ethics (Fordham University Press, 1996)
- Henry B. Veatch, Rational Man: A Modern Interpretation of Aristotelian Ethics (Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1962).
Week 7 (Week 8 on the Populi site): Human happiness considered as the summum bonum of living the good earthly life: Moral virtue considered in general: Its essence; a mean between extremes; the contrary opposition between vice and virtue; directions for acquiring the mean
Process:
- Watch Video Lecture 10, both Videos.
Video lecture 1: http://youtu.be/JRPVzYKVRU4
Video lecture 2: http://youtu.be/-L109MfoJjo
- Read: “Transcript of Weekly Topics of Discussion” and required readings for Lecture 8.
- Repeat step 4 done for Video Lecture 1 A).
Required reading: St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle: Bk. 2
Week 8 (Week 9 on the Populi site): Human happiness considered as the summum bonum of living the good earthly life: Voluntary action, things consequent to voluntary action; fortitude and temperance; their species and extremes
Process:
- Watch Video Lecture 10, both Videos.
Video lecture 1: http://youtu.be/DrPiUiVX0FE
Video lecture 2: http://youtu.be/GBbLklSp90I
- Read: “Transcript of Weekly Topics of Discussion” and required readings for Lecture 9.
- Repeat step 4 done for Video Lecture 1 A).
Required reading: St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle: Bk. 3
Week 9 (Week 10 on the Populi site): Human happiness considered as the summum bonum of living the good earthly life: Other moral virtues: liberality, magnanimity, magnificence, desire of moderate honors, meekness, affability, veracity, pleasantness, shame and their contrary opposites
Process:
- Watch Video Lecture 10, both Videos.
Video lecture 1: http://youtu.be/03WqoC1q2eY
Video lecture 2: http://youtu.be/xzXZ6olb8N4
- Read: “Transcript of Weekly Topics of Discussion” and required readings for Lecture 10.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 done for Video Lecture 1.
Required reading: St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle: Bk. 4
Week 10 (Week 11 on the Populi site): Human happiness considered as the summum bonum of living the good earthly life: Justice
Process:
- Watch Video Lecture 11, both Videos.
Video lecture 1: http://youtu.be/Sid7lG45d_Q
Video lecture 2: http://youtu.be/V0RhOW7yD5E
- Read “Transcript of Weekly Topics of Discussion” and required readings for Lecture 11.
- Repeat step 4 done for Video Lecture 1 A).
Required reading: St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle: Bk. 5
Week 11 (Week 12 on the Populi site): Human happiness considered as the summum bonum of living the good earthly life: Intellectual virtues
Process:
- Watch Video Lecture 12, both Videos.
Video lecture 1: http://youtu.be/Fv8yZKbCOpc
Video lecture 2: http://youtu.be/SmdgeYqDe7s
- Read “Transcript of Weekly Topics of Discussion” and required readings for Lecture 12.
- Repeat step 4 done for Video Lecture 1 A).
Required readings: St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle: Bk. 6
Week 12 (Week 13 on the Populi site): Human happiness considered as the summum bonum of living the good earthly life: Continence and incontinence
Process:
- Watch Video Lecture 13, both Videos.
Video lecture 1: http://youtu.be/sMeVVHq8uWU
Video lecture 2: http://youtu.be/F-Pw6nF2avo
- Read “Transcript of Weekly Topics of Discussion” and required readings for Lecture 13.
- Repeat step 4 done for Video Lecture 1 A).
Required readings: St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle: Bk. 7
Week 13 (Week 14 on the Populi site): Human happiness considered as the summum bonum of living the good earthly life: Friendship
Process:
- Watch Video Lecture 14, both Videos.
Video lecture 1: http://youtu.be/j8MIbGEyNAs
Video lecture 2: http://youtu.be/MS0EDdCq-PQ
- Read: “Transcript of Weekly Topics of Discussion” and required readings for Lecture 14.
- Repeat step 4 done for Video Lecture 1 A).
Required readings: St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle: Bks. 8 and 9
Week 14 (Week 15 on the Populi site): Human happiness considered as the summum bonum of living the good earthly life: Pleasure and happiness; and review
Process:
- Watch Video Lecture 15, both Videos.
Video lecture 1: http://youtu.be/jUHAJdMIVMY
Video lecture 2: http://youtu.be/JDDhzQV4IMI
- Review “Transcripts of Weekly Topics of Discussion” and required readings for Lectures 1 through 15.
- Repeat step 4 done for Video Lecture 1 A).
Required readings: St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle: Bk. 10
Week 15 (Not currently listed on the Populi site): Oral exam and syntopical paper due.
4. COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- Completion of weekly course required readings and assignments: 60%
- Completion of 1 syntopical research paper of no less than 25 pages (double-spaced, no larger than 12-point type face and no wider than 1 inch top, bottom, and side margins) comparing and contrasting St. Thomas Aquinas’s teaching on or more of the topics covered in these course lectures (for example, St. Thomas’s teaching about the nature of happiness) to the teaching of any other major Great Books thinker in 1 or more of their works: 20%
- Final 1-hour Oral Exam: 20%
5. REQUIRED READINGS and RESOURCES:
- Selections from Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas as listed in above weekly Lecture Required Readings are all available for download online from this website: http://dhspriory.org/thomas/
- Dr. Redpath’s Transcript and URLs of his video lectures are posted in Popul.
