Religion 53 - Philosophy of Religion

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

An attempt to bring ratinal justification and clarification to religious beliefs and practice, focusing primarily on the concepts of Christian theology. Topics will include: the existence and attributes of God, faith and reason, death and immortality, miracles and revelation, the problem of evil, and religious pluralism. The course will employ examples from a variety of religious traditions. In addition, the course wil examine the notion of religion and the enerprise of philosophy of religion from various perspectives.

COURSE PHILOSOPHY:

It is the underlying philosophy of this course that learning is a dialogical process. In this sense, the course will combine lectures, group work, class discussions, debates and individual projects to examine various notions of God, faith and reason, death and immortality, miracles and revelation, the problem of evil, and religious pluralism as developed by several religious traditions. Students will actively participate in the investigation of the philosophers and works in question and apply the material and skills presented in this course to their academic interests and to contemporary issues. Students will thus not only contribute to the course but also shape it through active participation in the classroom, questions, and their position papers. While the course does not presuppose any prior knowledge in the philosophical method or in any religious tradition, it will demand a certain commitment, openness, and mental effort to explore "new" ideas and to think through a variety of worldviews and responses to philosophical and existential questions.

COURSE GOALS:

• Students will exhibit an appreciation of the contributions of the philosophical method to an understanding of the religious phenomenon.

• Students will enhibit an awareness of the philosophical issues developed by the Christian tradition.

• Students will familiarize themselves with basic arguments about the existence of God, the nature of the absolute, the immortality of the soul, the problem of evil, the nature and function of religion, and the interaction between various religious traditions.

• Students will actively and critically engage with the basic problems and concepts central to a philosophy of religion in projects, group work, and class discussions.

• Students will exhibit a fundamental knowledge of the methodologies and difficulties invovled in the study of Twentieth Centur Continental philosophy.

• Students will improve teir skills in critical thinking and communication ideas.

REQUIRED TEXTS:
 

Stephen Phillips:	Philosophy pf Religion - a global approach
John Perry:	Dialogue of good, Evil, and the Existence of God
John Perry:	Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality
Arvind Sharma:	Philosophy of Religion: A Buddhist Perspective

RECOMMENDED TEXTS:
Hsun Tzu: Hsun Tzu
Mencius: Mencius
Mo Tzu
Timothy Robinson: God
Jonathan Westphal: Life and Death
Hans Kung: Does God Exist?
Hans Kung: Immortality

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Attendance, participation (in the classroom and the discussion group alike), reading, portfolio, and quizzes	10% of the grade
10 short (1 page) position papers	35% of the grade
1 presetation and project (3 pages)	20% of course grade
2 exams	35% of course grade

ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIATION:

• If a student misses a class session, it is the students's responsibility to colect all relevant information and material of this particular class session. In general, the students are encouraged to inform the instructor if they expect to miss a class session and to discuss with the instructor ways to make up for it. A total of more than two absences will reflect negatively on the final grade. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of the class.

• Deadlines are binding. if a student would like an extention on a deadline, s/he is expected to contact te instructor prior to the respective day and time. In cases of unforeseen events such as emergencies official documentation is required.

• As mentioned above, it is the philosophy of the course that learning is a dialogical proces. Ths, active participation of te individual students is pivotal.

PRESENTATIONS:

Each Student will present one argument to the class. The presentations are based on reading assignments and are expected to addres the content, development, and concepts of the readings in question. The presenters are furthermore expected to anticipate and counter objections and to defend "their" thesis in a debate. Students are expected to develop these considerations into a three-page paper (project). Content: the presentations demonstrates an understanding of the reading; Development: the presentation develops a particular argument in response to a topic in question; Concept; the student will highlight the contribution of this particular reading to our class discussion. (Grading: one out of three: C, two out of three: B, three out of three: A).

