107: PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION READING LIST. Introductions and Textbooks. Books Advocating General Positions. Collections TOPICS

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1 107: PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION READING LIST Based on the philosophy faculty reading list (by R.G. Swinburne) (see ) Dr Daniel von Wachter, Oriel College, Oxford, kontakt@von-wachter.de, Argue for a specific answer to the question set for the essay. A survey of the readings is not what is required. Note that in the exam you are expected to argue for an answer to the question, and anything you write which does nothing to support your argument leads to downgrading. Look at past papers at Introductions and Textbooks Peterson, M. et al Reason and Religious Belief 2 nd edition (OUP, 1998) Yandell, Keith E Philosophy of Religion: A Contemporary Introduction. London and New York: Routledge. Taliaferro, C. Contemporary Philosophy of Religion (Blackwell, 1998) (I recommend to read as introduction an opinionated clear work such as R. Swinburne, Is There a God?, OUP 1996.) Books Advocating General Positions Mackie, J.L. The Miracle of Theism (Clarendon, 1982) Swinburne, R. The Existence of God 2 nd edition (OUP, 1991); see also the easier version of this: Is There a God? (OUP, 1996). Plantinga, A. God, Freedom and Evil (George Allen & Unwin 1975 or reprint) Plantinga, A. & Wolterstorff, N. eds Faith and Rationality (Univ. Notre Dame Press, 1983) LePoidevin: Arguing for Atheism Collections Craig, William Lane, ed., Philosophy of Religion: A Reader and Guide (2002) Stump, E. & Murray, M., ed., Philosophy of Religion: the Big Questions (Blackwell, 1998) Taliaferro & Griffiths, ed., Philosophy of Religion: An Antology (Blackwell 2003) Davies, B. ed. Philosophy of Religion. A guide and Anthology (OUP, 2000) Peterson, M. et al Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings (OUP, 1996) Jäger, Christoph, ed Analytische Religionsphilosophie. UTB [Bd. 2021]. (Most of these collections have selections on most of the topics listed below, and many of the readings given below are contained also in one or more of these collections) TOPICS 1. Omniscience Could there be an omniscient being? If so would his existence be incompatible with his own free will or that of humans? Swinburne, R, The Coherence of Theism, ch

2 Pike, N. Divine Omniscience and Voluntary Action in Philosophical Review, vol 74, (1965), pp (partly reprinted in Peterson ed., , and in Davies ed., ch.45) Hasker, W. God, Time and Knowledge (Cornell UP, 1989) chs 1-7 & 10. Pike, N. A Latter-day look at the Foreknowledge Problem in International Journal for Philosophy of Religion,vol 33 (1993), pp Alston, W.P. Divine Foreknowledge and Alternative Conceptions of Human Freedom in International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, vol 18 (1985), pp Grim, P. Against Omniscience: the Case from Essential Indexicals in Noûs, vol 19 (1985), pp Kretzmann, N. Omniscience and Immutability in Journal of Philosophy, vol 63 (1966), pp Casteneda, H-N. Omniscience and Indexical Reference in Journal of Philosophy, vol 64 (1967), pp (Some of these articles are reprinted in: Fischer, John Martin God, foreknowledge, and freedom, Stanford series in philosophy. Stanford University Press.) Sanders, J. Why Simple Foreknowledge offers no more Providential Control than the Openness of God in Faith and Philosophy, vol 14 (1997), pp Plantinga, A., On Ockham s Way Out, reprinted in: Stump ed., ch Perfect Goodness. Is what is good independent of the will of God? If so, could God be essentially perfectly good? Swinburne, R. The Coherence of Theism 2 nd edition (OUP, 