6. SUGGESTED READINGS and RESOURCES:
Students might wish to supplement the above readings by viewing a video of a talk Dr. Redpath gave at the Catholic Information Center, in Washington, D.C. related to volume 1 of a book he authored entitled A Not-So-Elementary Christian Metaphysics: Written in the Hope of Ending the Centuries-old Separation between Philosophy and Science and Science and Wisdom.
7. EVALUATION
Basis of evaluation with explanation regarding the nature of the assignment and the percentage of the grade assigned to each item below). Students who have difficulty with research and composition are encouraged to pursue assistance with the Online Writing Lab (available at http://www.holyapostles.edu/owl).
GRADING SCALE:
A 94-100; A- 90-93; B+ 87-89; B 84-86; B- 80-83; C+ 77-79; C 74-76; C- 70-73 D 60-69; F 59 and below
Grading Rubric for the Major Papers and Discussion Board (DB) Postings
0 pts. – Paper | 3 pts. – Paper | 6 pts. – Paper | 9 pts. – Paper | 12 pts. – Paper | 15 pts. – Paper |
CONTENT
Absence of Understanding Analysis shows no awareness of the discipline or its methodologies as they relate to the topic. | Lack of Understanding Analysis seems to misunderstand some basic concepts of the discipline or lacks ability to articulate them. | Inadequate understanding Analysis is sometimes unclear in understanding or articulating concepts of the discipline. | Adequate understanding Analysis demonstrates an understanding of basic concepts of the discipline but could express them with greater clarity. | Solid Understanding Analysis demonstrates a clear understanding and articulation of concepts with some sense of their wider implications. | Insightful understanding Analysis clearly demonstrates an understanding and articulation of concepts of the discipline as they relate to the topic; highlights connections to other concepts; integrates concepts into wider contexts. |
RESEARCH
Missing Research Paper shows no evidence of research: citation of sources missing. | Inadequate research and/or documentation Over-reliance on few sources; spotty documentation of facts in text; pattern of citation errors. | Weak research and/or documentation Inadequate number or quality of sources; many facts not referenced; several errors in citation format. | Adequate research and documentation but needs improvement Good choice of sources but could be improved with some additions or better selection; did not always cite sources; too many citation errors. | Solid research and documentation A number of relevant scholarly sources revealing solid research; sources appropriately referenced in paper; only a few minor citation errors. | Excellent critical research and documentation Critically selected and relevant scholarly sources demonstrating extensive, in-depth research; sources skillfully incorporated into paper at all necessary points; all citations follow standard bibliographic format. |
WRITING & EXPRESSION
Incomplete writing Analysis is only partially written or completely misses the topic. | Writing difficult to understand, serious improvement needed Analysis fails to address the topic; confusing organization or development; little elaboration of position; insufficient control of sentence structure and vocabulary; unacceptable number of errors in grammar, mechanics, and usage. | Episodic writing, a mix of strengths and weaknesses. Analysis noticeably neglects or misinterprets the topic; simplistic or repetitive treatment, only partially-internalized; weak organization and development, some meandering; simple sentences, below-level diction; distracting errors in grammar, mechanics, and usage. | Acceptable writing, but could use some sharpening of skill Analysis is an uneven response to parts of the topic; somewhat conventional treatment; satisfactory organization, but more development needed; adequate syntax and diction, but could use more vigor; overall control of grammar, mechanics, and usage, but some errors. | Solid writing, with something interesting to say. Analysis is an adequate response to the topic; some depth and complexity in treatment; persuasive organization and development, with suitable reasons and examples; level-appropriate syntax and diction; mastery of grammar, mechanics, and usage, with hardly any error. | Command-level writing, making a clear impression Analysis is a thorough response to the topic; thoughtful and insightful examination of issues; compelling organization and development; superior syntax and diction; error-free grammar, mechanics, and usage. |
COMMUNITY INTERACTION (50-word response)
Inadequate response Response merely provides laudatory encouragement for original post, e.g., “Excellent post! You really have thought of something there.” | Poor response Response misses the point of the original posting. | Weak response Response summarizes original posting to which it responds. | Acceptable response Response makes a contribution to the posting to which it responds. | Individually-conscious contributory response Response makes a contribution to the posting to which it responds and fosters its development. | Community-conscious contributory response Response makes a contribution to the learning community and fosters its development. |
8. DISABILITIES ACCOMMODATIONS POLICY
Holy Apostles College & Seminary is committed to the goal of achieving equal educational opportunities and full participation in higher education for persons with disabilities who qualify for admission to the College. Students enrolled in online courses who have documented disabilities requiring special accommodations should contact Bob Mish, the Director of Online Student Affairs, at rmish@holyapostles.edu or 860-632-3015. In all cases, reasonable accommodations will be made to ensure that all students with disabilities have access to course materials in a mode in which they can receive them. Students who have technological limitations (e.g., slow Internet connection speeds in convents) are asked to notify their instructors the first week of class for alternative means of delivery.
9. ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY
Students at Holy Apostles College & Seminary are expected to practice academic honesty.
Avoiding Plagiarism
In its broadest sense, plagiarism is using someone else's work or ideas, presented or claimed as your own. At this stage in your academic career, you should be fully conscious of what it means to plagiarize. This is an inherently unethical activity because it entails the uncredited use of someone else's expression of ideas for another's personal advancement; that is, it entails the use of a person merely as a means to another person’s ends.
Students, where applicable:
- Should identify the title, author, page number/webpage address, and publication date of works when directly quoting small portions of texts, articles, interviews, or websites.
- Students should not copy more than two paragraphs from any source as a major component of papers or projects.
- Should appropriately identify the source of information when paraphrasing (restating) ideas from texts, interviews, articles, or websites.
- Should follow the Holy Apostles College & Seminary Stylesheet (available on the Online Writing Lab’s website at http://www.holyapostles.edu/owl/resources).
Consequences of Academic Dishonesty:
Because of the nature of this class, academic dishonesty is taken very seriously. Students participating in academic dishonesty may be removed from the course and from the program.
10. ATTENDANCE POLICY
Even though you are not required to be logged in at any precise time or day, you are expected to login several times during each week. Because this class is being taught entirely in a technology-mediated forum, it is important to actively participate each week in the course. In a traditional classroom setting for a 3-credit course, students would be required, per the federal standards, to be in class three 50-minute sessions (or 2.5 hours a week) and prepare for class discussions six 50-minute sessions (or 5 hours) a week. Expect to devote at least nine 50-minute sessions (or 7.5 quality hours) a week to this course. A failure on the student’s part to actively participate in the life of the course may result in a reduction of the final grade.
11. INCOMPLETE POLICY
An Incomplete is a temporary grade assigned at the discretion of the faculty member. It is typically allowed in situations in which the student has satisfactorily completed major components of the course and has the ability to finish the remaining work without re-enrolling, but has encountered extenuating circumstances, such as illness, that prevent his or her doing so prior to the last day of class.
To request an incomplete, distance-learning students must first download a copy of the Incomplete Request Form. This document is located within the Shared folder of the Files tab in Populi. Secondly, students must fill in any necessary information directly within the PDF document. Lastly, students must send their form to their professor via email for approval. “Approval” should be understood as the professor responding to the student’s email in favor of granting the “Incomplete” status of the student.
Students receiving an Incomplete must submit the missing course work by the end of the sixth week following the semester in which they were enrolled. An incomplete grade (I) automatically turns into the grade of “F” if the course work is not completed.
Students who have completed little or no work are ineligible for an incomplete. Students who feel they are in danger of failing the course due to an inability to complete course assignments should withdraw from the course.
A “W” (Withdrawal) will appear on the student’s permanent record for any course dropped after the end of the first week of a semester to the end of the third week. A “WF” (Withdrawal/Fail) will appear on the student’s permanent record for any course dropped after the end of the third week of a semester and on or before the Friday before the last week of the semester.
12. ABOUT YOUR PROFESSOR
Peter A. Redpath, Ph.D., Adler-Aquinas Institute Rector, Fellow
Dr. Redpath was Professor of Philosophy at St. John’s University from 1970 to 2011. Author /editor of 11 philosophical books and many dozens of articles and book reviews; over 200 invited guest lectures nationally and internationally; CEO of the Aquinas School of Leadership, Management, and Organizational Development; Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of The Great Ideas; Chair of the Holy Apostles College and Seminary St. John Paul II Graduate Concentration in Christian Wisdom; co-founder of the Gilson Society (USA) and co-founder and president of The International Etienne Gilson Society; former vice-president of the American Maritain Association; Founding Chairman of the Board of the Angelicum Academy; Member of the Board of the Great Books Academy; member Board of Trustees of the Institute for Advanced Philosophic Research; member of Board and Executive Committee of the Catholic Education Foundation; Academician of The Catholic Academy of Sciences (USA); former executive editor of Value Inquiry Book Series; former editor of the Studies in the History of Western Philosophy (SHWP), former editor of the Gilson Studies (GS) special series for Editions Rodopi, B. V.; current editor of Gilson Studies (GS) special series for Brill publishing; member of the scientific council of the philosophical journal Studia Gilsoniana; former associate editor of the journal Contemporary Philosophy; recipient of St. John’s University’s Outstanding Achievement Award, and Socratic Fellowship Award from the Great Books Academy; inaugural inductee as distinguished alumnus of Xaverian High School; and former Graduate Fellow of SUNY at Buffalo. In 2011 Dr. Redpath moved to Cave Creek, AZ in part to devote his time to teaching for and developing the Adler-Aquinas Institute and Aquinas School of Leadership.