Life Worth Living (Yale)

What does it mean for a life to go well? What would it look like for a life to be lived well? In short, what shape would a life worth living take? We will explore these questions through engagement with the visions of seven modern figures and foundation texts that influenced them: Abraham Joshua Heschel and the Tanakh, Thich Nhat Hanh and the Buddhist scriptures, Mohandas Gandhi and the Bhagavad Gita, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Bible, Robin Wall Kimmerer and North American Indigenous wisdom, A. Helwa and the Quran, and Oscar Wilde and expressive individualism. The course will also feature visits from contemporary individuals who understand their lives to be shaped by the figures and traditions in question.

Course Questions

To whom or what are we responsible for living our lives a certain way?

What is a human being and what is their place in the world?

What does it mean for life:

• to feel good? (And does it matter? Might the life worth living be miserable?)
• to go well? What is important in terms of life’s circumstances?
• to be led well? What do we need to do in order to lead a life worth living?

What is the role of suffering in a good life? How should we respond to suffering, our own and others’?

What should we do when we fail to live a good life?

Assignments

1. ‍Paper 1 - 1,000 word (maximum) paper analyzing the vision(s) of a life worth living that the Yale community advocates or implicitly endorses. (20 percent of final grade)‍
2. Paper 2 - 1,250 word (maximum) paper putting the response of at least one of your peers to at least one of the course questions in dialogue with the readings from one course unit. (20 percent of final grade)‍
3. Paper 3 Peer Review - Submit draft of your paper and written comments on classmates’ drafts. (10 percent of final grade). Comments due before the beginning of seminar. Be respectful of your peers’ time.
4. Paper 3 Final Submission - 1,500 word (maximum) paper outlining your own vision of a life worth living. (30 percent of final grade)‍
5. Participation - One purpose of a seminar like this one is to provide the opportunity for dialogical learning, not only between students and faculty, but also among students. Consequently, the quality of your participation in class greatly influences the relative success or failure of this course. Accordingly, your participation will be assessed. (20 percent of final grade) But since the goal is a flourishing seminar, not a competition for “participation points,” participation cannot be reduced to “saying smart things frequently.” Please put some thought into how you contribute to the seminar environment. As you do so, bear the following in mind: (1) Quality matters more than quantity. (A few moments of silence spent thinking things through is nothing to be afraid of.)  (2) Charity counts for more than cleverness.Scoring points at another’s expense is not to be smiled upon. (3) Listening should demand more of your attention than talking. You are here primarily to learn, not to perform. Wondering how you might participate fruitfully in seminar? Consider these examples:
   1. Ask a question or make a comment that shows you are interested in what another person says.
   2. Ask a question or make a comment that encourages another person to elaborate on something they have already said.
   3. Take notes when your classmates speak, so you can remember their contributions and formulate good questions and comments in response.
   4. Make a comment that underscores the link between two people’s contributions.
   5. Make a comment that summarizes our conversation so far and/or suggests new direction and questions to be explored in the future.
   6. Make a comment indicating that you found another person’s ideas interesting or useful.
   7. Contribute something that builds on, or springs from, what someone else has said.
   8. Find a way to express appreciation for the insight you have gained from the discussion.