From Heraclitus to Lao Tsu, Socrates and Plato to Descartes, Nietzsche and modern thinkers, Philosophy explores the essence of human existence and the possibility of reaching one’s true potential. This exciting course combines ancient Greek – and not only – thinking with the pressing issues of our modern world: education, science, technology and our relationship with ourselves, each other and our environment. Through examining the philosophical masterpieces tradition has handed down to us as well as an approach based on experiential learning techniques, dialogue and creativity. We examine the possibilities inherent in Philosophy in close connection with action and the human being’s ethical dimension.

In this course, students will have a unique and inspiring opportunity to come in contact with the original philosophical texts and to realize the urgency of the questions which emerge from them: What can we know? How should we act so as to reach our full potential? What is the essence of justice and of human Virtue in general? How does Philosophy relate to science, religion, art, technology and humanity’s journey towards self-knowledge?

Through team work and cooperation, students gain a strong foundation in philosophical thinking. Questioning and dialogue are highly encouraged as this approach contributes to making students capable of recognizing and analyzing fundamental philosophical issues, as well as developing their own unique strengths in critical thinking.  

People felt the need to express themselves through theatre since almost the beginning of time and they still do now even more than ever. As the three times Pulitzer-prize winner Thornton Wilder once said, “I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.

Students in this course will be introduced to some of the most inspiring aspects of drama analysis, interpretation, performance and playwriting. They will become readers, actors and actresses, directors, designers and playwrights. As readers, they will explore the work of various playwrights throughout history. As actors, actresses, directors and designers, they will delve into the various performance and directing approaches and work toward finding their own styles. Finally, they will produce their own original work in an attempt to find their own, original voice.