PHIL 743

Philosophy of Religion 2

Please note: this is archived course information from 2016 for PHIL 743.

Description

The course will begin with a discussion of the problem of evil: does the Argument from Evil succeed in showing that atheism is reasonable? Or does it only show that a certain conception of God is inadequate as an understanding of theism? We will discuss some standard theodicies, but will also consider "anti-theodicy" (as defended, for example, by N.N.Trakakis): this is the view that there is something deeply - morally - objectionable about attempting to explain God's reasons for permitting horrific suffering. The remainder of the course will be devoted to an investigation of the concept of God: can we find religiously viable conceptions of God that are not defeated by a version of the Argument from Evil? We will pay particular attention to non-personal conceptions of God (as contrasted with the "personal omni God" conception that is usually assumed in analytical philosophy of religion). In this connection, we will consider how pantheism is related to theism.

Availability 2016

Semester 2

Lecturer(s)

Coordinator(s) Professor John Bishop

Recommended Reading

Suggestions for preliminary reading will be available from the Course Director.

Points

PHIL 743: 15 points

Restrictions