Philosophy of Religion 80-276

 

 

Final readings posted.

Texts:


Requirements:

10% reading questions and class participation.

30% first paper project

30% second paper project

30% final paper project

Description:

We begin with a short survey illustrating the complex historical relationship between philosophy and religion, with an emphasis on Eastern religions, which challenge Western presuppositions about what a religion must be.  Then we examine the standard arguments for and against religious belief in the context of more recent scientific and logical developments.  Arguments considered include the ontological aguments of Anselm, Plantinga, and Goedel, the cosmological argument of Aquinas, the argument from design, the argument from recorded history, the argument from miracles, and the argument from mystical experience.  We also consider negative arguments, including the problem of evil, the problem of God's foreknowledge of future contingents, and the paradoxes of omnipotence.  The course closes with discussions on faith vs. rationality and---yes, at Carnegie Mellon---the meaning of life.

Class time will involve a short introductory lecture by the instructor that lays out the issues and provides essential background material not mentioned in the reading. The remaining class time will be devoted to clear-headed, critical discussion. Whether or not the class is a success will depend largely on student preparation. Daily reading questions provide a fair way of giving you credit for your preparation time. Strive for short, crisp answers.  The questions are designed to be easy if you do the reading.

Three short essay assignments will provide an avenue for your original thinking concerning the course material. The short length will press you to be succinct and to strive for quality in the short space available.  Think in terms of writing a ten page paper and then cutting out all the fluff. 

Course Outline

Introduction

I. Religion and Philosophy

  1. Plato
  2. The Upanishads
  3. Buddhism
  4. First paper assignment: Design your own religion

II. Arguments for the existence of God

  1. Anselm's ontological argument 1
  2. Plantinga's ontological argument 2
  3. The cosmological argument (pro)
  4. The cosmological argument (con)
  5. God and physical cosmology
  6. The design argument
  7. Darwin and creationism
  8. Complexity theory's response to creationism
  9. Second paper assignment.
  10. The argument from history
  11. The argument from miracles
  12. The argument from mystical experience
  13. Mystical experience II.
  14. The argument from morality

III. The problem of evil

  1. Statement of the problem
  2. The free will defense
  3. Foreknowledge and Freedom
  4. Omnipotence
  5. Final paper

IV. Faith and evidence

  1. The will to believe
  2. Religious foundations

V. Immortality and the meaning of life

  1. The immaterial soul
  2. Material survival  
  3. Final paper due

I. Religion and Philosophy

Plato

Reading Assignment:  Click on the following link and read Plato's Phaedo.

Precursors to Plato:

  1. What does Socrates take to be the one aim of those who practice philosophy?
  2. What must we do to obtain true knowledge?
  3. What keeps the body attached to the soul?
  4. Why does Socrates think we should believe his story about rewards for virtue in the afterlife?
  5. List a few striking similarities between Plato's views and those of the Orphists and Pythagoreans

 

The Upanishads

Go to the Indian philosophy article (Britannica site is accessible only if you access the web through a CMU connection). Read from "presystematic philosophy" through "Doctrines and ideas of the Buddhist Tipikaka" and then the "Vedanta" section down through Shankara's theory of error and religious and ethical concerns".

Then to look at the Katha Upanishad.

Reading questions:

  1. How does Buddhism differ from the mystical position presented in the Upanishads?
  2. Compare Atman to the Platonic soul.
  3. What is Sankara's (atm)advaita Vedanta?
  4. How do the Upanishads differ in content from the Vedas?

Here are some extra resources:
Pro Advaita page: contemporary devotees of Shankara's philosophy
Dvaita: contemporary opponents of Shankara's philosophy.  
Here are full texts of lots of Upanishads.


First paper assignment

5 pages, double spaced, 12 pt. Times font.

Design your own religion!

Grading criteria:

 

II. Arguments for the Existence of God

The Ontological Argument 1

Note: Reading assignments in the Rowe volume are indicated by section number, subsection title, and author name. Thus, Rowe I: Necessary Being: Anselm-Findlay indicates that you should read all the articles from Anselm through Findlay in section I of Rowe, in the subsection entitled Necessary Being.

Reading assignment

Reading questions:

  1. State the ontological argument as clearly and simply as you can.
  2. What is Gaunilo's objection?
  3. What is Kant's objection?
  4. What is a necessary being?

Notes on Anselm

Anselm's text is on the web: Anselm.



The Ontological Argument 2

Reading assignment

Reading questions:

  1. What is a "possible being", according to Plantinga?
  2. Does Plantinga think his argument is sound? Does he think it is a proof?
  3. What fallacy vitiates the standard version of the argument?
  4. How does "greatness" differ from "excellence"?


The cosmological argument (pro):

Reading assignment:

Reading questions:

  1. List the ``five ways'' by name.
  2. How does Aquinas know that the universe was created in time?
  3. Which of Aquinas' five ways is closest to Clarke's version?
  4. What is the distinction between a causal series per se and per accidens?

For interested students: the whole Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas is online! For our readings, look at the section on sacred doctrine. Those who are interested in medieval culture may consult the Medieval Sourcebook. Especially, check out the section on the 13th century.

 

The cosmological argument (con):

Reading assignment:

Reading questions:

  1. What are Hume's objections to the cosmological argument?
  2. What is Russell's objection?
  3. What is the principle of sufficient reason?
  4. What is Rowe's response to Russell?

Those interested in Hume's underlying empiricist philosophy may consult his Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding.

 


Physical cosmology

Reading assignment:

Reading questions:

  1. Why did physicists dislike the idea of a singular beginning to the universe?
  2. List  four responses invented by theorists to avoid the big bang singularity.
  3. Would St. Augustine find any of this to be of religious significance?
  4. What did Goedel prove?