1993) ch 11 Rachels, J God and human attitudes in Helm, P. ed Divine Commands and Morality (OUP, 1981), pp Adams, R.M. A modified divine command theory of ethical wrongness in Helm, P. ed Divine Commands and Morality (OUP, 1981), pp Adams, R.M. Divine command metaethics as necessary a posteriori wrongness in Helm, P. ed Divine Commands and Morality (OUP, 1981), pp Pike, N. Omnipotence and God s ability to sin in Helm, P. ed Divine Commands and Morality (OUP, 1981), pp Adams, R.M. Must God create the best? in Morris, T.V. ed The Concept of God (OUP, 1987), pp Morris, T.V Duty and divine goodness in in Morris, T.V. ed The Concept of God (OUP, 1987), pp Further: Stump & Murray (ed.), part six. 3. Timelessness Could God be outside time? Davies, B., ed., Philosophy of Religion: A Guide and Anthology, (This contains amongst other texts: Wolterstorff, N. God Everlasting in Cahn, S. & Shatz, D. eds Contemporary Philosophy of Religion (OUP, 1982) (also in Peterson ed., where there is also a pice by Boethius); Stump, E. & Kretzmann, N. Eternity in Journal of Philosophy vol pp (also in Stump ed.)) Hasker, W. God, Time and Knowledge (Cornell, 1989) chs 8-9 Swinburne, R. God and Time in Stump, E. ed Reasoned Faith (Cornell, 1993) Further: Philosophia Christi 2 (2000). Craig, William Lane Time and Eternity. Wheaton (Illinois): Crossaway Books. Leftow, Brian Time and Eternity. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Univ Pr. Helm, P. Eternal God (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988) Pike, N. God and Timelessness (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1970) 2

3 4. Incarnation Could God have a body? Could God become man? Wainwright, W. in Morris, T. ed The Concept of God (OUP, 1987) Davis, S.T. Logic and the Nature of God (Macmillan, 1983) ch 8 Morris, T.V. Understanding Identity Statements (Aberdeen UP, 1984) ch 9 Morris, T.V. The Logic of God Incarnate (Cornell UP, 1986) esp. ch Analogy In talking about God, in what sense if any of analogy does Theology use words in analogical senses? Copleston, F.C. Aquinas (Penguin, 1955 or reprint) pp St. Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologiae (Blackfriars, ) Ia.13 Sherry, P. Analogy Today in Philosophy vol pp (NB this is not his paper Analogy Reviewed ). Alston, W.P. Can we speak literally of God? and Functionalism and Theological Language in his Divine Nature and Human Language (Cornell UP, 1989). The former is also in Peterson ed Philosophy of Religion (OUP, 1996); the latter is in Morris ed The Concept of God (OUP, 1987) Alston, W.P. Aquinas on Theological Predication in Stump, E. ed Reasoned Faith (Cornell UP, 1993) Soskice, J. Metaphor and Religious Language (Clarendon, 1985) chs Cosmological and Teleological Arguments Does the existence of and the order in the world support theism? Leibniz, G. On the Ultimate Origination of Things (found in Leibniz, Philosophical Writings ed Parkinson, G. (Everyman, 1973) or Leibniz, Philosophical Essays tr. Ariew, R. & Garber, D. (Hacker, 1989)) R.G. Swinburne, 1996, Is There a God, chs. 1-4; for a more rigorous treatment see his The Existence of God, chs. 1-3, 5-8, and Appendix B. Mackie, J.L. The Miracle of Theism (Clarendon, 1982) chs 5 & 8 Leslie, J. Anthropic Principle. World Ensemble, Design in American Philosophical Quarterly vol 19 (1982), pp ; or Leslie s book Universes. Hume, D. Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (Routledge, 1991 or reprint) Or: 6a. Principles of Inductive Reasoning; The Cosmological Argument Is the existence of the universe evidence for the existence of God? R.G. Swinburne, Is There a God, chs. 1-4; for a more rigorous treatment see his The Existence of God, chs. 1, 2, 3, 5, 7. G.W. Leibniz: On the Ultimate Origination of Things. J.L. Mackie: The Miracle of Theism, ch. 5. W. Rowe: The Cosmological Argument, in Stump & Murray, eds, pp D. Parfit: The Puzzle of Reality: Why does the Universe Exist?, and Response by R Swinburne, in P. van Inwagen & D.W. Zimmerman, eds., Metaphysics: The Big Questions (Blackwell, 1998), pp See further: Craig, William Lane The Existence of God and the Beginning of the Universe. Available from 3

