The focus of the Philosophy & World Religions curriculum is on major world religions and cultures. The program includes study of cultural thought and belief systems, historical events, and philosophical movements. Through the Philosophy & World Religions curriculum, students explore principles of decision-making, inquire into the spiritual dimensions of life, and examine a variety of religious traditions. Students build an individual understanding of the meaning of interconnections--with self, with others, with their own spirituality, and with the universe. The study of world religions is also integrated into the Humanities I and II courses in the 9th and 10th grades.

Elective Courses

African American Spirituality and Philosophy
During their freshman and sophomore years, the students in Humanities explored the manner in which humans have sought to make meaning of their existence and the world around them. Two of the questions which tended to guide our discussion of such issues were: How do we perceive the world? How do we behave as a consequence? With the premise that environment, perception, and behavior are inextricably linked, the African American Spirituality and Philosophy course will examine the African American experience with a particular emphasis upon the following: African American perceptions of the world around them from their arrival to America as slaves to the modern day; the development of African American spiritual and philosophical traditions as they have sought to make meaning of their world. The course will begin with a brief overview of African traditions prior to the advent of the slave trade, and we will spend the term primarily examining African American interpretations of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, as well as the development of Rastafarianism.

Bioethics
Is cloning a human being morally acceptable? Are genetically engineered salmon a good idea? Should insurance companies have access to the results of your genetic tests? This one-trimester course is a philosophical and scientific approach to understanding current ethical issues affecting society. We will begin with an introduction to a variety of ethical frameworks as applied to difficult decision-making moments, and we will apply these frameworks to specific cases drawn from ethics textbooks, journal articles, the internet and our own experience. Thereafter, we will delve into four case studies on relevant issues. For each case study, students will learn the underlying scientific principles and techniques as well as applying philosophical concepts and ethical criteria to the bioethical issues. Students will be tested on their mastery of the scientific details, and they will prepare papers and participate in debates exploring the ethical dimensions of each new topic. The class will culminate students choosing a bioethical issue and giving a presentation of their analysis. The course is available to juniors and seniors who have successfully completed the Conceptual Physics/Chem 1/Bio 1 sequence; no additional knowledge of biological topics is assumed. Students should be advised that this is a not a lab science but a reading, discussion, and writing-intensive course. This course may be counted as either a Science or a Religion/Philosophy course, but not both.

Buddhism
The essence of Buddhism is to awaken, to be free in the midst of this changing world. And the function of that awakening is to give, to be able to love unconditionally and serve people. The path to that awakening is a deep curiosity about the mind, how it makes us unhappy and how it can be trained to unveil our natural deep contentment and joy. This class will be experiential, it will offer teachings and skills that will give students a chance to change the way they perceive themselves and their world, to see more clearly and be more authentic. We will study Buddhist ethics, the Two Truths, the Eight Fold Path and the profound teaching of dependent arising. It is important to make these teachings come alive in daily life so “paying attention” assignments will be given for homework. We will spend time during each class in meditation. We’ll study characters in movies and discuss how they illustrate different states of mind. We’ll take field trips to Bay Area Buddhist communities such as Green Gulch Farm and Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Buddhism has a long and rich history from ancient India to the Bay Area. We’ll study that history with an emphasis on how Buddhism has impacted the west, revolutionizing disciplines from neuroscience and psychology to education. Our primary text will be Wide Awake: a Buddhist Guide for Teens by Diana Winston. We will also read chapters from The Issue at Hand, Spiritual Materialism and the Power of Now, as well as articles from research journals. Life for a teenager can sometimes feel like a roller coaster with wonderful highs and equally low, dark times. In the midst of these changes there is a still quiet place that is our home. We will find that home in each of us giving us an abiding place to return, a place from which to live.

