Introductory description

PH368-15 Philosophy of Religion

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

After introducing students to the theistic conception of God, the module will critically assess classical and recent arguments for and against the existence of God and it will discuss a range of philosophical issues concerning religion. The particular issues may vary from year to year. Some of the following issues will be addressed in any given year: the nature of religious language; the relation between God and moral goodness; whether human freedom and responsibility are compatible with divine predestination and divine foreknowledge; the possibility and significance of miracles; whether religious claims regarding human disembodiment, resurrection, and immortality can be supported or refuted philosophically; exclusivist, inclusivist and pluralist accounts of doctrinal differences among religions. A sample syllabus is provided below.

1. The theistic conception of God. God, faith, and reason.
2. Ontological arguments for God’s existence: St Anselm and Plantinga.
3. Cosmological arguments for God’s existence, design and fine-tuning.
4. Pragmatic arguments for God’s existence: Pascal, James, Swinburne.
5. Arguments from evil against God’s existence.
6. Arguments from divine hiddenness against God’s existence.
7. Religion, science, and miracles.
8. God and moral goodness.
9. Many religions: exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Good knowledge and understanding of relevant ideas and arguments.
• Ability to assess these ideas and arguments in an independent manner.
• Ability to discuss these ideas and arguments with others and improve one’s knowledge and understanding of them by means of such discussion.

Indicative reading list

The module will rely on a manual, supplemented by an anthology and/or essays on selected issues. Possible manuals include:
Davies, Brian, An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004).
Murray, Michael J. and Michael Rea, An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008).
Rowe, William L., Philosophy of Religion: An Introduction, 4th edition (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2007).
Zagzebski, Linda Trinkaus, The Philosophy of Religion: An Historical Introduction (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2007).
Possible anthologies include:
Peterson, Michael, William Hasker, Bruce Reichenbach and David Basinger (eds.), Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings, 5th edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014).
Rowe, William L. and William J. Wainwright (eds.), Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings, 3rd edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).
Additional essays include:
Adams, Marylin McCord, selections from Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1999).
Austin, Michael W., ‘Divine Command Theory’, in James Fieser and Bradley Dowden (eds.), Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://www.iep.utm.edu/divine-c/.
Bogardus, Tomas, ‘The Problem of Contingency for Religious Belief’, Faith and Philosophy, 30 (2013), 371–392.
Collins, Robin, ‘God, Design, and Fine-Tuning’, in Raymond Martin and Christopher Bernard (eds.), God Matters: Readings in the Philosophy of Religion, 2nd ed. (New York: Longman, 2002), updated version at http://www.webcitation.org/6fcTxHjKV.
Jordan, Jeffrey J., ‘Pascal’s Wagers and James’s Will to Believe’, in The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Religion, ed. William J. Wainwright (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 168-187.
Mackie, J. L., Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong (London: Penguin, 1990), Ch. 10.
Perry, John, Dialogue on Good, Evil, and the Existence of God (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1999).
Rudder Baker, Lynne, ‘Death and the Afterlife’, in The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Religion, ed. William J. Wainwright (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 366-391.
Swinburne, Richard, Faith and Reason, 2nd edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 221-227.
Zagzebski, Linda, ‘Foreknowledge and Free Will’, in Edward N. Zalta (ed.), Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Fall 2011 Edition, http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2011/entries/free-will-foreknowledge/.

Subject specific skills

• close-reading and textual analysis of a range of source materials relevant to contemporary philosophy of religion
• organisation and articulation of independent responses to the source materials and subject matter in written and oral forms
• construction and defence of critical stances and arguments on the subject matter

Transferable skills

• comprehension and analysis of complex and nuanced written communications
• oral and written communication of independent responses to a range of materials
• presentation of well-reasoned argument in support of a conclusion