4 Davies, ed., chs (pp ). 6b. Teleological Arguments Does any form of the argument from design show that there is a God? R.G. Swinburne, Is There a God, chs. 1-4; and his The Existence of God, ch. 8 and Appendix B. J.L. Mackie: The Miracle of Theism, ch. 8. Leslie, J. Anthropic Principle. World Ensemble, Design in American Philosophical Quarterly vol 19 (1982), pp ; or Leslie s book Universes; or Leslie, John, 1995, The Prerequisites of Life in Our Universe, available from D. Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. 7. The Problem of Evil Does the existence of evil in the world show that there is no God? Rowe, W.L. The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism in American Philosophical Quarterly vol 16 (1979), pp Plantinga, A. God, Freedom and Evil (George Allen & Unwin, 1975) pp Swinburne, R., Some Major Strands in Theodicy, in Howard-Snyder, D., ed., The Evidential Argument from Evil (Indiana UP, 1996), See also his Providence and the Problem of Evil (Clarendon, 1998) Wykstra, S.J. The Humean Objection to Evidential Arguments from Suffering: On Avoiding the Evils of Appearance in International Journal for Philosophy of Religion vol 16 (1984), pp Tracy, T.M. Victimization and the Problem of Evil in Faith and Philosophy vol 9 (1992), pp Alston, W.P. The Inductive Argument from Evil and the Human Cognitive Condition in Howard-Snyder, D. ed The Evidential Argument from Evil (Indiana UP, 1996) See also: Howard-Snyder, D., The Evidential Argument from Evil; and Adams (ed.) The Problem of Evil. 8. The Evidential Value of Religious Experience. Can religious experience support theism? Rowe, W. & Wainwright, W. eds The Philosophy of Religion: selected readings (Harcourt, rd edition): the papers in section 5 'Mysticism and Religious Experience' (section 4 of 1 st edition, 1973), esp. Martin, C. 'Seeing God'. Alston, William P., 1998, Why should there not be experience of God?, in: Davies (ed.), ch. 38 (pp ). Or: Alston, William P., 1991, Perceiving God, Cornell UP, esp. ch. 8. Swinburne, R. The Existence of God, ch. 13. Draper, P. God and Perceptual Evidence in International Journal for Philosophy of Religion vol 32 (1992), pp Further: Wainwright, W. Natural Explanations and Religious Experience in Ratio vol 15 (1973), pp or his Mysticism: A Study of its Nature, Cognitive Value and Moral Implications (Harvester, 1981) ch 3. Davis, C. F. The Evidential Force of Religious Experience (Clarendon, 1989) ch The Ontological Argument and Divine Necessity. In what sense if any- of necessary could God be a necessary being? (And: In what sense do God s attributes belong to him necessarily?) Findlay, J.N., 1948, Can God s Existence Be Disproved?, Mind (reprinted in ed. A. Flew & A MacIntyre New Essays in Philosophical Theology) 4

