. Philosophy of Religion (PHIL11159) Course Organiser Dr. James Henry Collin University of Edinburgh COURSE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This is a level 11 course for students seeking an advanced introduction to contemporary issues in the philosophy of religion. Students will gain an up-to-date, in-depth and detailed instruction in topics such as: the concept of God, arguments for the existence of God, the nature of and relationship between faith and reason, arguments against the existence of ); religious epistemology, and the nature of religious language. The aim is to cultivate a deep understanding of some of the most fundamental questions in philosophy. LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this course students should: 1. Be able to demonstrate a good understanding of key areas in the current sciencereligion interface and to engage with them philosophically. 2. Be able to demonstrate strong analytical skills and philosophical acumen in approaching debates between science and theology. 3. Be able to engage critically with key textual sources in the field. 4. Be able to engage constructively in cross-disciplinary conversations. 5. Have demonstrated an openness to personal growth through a commitment to dialogue across intellectual and cultural boundaries. 1
2 REQUIREMENTS AND ASSSESSMENTS This course will primarily be assessed through the submission of an essay of no more than 2500 words on a topic set by the course organiser. This will account for 85% of the student s course mark. The remaining 15% of the final course mark will be determined by the student s successful participation in the on-line activities associated with the course, such as relevant postings on the course discussion board. SYLLABUS Week 1 The Concept of God Harris, H. (2009) Prayer, in The Cambridge Companion to Christian Philosophical Theology. Cambridge University Davies, B. (2009) The Cambridge Companion to Christian Philosophical Theology. Cambridge University pp. 31 45. Sprigge, T.L.S. (2008) The God of Metaphysics. Oxford University Nagasawa, Y. and Buckareff, A. (2016) Alternative Concepts of God. Oxford University Stump, E. (1981) Eternity. The Journal of Philosophy 78 (8), 429. Week 2 The Ontological Argument Collin, J (2017), Do logic and religion mix?, in Philosophy, Science and Religion for Everyone. Bernstein, C. (2014) Giving the Ontological Argument Its Due. Philosophia. 42 (3), 665 679.
3 Peter Millican (2004) The One Fatal Flaw in Anselm s Argument. Mind. 113 (451), 437 476. Oppy, G. (1996) Ontological Arguments and Belief in God. Cambridge University Yujin Nagasawa (2010) The Ontological Argument and the Devil. The Philosophical Quarterly (1950-). 60 (238), 72 91. Week 3 Evolutionary Religion Schellenberg, J.L. (2013) Evolutionary Religion. [Online]. Oxford University Church, I. (2017), Is God hidden, or does God simply not exist?, in Philosophy, Science and Religion for Everyone. STENMARK, M. (2013) Religious naturalism and its rivals. Religious Studies 49 (4), 529 550. ROTTSCHAEFER, W.A. (2016) Schellenberg s evolutionary religion: how evolutionary and how religious? Religious Studies 52 (4), 475 496. Nagasawa, Y. and Buckareff, A. (2016) Alternative Concepts of God. Oxford University Week 4 Religious Epistemology Pritchard, D. (2017), Is there a fundamental tension between faith and rationality?, in Philosophy, Science and Religion for Everyone. Pritchard, D. (2000) Is God exists a hinge proposition of religious belief? International Journal for the Philosophy of Religion. 47 (3), 129 140.
4 Forrest, P. (2017) The Epistemology of Religion. In the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Plantinga, A. (2000) Warranted Christian belief. Oxford University Swinburne, R. (2005) Faith and Reason. Oxford University Plantinga, A. (2000) Warranted Christian Belief. Oxford University Week 5 Epistemic Disagreement, Diversity and Relativism Carter, A. (n.d.) Epistemic disagreement, diversity and relativism.. Baghramian, M. (2015) Relativism. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Carter, J. A. (2017), Are theism and atheism totally opposed? Can they learn from each other?, in Philosophy, Science and Religion for Everyone. Week 6 Pascal s Wager Hájek, A. (2017) Pascal s Wager. In the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Jordan, J. (2006) Pragmatic Arguments and Belief in God. Pragmatic Arguments and Belief in God. OUP. Week 7 The Problem of Evil
5 The Problem of Evil, in The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical Theology. Oxford: OUP. Stump, E. (2010) Wandering in Darkness. Oxford University Tooley, M. (2015) The Problem of Evil. In the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The problem of evil, in The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Religion. The problem of evil, in The Oxford Handbook of Atheism. Mintoff, J. (2013) Recasting Analytic Philosophy on the Problem of Evil. Sophia 52 (1), 51 54. Week 8 God and Morality Morality and Religion, in The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Religion. Hare, J. (2014) Religion and Morality. In the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Evans, C.S. (2014) Moral Arguments for the Existence of God. In the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Harris, H.A. (ed.) (2011) God, Goodness and Philosophy. Ashgate. Kant, I. (1785) The moral law: groundwork of the metaphysics of morals. Routledge. Mann, W.E. (2015) God, Modality, and Morality. Oxford University Broom, D.M. (2003) The Evolution of Morality and Religion. [Online]. Cambridge University Week 9 Theism and Ultimate Explanation
6 Goldschmidt, T. (2014), Introduction, in The Puzzle of Existence: Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing? Taylor and Francis. Fergusson, D. and Snow, K. (2017), What provides a better explanation for the origin of the universe science or religion?, in Philosophy, Science and Religion for Everyone. Feser, E. (2013) The New Atheists and the Cosmological Argument. Midwest Studies In Philosophy 37 (1), 154 177. O Connor, T. (2013) Could there be a complete explanation of everything?, in The Puzzle of Existence: Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing? Oppy, G. (2013) Ultimate naturalistic causal explanations, in The Puzzle of Existence: Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing? Reichenbach, B. (2016) Cosmological Argument. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Brower, J.E. (2011) Simplicity and Aseity, in The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical Theology. OUP. Week 10 Divine Foreknowledge and Freedom Pike, N. (1965) Divine Omniscience and Voluntary Action. The Philosophical Review 74 (1), 27. Todd, P. (2013) Prepunishment and Explanatory Dependence: A New Argument for Incompatibilism about Foreknowledge and Freedom. Philosophical Review 122 (4), 619 639. Fischer, J.M. (2011) The Truth about Freedom: A Reply to Merricks. Philosophical Review 120 (1), 97 115. Todd, P. (2014) Against Limited Foreknowledge. Philosophia 42 (2), 523 538.
7 Fischer, J. M. and Todd, P. (2015) Freedom, fatalism, and foreknowledge. Oxford University Week 11 Is God Beyond the Limits of Thought? Alston, W.P. (1956) Ineffability. The Philosophical Review 65 (4), 506. John Hick (2000) Ineffability. Religious Studies. 36 (1), 35 46. Priest, G. (2002) Beyond the Limits of Thought. [Online]. Oxford University Wainwright, W. J. (2011) Theology and Mystery, in The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical Theology. Bennett-Hunter, G. (2015) Divine Ineffability. Philosophy Compass 10 (7), 489 500. Louth, A. (1981) The Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition. Oxford University