March 12

Dante

Read one Canto aloud each day.

Our primary focus will be wrapping up Boethius, then moving to Dante.

1. We will focus on Cantos XXVII, XXVIII, & XXX - as we approach Dante's transition from Purgatory to Paradise

2. How are we to measure the most significant changes that Dante is undergoing as he climbs the mount?

3. How do we know Dante is nearly ready to enter paradise?

1. According to Boethius, does Satan possess will? power?

2. Draw a picture to depict the relationship between fate & providence.

3. What core assumptions lie beneath Boethius' claim that the wicked are unhappy when they unjustly go scot free?

4. How can divine providence, i.e. foreknowledge,  preserve free will? What is the key to his argument?

5. Make a list: Without free will, we get __?

6. What does Boethius mean when he says: "every object of knowledge is known not as a result of its own nature, but of the nature of those who comprehend it" (132)?