The argument from design

Reading assignment:

Reading questions:

  1. How does Philo compare the design argument to Copernican astronomy?
  2. How do the shipbuilders arrive at the complex plan of a ship?
  3. What is the point of Philo's animal body analogy?
  4. What is the point of the vegetable analogy?

Darwin vs. Creationism

Reading assignment due

Reading questions:

  1. What is the fossil problem?
  2. What is the orthodox neo-Darwinist response?
  3. What is Gould's response?
  4. What three sorts of thestic theories are consistent with the fossil record?

Other web resources on this topic, including some bibliographies:

Order for Free

Reading assignment

Reading questions:

  1. What is Hoyle's metaphor for self-organization?
  2. What is an autocatalytic network?
  3. What is supposed to knock your socks off?
  4. How is Kaufmann's program supposed to be a response to the argument from design?

For more details, with extensive references to technical articles, see Kaufmann's book Origins of Order. For more information on Kaufmann's and similar work, check out the web page of the Santa Fe Institute.

Second paper assignment 

4 pages, double spaced, 12 pt. Times font.

Discuss one of the following:

  1. The ontological argument
  2. The cosmological argument
  3. The design argument
  4. The argument from history

Hint: write a longer draft and cut it down to the required length.
Proofread at least three times.  I will be tough about sloppy mistakes.

 

The argument from historical records

Reading assignment

Reading questions:

  1. How do Matthew and Luke differ concerning the centurion story?
  2. What are two "mistakes" in Mark that are corrected by Matthew?
  3. Did the authors of the synoptic Gospels ever alter speeches attributed to Jesus?
  4. What are some internal clues that one Gospel was written later than another?

Reading assignment

Reading questions:

  1. What is Q?
  2. When do scholars think John's Gospel was written?
  3. List three textual arguments against the view that Jesus considered himself to be the unique Son of God.
  4. List three conflicts in the evidence concerning the resurrection.

Reading assignment

Reading questions:

  1. What is the myth of the early church?
  2. With which early Christians did Paul dispute?
  3. How did James and Paul disagree?
  4. Who were the Gnostics?

 

The argument from miracles

Reading assignment

 

Reading questions:

  1. How does Hume define "natual law"?
  2. How does Hume define "miracle"?
  3. According to Swinburne, what would count as evidence of a non-repeatable violation of a law?
  4. How does Tillich define "miracle"?

The argument from mystical experience

Reading assignment

Reading questions:

  1. What distinguishes extroverted from introverted mystical experience?
  2. According to Stace, why does mysticism become associated with religion?
  3. How is mystical experience supposed to ground altruistic ethical principles?
  4. According to Smart, what was the Advaita Vedanta trying trying to accomplish?

Reading assignment

Reading questions:

  1. According to Alston, what are three ways in which scientific practice differs from religious experience?
  2. How does Broad distinguish drunkards from biologists?
  3. What does Wainwright mean by "noetic experience"?
  4. What are the six Catholic tests for the veridicality of mystical experience?

Interesting links:

The argument from morality

Reading questions:

III. The Problem of Evil

Statement of the problem

Rowe III: Leibniz, Hume, Dostoevsky, Hick

Reading Questions:

  1. How does Leibniz respond to the problem of evil?
  2. According to Leibniz, why does God prevent some from sinning and allow others to sin?
  3. What are Hume's four causes of evil?
  4. How does the Irenaean theodicy differ from the Augustinian?

Free will defense

Reading Questions:

  1. How does the "free will defender" disagree with Leibniz and Mackie?
  2. What is "Leibniz's Lapse"?
  3. What is the "book" of a possible world?
  4. What is "transworld depravity"?

Freedom and God's foreknowledge

Reading Questions:

  1. What distinction does Boethius invoke to save human freedom in light of God's foreknowledge?
  2. Aquinas attributes an equivocation to those who argue against freedom in light of God's foreknowledge. What is the alleged equivocation?
  3. According to Pike, why does God's foreknowledge necessitate action while human knowledge does not?
  4. Pike lists several escapes for the theologian. State two of them.

God's omnipotence

Reading Questions:

  1. How does Aquinas dispense with the paradox of omniscience?
  2. How does Clarke dispense with the paradox of omniscience?
  3. How does "almighty" differ from "omnipotent"?
  4. What four theories of omnipotence does Geach consider

Final paper assignment: Late penalty: 1/2 letter grade per day.  Due last day of class.  Five pages maximum+ references, 12 pt. Times font double spaced.

Topic: Any topic covered in class.  Subject to prospectus approval.  Grading critera are the same as those for the second paper.

 

IV. Faith and evidence

The will to believe

Reading assignment

  • Rowe VI: Pascal-James

Reading questions:

  1. What is wrong with religious faith, according to Clifford?
  2. What is Pascal's "wager"?
  3. What does James include in our "willing nature"?
  4. How does James conclude that agnosticism is irrational?

Religious foundations

Reading assignment

  • Rowe VI: Plantinga-Wykstra

Reading questions:

  1. What is "classical foundationalism"?
  2. Who are "reformed theologians" and what do they think about natural theology?
  3. According to Calvin, why is belief in God properly basic while belief in the Great Pumpkin is not?
  4. How does Wyksra distinguish "evidence-essentiality" from "proper basicality"?

V. Immortality and the Meaning of Life

The immaterial soul

Reading assignment

Reading questions:

  1. Why do appeals to the soul to ground personal identity fail?
  2. On the empirical concept of soul, what makes two soul-phases belong to the same soul?
  3. What is Shoemaker's argument?
  4. Draw a little diagram illustrating the setup in Dennett's paper.