1. Dante’s Divine Comedy
Introduction to Dante

2. Introduction to Dante Dante Aligheri (1265-1321), of Florence, Italy.
One of the 4-5 greatest poets of the Western tradition (with Homer, Virgil, Milton, Goethe).
His masterpiece (The Divine Comedy) embodies the thematic synthesis of Greek philosophy & the Biblical worldview.

3. Structure of the Divine Comedy
Three Parts:
The Inferno (Hell). A depiction of the consequences of unchecked evil.
The Purgatorio (Purgatory). A representation of human nature in this life (of which purgatory is an extension): the conflict between good and evil.
The Paradiso (Heaven). The ultimate, supernatural end of human life. The vision of God.

4. Faith & Reason Dante gives a high status to natural reason.
Virgil, Dante’s guide through hell and purgatory, was a pre-Christian Roman poet.
Aristotle is described as “the father of them that know.”
The philosophers and poets in limbo, although unbelievers, are treated with great respect, and suffer only the sadness of the loss of heaven.

5. Limits of reason
At the same time, Dante clearly asserts the limits of reason, and the need for its supplementation by faith.
Beatrice (representing grace) must take over for Virgil as Dante enters heaven.
Certain mysteries (like that of free will) lie beyond the scope of reason to explain completely.

6. Love as the source of Good and Evil
Virgil distinguishes between animal and mind-directed love.
The second is imperfect, both in respect of its object and its intensity.
Wrong object: Pride, Envy, Wrath
Too weak: Sloth
Too strong: Avarice, Gluttony, Lust

7. 2 major themes: 1. Nature is the standard of good/bad, right/wrong.
2. The problem of the relation between self-love and love for others.