Last updated 5/8/08.

PHIL 459 - Philosophy of Religion

• Syllabus
• Class Discussion Blog
• Articles
• 5/6: Pascal and Jeffrey Jordan
• 4/3: Hasker, "The Foreknowledge Conundrum"
• 3/25: Drange, "Incompatible-Properties Arguments: A Survey"
• 3/13: Nowell-Smith, "Morality: Religious and Secular"
• 3/11: Adams, "What Euthyphro Should Have Said"
• 3/6: Hasker, "Providence and Evil: Three Theories"
• 3/4: Hasker, "The Skeptical Solution to the Problem of Evil" and "Can God Permit 'Just Enough' Evil?"
• 2/28: Ganssle, "The Problem of Evil" and van Inwagen, "The Problem of Evil"
• 1/29: Malcolm, "Anselm's Two Ontological Arguments"
• 1/22: van Inwagen, "The Idea of God"
• Readings & Assignments (listed by class date, most recent first)
• 5/8: Here are the questions for the final exam. You will need to bring a blue book.
• 5/6: Read Pascal and Jeffrey Jordan. This piece by Thomas Morris on Pascal is also worth reading.
• 5/1: Read Clifford and James (pp. 366-379) in Pojman and Rea.
• 4/29: Read van Inwagen and Swinburne (pp. 285-295, 302-314) in Pojman & Rea.
• 4/24: Read Hume and Mackie (pp. 276-285, 295-302) in Pojman & Rea.
• 4/22: No new readings.
• 4/17: Read Yandell, chapters 8, 12-13.
• 4/15: Read Yandell, chapters 8, 12-13.
• 4/10: No class today. I'm out of town at a conference.
• 4/8: No class on 4/10. I'll be out of town at a conference. For 4/15, please read Yandell, Philosophy of Religion, chapters 3-5. Today in class I passed out a handout on fatalism and foreknowledge, as well as some guidelines for the term paper.
• 4/3: Read Hasker, "The Foreknowledge Conundrum".
• 4/1: Read Pike (pp. 249-259) in Pojman & Rea. Also, check out an argument I'm going to post on the class discussion blog.
• 3/27: Read Davis and McCann (pp. 223-244) in Pojman & Rea.
• 3/25: Read Drange, "Incompatible-Properties Arguments: A Survey".
• 3/13: Read Mavrodes (pp. 578-586) in Pojman & Rea, as well as Nowell-Smith, "Morality: Religious and Secular". Have a great spring break!
• 3/11: Read Plato (pp. 556-557) in Pojman & Rea, as well as Adams, "What Euthyphro Should Have Said". In class today I gave out this handout on divine providence. Reminder: Midterm Exams are due on 3/13 by 5:00pm. You can submit it in class, drop it off at the Philosophy Department office (CDC 422), or email it to me (hardcopy is preferred).
• 3/6: Read Hasker, "Providence and Evil: Three Theories". Also, here are the questions for the midterm exam.
• 3/4: Read Hasker, "The Skeptical Solution to the Problem of Evil" and "Can God Permit 'Just Enough' Evil?".
• 2/28: Read Hick (pp. 165-169) in Pojman & Rea, as well as Ganssle, "The Problem of Evil" and van Inwagen, "The Problem of Evil". The van Inwagen piece is very interesting but a bit long. You can start at Section 4 if you want. Finally, here is a list of philosophy of religion journals that may help you get started on finding an article for the term paper.
• 2/26: Read Mackie and Rowe (pp. 173-181, 200-207) in Pojman & Rea.
• 2/21: Read Kitcher and Murray (pp. 466-489) in Pojman & Rea.
• 2/19: Read Dembski and Behe (pp. 443-466) in Pojman & Rea.
• 2/14: Read Swinburne and Collins (pp. 52-91) in Pojman & Rea.
• 2/12: Read Paley and Hume (pp. 51-63) in Pojman & Rea.
• 2/7: Read Craig & Moreland and Draper (pp. 33-51) in Pojman & Rea.
• 2/5: Read Clarke and Rowe (pp. 14-15, 24-33) in Pojman & Rea.
• 1/31: Read Aquinas and Edwards (pp. 9-24) in Pojman & Rea.
• 1/29: Read Malcolm, "Anselm's Two Ontological Arguments"
• 1/24: Read pp. 2-9 in Pojman and Rea.
• 1/22: Create for yourself a Blogger account so that you can participate in the class blog. Also, read van Inwagen, "The Idea of God".