5 Adams, R.M. Has it been proved that all real existence is contingent? in American Philosophical Quarterly vol 8 (1971), pp Adams,R.M. Divine Necessity in Journal of Philosophy vol 80 (1983), pp Hick, J.H. Necessary Being in Donnelly, J. ed Logical Analysis and Contemporary Theism, (Fordham University Press, 1972). Also in Rowe, W. & Wainwright, W. Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings, 1 st edition only (Harcourt, 1973) Morris, T.V. Necessary Beings in Mind vol 94 (1985), pp Hick, J.H. Arguments for the Existence of God (Macmillan, 1970) chs 5-6 Hick, J.H. ed The Existence of God (Macmillan, 1964) : extracts from Anselm, Aquinas, Descartes, Leibniz, Kant. Plantinga, A. God, Freedom and Evil (George Allen & Unwin, 1975) pp Wachter, D.v., 2001, The Necessity of God s Existence, The two papers by Adams are reproduced in Adams, R. The Virtue of Faith (OUP, 1987) 10. Assess Plantinga s Two different accounts of what it is for religions belief to be rational, justifies or warranted (Or: Can theistic belief be properly basic?) 1 st Account Plantinga, A. & Wolterstorff, (eds.) N. Faith and Rationality (Univ. Notre-Dame, 1983) introduction and paper by Plantinga. Plantinga s paper is reprinted in The Analytic Theist (ed. Sennett), and in Davies (ed.). Alston, W.P. Plantinga s Epistemology of Religious Belief in Tomberlin, J. & Van Inwagen, P. ed Alvin Plantinga (Reidel, 1985). Kenny, A. Faith and Reason (Columbia UP, 1983) chs 1-3 OR What is Faith? (OUP, 1992) 2 nd Account Plantinga, A. Warranted Christian Belief, (OUP, 2000) parts 2 and Does the kind of faith which is required for the practice of religion involve belief that certain propositions are true; and if so, can someone rationally choose to acquire it? Penelhum, T. ed Faith (Macmillan, 1989) Pojman, Louis Religious Belief and the Will (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986) Mackie, J.L. The Miracle of Theism (Clarendon, 1982), ch 11 Adams, R.M. The Virtue of Faith (OUP, 1987) Part I. 12. The Nature of Miracles and Petitionary Prayer and their evidential force. What is a miracle? And how can you know that one occurred? Larmer, Robert, 1988, Water Into Wine? Swinburne, R. ed Miracles (Macmillan, 1989), introduction, chs. 8, 13, etc. (For a short version of ch. 8 see Davies, ed, ) Mackie, J.L. The Miracle of Theism (Clarendon, 1982) ch 1 (also in Swinburne, ed., ch. 9) Keller, James A. `A Moral Argument Against Miracles, Faith and Philosophy (1995) 12(1) pp

6 Stump, E. Petitionary Prayer in American Philosophical Quarterly vol 16 (1979), pp (also in Swinburne, ed., ch. 15, and Stump, ed., ) Brümmer, V. What are We Doing When We Pray: a philosophical enquiry? (SCM, 1984) Forrest, P. Answers to Prayer and Conditional Situations in Faith and Philosophy vol 15 (1998), pp Further: Earman, John, 2000, Hume s Abject Failure: The Argument against Miracles, OUP. THEOLOGICAL TOPICS 13. Life after Death Are there any philosophical difficulties in the Christian Doctrine of Life after Death? Davis, S.T., in Davies (ed), pp Swinburne, Churchland, Zimmerman, in Stump, ed., T. Penelhum Survival and Disembodied Existence. R Swinburne, The Evolution of the Soul, partii and ch. 15. P. Badham, Christian Beliefs about Life after Death, parts I and II. 14. Different religions Does the existence of many different religions cast doubt on the claim of any one of them to be closer to the truth than any other one? Yandell, Introduction..., ch. 6. J. Hick, An Interpretation of Religion, parts IV and V. K. Ward, Truth and the Diversity of Religions, Religious Studies, Articles by Hick, Mavrodes, Plantinga, and Clark in Faith and Philosophy, R. Swinburne, Revelation, chs. 5 and 6. An extensive bibliography on the Philosophy of Religion prepared by David Brown, is available from the Sub- Faculty of Philosophy (10, Merton St., Oxford) Electronic texts Many important philosophical texts are now available on-line. The Perseus Project offers many texts in ancient philosophy. Past Masters offers an expanding range of key philosophers. These can be accessed via the philosophy section in OXLIP, see Philosophical texts On-line ( ) 6