Courses

Spring 2010

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Medieval Philosophy (PHH 3280)
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00-12:15

This course is designed as a survey of medieval philosophy in the Latin West, focusing on Augustine (354-430), Anselm (1033-1109), and Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225-1274), although other authors (e.g., Boethius, Peter Abelard, John Duns Scotus) will be considered as well. The course has three main goals:

(1) to provide students with a general overview of medieval discussions of the existence and nature of God, the nature of religious language, the nature and powers of the human soul (including knowledge, freedom, and choice), and the good life for human beings;

(2) to develop students' facility in reading and analyzing philosophical texts; and

(3) to develop students' facility in writing clear, concise, and accurate exegetical papers.

The final syllabus has not yet been set, but the topics, readings, and assignments will be reasonably close to those indicated on the syllabus below.

Click here to see a tentative syllabus for the course.

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Philosophy of Religion (PHI 3700)
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:00-3:15

This course is designed to introduce students to the main topics and debates in contemporary analytic philosophy of religion, including

• the proper characterization of divine attributes and their mutual consistency,
• the ontological, cosmological, and teleological arguments for the existence of God,
• the problem of evil as an argument against the existence of God,
• the relationship between reason and religious belief,
• the relationship between religious belief (especially belief in miracles) and science, and
• the relationship between religion and morality.

Click here to see a tentative syllabus for the course.