Dr. Benfield: Philosophy of Religion
Dr. Garrett : Modern Philosophy
Dr. Herrera: Existence and Reality
Dr. McDermid: ST: Philosophical Issues in Science
Dr. Ibrahim:ST: Islamic Ethics and Law
Dr. Johnson:Religion and Social Change
Dr. Johnson:Religion &
Culture
Dr. Kogan:Old testament II Joshua to Daniel
Dr. Kogan:ST: TS. Eliot
Dr. Eller: Women in Religion
Dr. Vail: Yoga Texts
Philosophy
Electives
PHIL 262
– Philosophy of Religion
HONP301 02–
Ways of Knowing
“What sort of God, if any, exists?”
“If God does indeed exist, what are God’s powers?” “Are there any
miracles?” “After our bodies die do we exist as
individual persons?” These are all important questions. Different
religious traditions provide apparently conflicting answers. Using a
new text edited by world renowned scholar Paul Knitter, The
Myth of Religious Superiority, we will examine in some detail
what is known as the pluralist response to these different answers.
Dr. Kogan, contributor to the Knitter volume, will be a guest
lecturer. If you are interested in attacking these and related
questions using reason and the tools of analytic philosophy, this is
the course for you.
The nature of all forms of truth will
be investigated. We will scrutinize the
traditional proofs for the existence of God and spend considerable
time examining the major attempts to reconcile a universe managed by
a Maximally Great Being with the obvious existence of an imperfect
world containing real evil. The necessary conditions for personal
life after the death of the body will be explored. The course has no
prerequisites; however, an open and tolerant attitude toward all
religions will be essential. The course will meet f2f and the
requirements will be: weekly journal entries; class-presentation
project; mid-term take-home exam; and a final examination.
In
this course, we will focus on a few of the more important metaphysical issues from the beginnings of philosophy to the present.
These issues will include the notion of truth, self/personal identity,
god, events/actions, time, meaning, and of course, the overall nature
of reality. We will also address practical issues raised by these
topics. We will draw on this course from the thoughts and writing of
classical authors, such as Plato, Kant, and Wittgenstein. Our goal
will be to relate the metaphysical speculations of the great thinkers
to the problems that we encounter every day, including our need to
accommodate each other, and understand our place in nature. One
day each week the course will be team-taught with Dr. David Benfield.
PHIL 333 –
History of Philosophy : Modern Philosophy
An introduction to
European philosophy in the 17th and 18th centuries, which defined
modern thought. Readings will be from the central works of Descartes,
Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. The main themes
will be the nature of knowledge, reality, and the human mind. Some of
the specific issues to be considered are the following: Is it possible
to prove that I really exist, or that the physical world exists? Do
these questions even make sense? Is perception the basis of human
knowledge, or can we learn things about the physical world just by
logical thought (like mathematical deductions in theoretical physics)?
Is the world a vast, unified structure in which each event is linked
to other events by natural laws? Or is the world instead a
miscellaneous collection of unconnected events that we simply think of
more usefully in some ways rather than other ways? Can knowledge of
the material world be as reliable as the direct knowledge I have of my
own thoughts? What mental structures or capacities are needed to make
either sort of knowledge possible?
PHIL 290 – ST:
Philosophical Issues in Science
Religion
Electives
RELG 202 – Old Testament:
Joshua to Daniel
An examination of the history and theology of Israelite
religion as recorded in the Biblical books covering the middle and late
periods (1200 - 165 B.C.) of ancient Israel. A close reading of the
historical and prophetic books with analysis from a variety of scholarly
schools of interpretation and criticism. The course will cover the
“Deuteronomic History” that runs through the books of Joshua, Judges,
Samuel, and Kings, Prophetic books including Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah
and Ezekiel and later biblical writings. Recommended for students with an
interest in literature, history, philosophy and anthropology.
RELG 352 03–ST:
Islamic Ethics and Law
T
RELG 352 02–
Yoga Texts
The scriptures of
Kashmir offer a remarkable window into a variety of important themes
in the Hindu religion, including philosophical and practical issues
about the nature of divinity; the human facets of will, mind, and
body; bondage and liberation from (yet within) the world; and
fascinating varieties of yoga practice. This course will explore
several key scriptures of the northern Shaiva school, including "The Heart of Self-Recognition," "Stanzas
on Vibration," "The Aphorisms of Shiva," and "Garland of Hymns to
Shiva." Close textual analysis will be augmented by comparisons with other
Hindu and Buddhist schools, myths and stories expressing philosophical points and advice
for living, related art and iconographic forms, and the exploration of numerous practical
yoga methods including the science of mantra, kundalini-yoga, and the yoga of devotion. We
will also be discussing Kashmir as a prominent meeting place of Hindu, Buddhist, and
Muslim religious traditions.
RELG 221 01, 221
02 - Religion and Culture
Dr. Stephen Johnson
Section 1
-
MW 10-11:15am
-
Room DI 175
-
Call Number 14140
Section 2
-
MW 1-2:15pm
-
Room DI 175
-
Call Number 14141
This course takes an historical
approach in studying the interactions of Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam with the broader cultures they impact and inhabit. Students will
learn amazing amounts of religious and secular history (especially
Western) in the first half of the course. In the second half of the
course, students will be immersed in fascinating (sometimes
terrifying) topics/foci. They will thereby gain insight into dynamics
still very much driving us (and driving us crazy) in these first years
of a new century and millennium.
Students must attend the classes,
survive two tough tests, and faithfully work at weekly written
assignments (thought questions, analyses, long summaries of videos
viewed during class, etc.)
RELG225 –
Religion and Social Change
RELG 357 - ST: TS Eliot
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