ReadMe 2

Abstract: Study for Philosophy of Religion is briefly discussed

Welcome to Philosophy of Religion!

Your first assignment in this part of the course is to …

read a short introduction to our next topic of study, the Philosophy of Religion. Notice that the study philosophy of religion is quite distinctly different from the study of religion.
For some students, this part of the course will be the most difficult part of the course because you are asked to put your own religious beliefs aside and consider whether some specific fundamental religious beliefs can be proved from a philosophical point of view.
On good way to approach this topic is by the principle of charity. You are asked to suspend your own beliefs and consider whether reasons, grounds, and evidence can show that some religious beliefs can be proved. So, in a sense, this part of the course might be approached as a "thought experiment."
It's important to understand that philosophy and religion as studied in this course are two completely different fields of interest.
1. On the one hand, we have defined philosophy as an inquiry into the basic assumptions of any field of endeavor. Essentially, philosophy is based on reasoning—i.e., the attempt to demonstrate by logical argumentation the truth of specific statements. So the field of philosophy of religion is mostly involved with investigating and understanding the existence of God, the nature of God, and consequent religious concepts from a logical point of view.
2. Religion, on the other hand, is based on faith and revelation, rather than any sort of rational or logical proof. That's what faith is all about. Since religion is a set of beliefs, rituals, and traditions concerning the divine, transcendent, and sacred, those beliefs are held to be true regardless of whether or not they can be rationally or scientifically proven. So to have faith is essentially to believe or to have faith regardless of logic or reasons.
Continute to post to the mwforum Discussion Board at least the minimum number of critical comments on the reading assignments as stated in the syllabus
You might be surprised as to what can be known through philosophical inquiry. Very few of the constructs of religious thought can be proved with any sort of philosophical certainty. Consequently, when we come to the next part of the course, we will not try to base ethics on religion, but, instead, we will try to justify it on the basis of providing good reasons for acting in certain ways regardless of one's personal religious beliefs.

Try not to fret too much over the Anselm reading. Anselm worked on this argument with so many revisions, that it's practically unreadable the first time you look at it. It might be best to study the tutorial before wading through his Ontological Argument. Fortunately, the remainder of the readings are much more straightforward.

Again, please permit me to remind you that students who study daily, do well; students who study only on weekends, or study only just before tests, historically do not do well.

As stated in a previous Readme, anyone can do well in this course if he or she approaches the course in the same way as one approaches playing a sport, playing a musical instrument, or learning a language. Just as it is difficult to "cram" the night before a soccer game, a tennis match, or a recital, so likewise it is difficult to "cram" the day before a philosophy test. Both kinds of activites required spaced, intermittent practice.

If you have personal questions about this section of the course, email me at larchie@philosophy.lander.edu and I'll be glad to help you. If your questions are likely to be shared by other members of the class, please post to the message board.