Topics for Presentations:

debate 1: (09/27): Does god exist? 1. Swinburne, 2. hume, 3. Aquinas, 4. Craig, 5. Sharma, 6. Pascal
debate 2: (10/25): Is there life after death? 7. Hume, 8. Hiriyana, 9. Mavrodes, 10. Plato
debate 3: (11/15): Are religions compatible? 11. Alston, 12. Vivekananda, 13. Hick
debate 4: (11/29): What is religion? 14/15. Mo Tzu, 16/17. Mencius, 18/19. Hsun Tzu
debate 5: (12/06): What is religion? 20. Otto, 21. Eliade, 22. Freud, 23. Carvaka, 24. Durkheim, 25. Nishida, 26. Al-Gazzhali

POSITION PAPERS:

Students are expected to write 10 position papers in response to various topics of the course. In reflection papers (RPs), which proceed our class discussions, the students will articulate a thesis and present 3 arguments in support of this thesis (one out of four: D; two out of four: C; three out of four: B; four out of four: A). The position papers (PPs) will feature a thesis and critical argument in support of this position (development of an ad hoc uncritical argument: D; summary of the sources: c; development of an argument from the sources: B; articulation of an insight developed from the discussion: A).

EXAMS:

The exams will test familiarity with the issues and the variety of the responses. The exams will test the breadth (the papers the depth) of the student's knowledge.

Students are encouraged to discuss their grade with the instructor within one week of the return of individual assignments.

STUDY GUIDE:

For the homework questions please click HERE.

UNIT	DATE	TOPIC	READINGS	ASSIGNMENT
0	08/30	introduction	Sharma 1-2	RP1: What is religion?
1.1	09/04	mono-theism	Phillips 17-41	RP2: What is the absolute?
1.2	09/06	alternative theisms	Phillips 58-64, 82-94
1.3	09/11	sunyatavada	Sharma chapter 1, Philips 64-78
1.4	09/13	Contemporary theisms	Phillips 41-57, Kung 613-626	PP1: What is the absolute?
2.1	09/18	Does God exist?	Perry's dialogue on God	RP3: Does God exist?
2.2	09/20	Arguments for the existence of God	Phillips 117-161, Robinson 1-12, 119-123
2.3	09/25	Response to criticisms	Kung 568-576
2.4	09/27	Engaging the arguments	Sharma chapter 2, Kung 529-536	Presentation 1 PP2: Does God exist?
3.1	10/02	The problem of theodicy	Sharma 52-64, Phillips 247-260
3.2	10/04	Special issues in theodicy	Sharma 64-72, phillips 260-274
4.1	10/09	Conditions for survival	Perry's dialogue on immortality	RP4: Is their life after death?
4.2	10/11	Immortality	Westphal 1-17, Phillips 396-401, Sharma chapter 9
4.3	10/16	Karma and reincarnation	Sharma chapter 10
4.4	10/18	A Christian perspective	Kung's EL 96-118, Epilogue	PP3: Is there life after death?
4.5	10/25	The absurdity of life	Phillips 408-421, Westphal 59-80, 86-98	Presentation 2
	10/30	The basis of faith: revelation	Sharma Chapter 5	Take home exam due
5.1	11/01	The basis of faith: reason	Phillips 303-336
6.1	11/06	Problems of religious language	Sharma 105-118, Phillips 277-301, 376-380	PP4: Are faith and reason compatible?
6.2	11/08	Non-cognitive theory
7.1	11/13	Problem of truth claims	Sharma 119-127
	11/15	Religious pluralism	Sharma 139-152, Phillips 423-452	PP5: Are religious compatible? Presentation 3
	11/20
8.1	11/27	A classical Chinese debate on religion I	excerpts from Mencius, Mo Tzu and Hsun Tsu	Presentation 4
	11/29	A classical Chinese debate on religion II	See above
8.2	12/04	Critiques of religion
8.3	12/06	What is religion?	Phillips 213-243, 168-170, 194-195	PP6: What is religion? Presentations 5 exam II
	FINAL