Comparative Philosophy
This course grounds students in the study of philosophy and explores central questions within a comparative framework. Students read a wide range of responses to shared concerns, largely centering around the following three core questions: What is the good life? (What is happiness? Is there ultimate meaning?) What is the role of the individual in society? (What is his/her responsibility? How should we relate to others?) What is justice and the just state? (What constitutes freedom, liberty, and justice? How do we navigate the unjust state?) To address these questions, we will read both classical and contemporary philosophers from the East and West and draw upon film and literary selections as supplemental texts. Potential texts and authors include Plato, The Republic; Confucius The Analects; The Dalai Lama, Ethics for a New Millennium; Emerson; Mill; Kant; Ayn Rand; Nietzsche; Zhuangzi; Xunzi; Albert Camus, The Stranger; Jean Paul Sartre,
No Exit; Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning. Open to juniors and seniors only.

The End of the World as We Know It: Apocalypse and the American Imagination
Throughout human history, we can find narratives about the end of times. In the latter part of the 20th century and the first part of this century, the technologies we have developed have only increased this anxiety for some – pushing apocalyptic thought out of the realm of purely religious thought. This course examines the various expressions of apocalyptic thought that exist in the United States today, like the popular Left Behind series, and in days past, such as the Native American Ghost Dance movements in the late nineteenth century. Is social scientist John Wiley Nelson correct in stating that apocalyptic ideas are “as American as the hot dog”? In our study of apocalypse and the American imagination, we will come to our own conclusions.

Existentialism
This course will study existentialist philosophy via multiple disciplines, including literature, psychology, religion and film. Students will grapple with basic existential themes such as the meaning of human existence, freedom and responsibility, the limits of reason, the significance of death, the individual versus society, and the role of suffering. Students will be asked to consider questions of freedom and authenticity, and to what extent they have the power to make a mark on the world through their actions and choices. Potential readings include Kant, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Camus, Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Paul Tillich and Victor Frankl. NOTE: This course may count either as a Literature course or a Religion/Philosophy course, but not both.

Faith and Religion in America
This course is an examination of religion in the United States. Who believes what and why? We’ll take a look at dominant faiths and focus on subcultures, from Mormonism to Wicca, Scientology, and beyond. Focus questions include: How has religion played a role in our development as a nation? Should religion inform our political system? What is faith? Who has it? In what? How do all of our unique beliefs allow or prevent us from co-existing as a people? Possible texts: Religion in America: A Very Short Introduction, Timothy K. Beal; What Really Matters, Searching for Wisdom in America, Tony Schwartz; Cults: Faith, Healing, and Coercion¸ Marc Galanter; America: Religions and Religion, Catherine Albanese; Mormonism: The Power and the Promise, Richard Ostling and Joan K. Ostling.

Hinduism
This course is a thorough grounding on the religions of India based on the Vedas and, to some extent, on the Dravidian religions that preceded them. The course will focus more on textual and mythical analysis and worship rather than on Hindu philosophy and spirituality. The course will also examine some of the ways Hinduism has been represented and misrepresented to outsiders. Course Objectives: Students will differentiate between the various strands of Hindu devotion (Saivism, Vaisnavism, and Goddess-worship). Students will write a historical analysis of Hinduism’s history and its contact with outsiders. Students will undertake study of several Hindu texts. Students will write one research paper on the topic of their choice and present their findings to the class. Students will also visit a Hindu temple within the Bay Area.

The Problem of Evil
What constitutes evil and why does it exist? We will focus on these questions in this course, as we study the liabilities of freedom. Our path will take us through literature, philosophy, biology, psychology and theology as we investigate how people have tried to (and continue to try to) explain natural and moral evil. Texts: Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, Freud, Civilization and its Discontents, Lyall Watson, Dark Nature: A Natural History of Evil, and David Bentley Hart, The Doors of the Sea: Where Was God in the Tsunami?

Utopia/Dystopia
During this term, we will explore both utopias: ideal societies, real or imagined, meant to be seen as better than the society in which readers live and dystopias: negative utopias—societies that were meant to be seen as worse than the society in which readers live. As we read and discuss, we will discover that philosophers, literary authors, authors of political documents like constitutions, among others, all grapple with notions of what would make the most ideal society or, by contrast, the least ideal society. We will also discover that, as your text The Utopia Reader notes, fashions in utopias have changed over the millennia, centuries, even decades. The texts we will read will include: The Utopia Reader (containing excerpts from many works) and several novels, possibly including 1984 by George Orwell, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, and Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach. NOTE: This course may count either as a Literature course or a Religion/Philosophy course, but not both.