UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY 1 Philosophy 331 Fall 2008 Philosophy of Religion Professor: Christopher Framarin email: chris.framarin@ucalgary.ca Office: 1212 SS Office Hours: T 2:00 4:00 and by appointment Course Overview: In this course we will analyze influential arguments in the philosophy of religion. Topics include the existence of God, the existence of an immortal soul, the problem of evil, and so on. Our analysis will consist of schematizing arguments and evaluating them for cogency. Required Readings: Philosophy of Religion, Selected Readings, 3 rd Edition. Peterson, Hasker, Reichenback, Basinger (eds.) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Course Packet (available at Bound and Copied). Evaluation: Students will write two in class exams and a final paper. There is no registrar scheduled final exam. Grades will be calculated as follows: Two exams (Oct 14, Nov 18): 35% each Final paper (9am Dec 11): 30% Final grades will be calculated according to the following scale: 97-100 A+ 80-85.9 B+ 67-69.9 C+ 55-59.9 D+ 92-96.9 A 75-79.9 B 64-66.9 C 50-54.9 D 86-91.9 A- 70-74.9 B- 60-63.9 C- <50 F Policies: I expect students to attend every class and arrive on time. If you are unable to attend class on the day of a test, you must notify me ahead of time for other arrangements. If you are unable to turn in the final paper at the assigned time, you must notify me ahead of time. Late papers will have two points deducted per day. I do not make my class notes available to students. If you miss class, I expect you to get notes from another student, and see me for additional help.
Course Schedule: 2 Week 1 Week 2 T Sep. 9 Course Introduction Arguments Premises and Conclusions Homework (HW): Read Pascal, "The Wager" in Philosophy of Religion, p. 104 R Sep. 11 Pascal HW: Anselm, The Classical Ontological Argument and Gaunilo, Critique of Anselm s Argument in Philosophy of Religion, pp. 176 and 178 T Sep. 16 Anselm and Gaunilo HW: Aquinas, The Classical Cosmological Argument and Reichenbach, The Cosmological Argument in Philosophy of Religion, pp. 194 and 197. Week 3 Week 4 R Sep. 18 Aquinas and Reichenbach HW: Craig, The Kalam Cosmological Argument in Philosophy of Religion, p. 210. T Sep. 23 Craig HW: Mackie, Critique of the Cosmological Argument in Philosophy of Religion, p. 223. R Sep. 25 Mackie HW: Paley, The Analogical Teleological Argument and Betty and Cordell, The Anthropic Teleological Argument in Philosophy of Religion, pp. 232 and 235. T Sep. 30 Paley and Betty and Cordell HW: Sober, Evolution and Creationism in Course Packet (pp. 61-73 in original). R Oct. 2 Sober HW: Sober, Can Science Explain Everything? in Course Packet (pp. 74-81 in original).
Week 5 3 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 T Oct. 7 Sober HW: Prepare for Review T Oct. 9 Exam Review HW: Prepare for Exam T Oct. 14 In-Class Exam #1 HW: Hick, God s Necessary Existence and Maimonides, Negative Theology in Philosophy of Religion, pp. 133 and 138. R Oct. 16 Hick and Maimonides HW: Aquinas, God is Omnipotent and Mavrodes, Some Puzzles Concerning Omnipotence in Philosophy of Religion, pp. 143 and 146. T Oct. 21 Aquinas and Mavrodes HW: Pike, Divine Omniscience and Voluntary Action in Philosophy of Religion, p. 149. R Oct. 23 Pike HW: Augustine, "Evil is Privation of Good" and Hume, "Evil Makes a Strong Case Against God's Existence" in Philosophy of Religion, pp. 292 and 296. T Oct. 28 Augustine and Hume HW: Mackie, Evil and Omnipotence in Philosophy of Religion, p. 304. Week 9 R Oct. 30 Mackie HW: Hick, Soul-Making Theodicy in Philosophy of Religion, p. 341 T Nov. 4 Hick HW: Rowe, The Evidential Argument from Evil in Philosophy of Religion, p. 354.
Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 4 R Nov. 6 Rowe HW: Adams, Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God in Philosophy of Religion, p. 365. T Nov. 11 Reading Day. No Class R Nov. 13 Adams HW: Prepare for Review T Nov. 18 In-Class Exam #2 HW: Price, The Soul Survives and Functions after Death in Philosophy of Religion, p. 500. R Nov. 20 Price / Introduction to Paper Assignment HW: Swinburne, The Soul Needs a Brain to Continue to Function in Philosophy of Religion, p. 510. T Nov. 25 Swinburne HW: Badham, Problems with Accounts of Life after Death in Philosophy of Religion, p. 521. R Nov. 27 Badham HW: Hick, Resurrection of the Person in Philosophy of Religion, p. 529. Week 13 T Dec 2 Hick HW: Work on Paper R Dec 4 No Class. Work on Papers. I am available during this time for feedback on drafts in my office. Final Papers Due Dec. 11, 9:00 a.m. in philosophy department drop box (12 th floor SS).
5 INTELLECTUAL HONESTY Intellectual honesty is the cornerstone of the development and acquisition of knowledge and requires that the contribution of others be acknowledged. As a result, cheating or plagiarism on any assignment or examination is regarded as an extremely serious academic offence, the penalty for which may be an F on the assignment and possibly also an F in the course, academic probation, or requirement to withdraw. The University Calendar states that plagiarism exists when: the work submitted or presented was done, in whole or in part, by an individual other than the one submitting or presenting the work (this includes having another impersonate the student or otherwise substituting the work of another for one s own in an examination or test; parts of the work are taken from another source without reference to the original author; the whole work (e.g., an essay) is copied from another source; and/or a student submits or presents work in one course which has also been submitted in another course (although it may be completely original with that student) without the knowledge of or prior agreement of the instructor involved. While it is recognized that scholarly work often involves reference to the ideas, data and conclusions of other scholars, intellectual honesty requires that such references be explicitly and clearly noted. Plagiarism is an extremely serious offence. Plagiarism occurs not only when direct quotations are taken from a source without specific acknowledgement, but also when original ideas or data from the source are not acknowledged. A bibliography is insufficient to establish which portions of the student s work are taken from external sources; footnotes or other recognized forms of citation must be used for this purpose. ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATION It is the student's responsibility to request academic accommodation. If you are a student with a documented disability who may require academic accommodation and have not registered with the Disability Resource Centre, please contact their office at 220-8237. Students who have not registered with the Disability Resource Centre are not eligible for formal academic accommodation. You are also required to discuss your needs with your instructor no later than fourteen (14) days after the start of this course. STUDENTS UNION REPRESENTATIVE The Humanities Representative is Daniel Pagan, MSC 251, humanitiesrep@su.ucalgary.ca or 220-3913.