	ReadMe 2 Notes for Philosophy of Religion
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Nature of Philosophy Divisions of Philosophy Characteristics of a Philosophical Problem Principle of Charity Philosophy of Life Socratic Philosophy I Socratic Philosophy II Russell's Value of Philosophy Tolstoy's Faith Camus's Nobility of Soul James on the Significant Life Philosophy of Religion Introduction to Phil. of Religion Anselm's Ontological Argument Kant's Existence is Not a Predicate Thomas Aquinas's Five Ways --Motion --Cause --Necessary Being --Gradation --Design Paley's Teleological Argument Hume's Design Argument: A Critique Pascal's Wager Kierkegaard's Can God's Existence Be Proved? Dostoevsky's The Problem of Evil Hick's Evil Can Be Allowed Kierkegaard's Truth as Subjectivity Philosophical Ethics Free Will and Determinism Spinoza's Human Beings are Determined James's The Will to Believe Plato's Myth of Gyges Egoism is Mistaken Westermark's Ethics are Relative Moore's Objectivity of Moral Judgments Aristotle's Life of Excellence Bentham's The Greatest Good Nietzsche's Slave and Master Morality Sartre's Existential Ethics Philosophy of Art Voltaire's Beauty is Relative Hume's Art Has Standards Pater's Art as Emotional Response Bell's Art as Significant Form Philosophy of Knowledge Comte's Positive Philosophy Feuerbach's Scientific Determinism Russell's Correspondence Theory Bradley's Coherence Theory James's Pragmatic Theory Aristotle's Future Truths
April 25 2024 12:09 EDT Carnell Learning Center Atrium Lander University SITE SEARCH ENGINE Loading Links for Introduction to Philosophical Inquiry Site Home Intro.Philosophy Home Campus Schedule Online Schedule Campus Syllabus Online Syllabus Textbook Sample Quizzes SampleTests On Campus FAQ Online FAQ Links since 01.01.06	Introduction to Philosophical Inquiry ReadMe 2 Abstract: Study for Philosophy of Religion is briefly discussed Welcome to Philosophy of Religion! Your first assignment in this part of the course is to … read a short introduction to our next topic of study, the Philosophy of Religion. Notice that the study philosophy of religion is quite distinctly different from the study of religion. For some students, this part of the course will be the most difficult part of the course because you are asked to put your own religious beliefs aside and consider whether some specific fundamental religious beliefs can be proved from a philosophical point of view. On good way to approach this topic is by the principle of charity. You are asked to suspend your own beliefs and consider whether reasons, grounds, and evidence can show that some religious beliefs can be proved. So, in a sense, this part of the course might be approached as a "thought experiment." It's important to understand that philosophy and religion as studied in this course are two completely different fields of interest. On the one hand, we have defined philosophy as an inquiry into the basic assumptions of any field of endeavor. Essentially, philosophy is based on reasoning—i.e., the attempt to demonstrate by logical argumentation the truth of specific statements. So the field of philosophy of religion is mostly involved with investigating and understanding the existence of God, the nature of God, and consequent religious concepts from a logical point of view. Religion, on the other hand, is based on faith and revelation, rather than any sort of rational or logical proof. That's what faith is all about. Since religion is a set of beliefs, rituals, and traditions concerning the divine, transcendent, and sacred, those beliefs are held to be true regardless of whether or not they can be rationally or scientifically proven. So to have faith is essentially to believe or to have faith regardless of logic or reasons. Continute to post to the mwforum Discussion Board at least the minimum number of critical comments on the reading assignments as stated in the syllabus You might be surprised as to what can be known through philosophical inquiry. Very few of the constructs of religious thought can be proved with any sort of philosophical certainty. Consequently, when we come to the next part of the course, we will not try to base ethics on religion, but, instead, we will try to justify it on the basis of providing good reasons for acting in certain ways regardless of one's personal religious beliefs. Try not to fret too much over the Anselm reading. Anselm worked on this argument with so many revisions, that it's practically unreadable the first time you look at it. It might be best to study the tutorial before wading through his Ontological Argument. Fortunately, the remainder of the readings are much more straightforward. Again, please permit me to remind you that students who study daily, do well; students who study only on weekends, or study only just before tests, historically do not do well. As stated in a previous Readme, anyone can do well in this course if he or she approaches the course in the same way as one approaches playing a sport, playing a musical instrument, or learning a language. Just as it is difficult to "cram" the night before a soccer game, a tennis match, or a recital, so likewise it is difficult to "cram" the day before a philosophy test. Both kinds of activites required spaced, intermittent practice. If you have personal questions about this section of the course, email me at larchie@philosophy.lander.edu and I'll be glad to help you. If your questions are likely to be shared by other members of the class, please post to the message board. Further Reading: The Philosophy of Religion. A quick, short overview of the philosophy of religion organized in terms of main questions, nature of God, evaluation of beliefs, and major philosophers from the Wikipedia. Philosophy of Religion.info. A useful well organized introduction to the philosophy of religion complementing the approach in this course with essays on arguments for God's existence together with additional topics by Tim Holt. [an error occurred while processing this directive] This page last updated 12/20/09 © 2006 Licensed under the GFDL

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