PHI 3700 001 PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
SYLLABUS
Prof. Richard Taylor, MPhil, PSA
Fall Semester, 2003, Ref. #81578
Monday Wednesday 11 - 12:15 HMS 321
1. Course Objectives: PHI 3700 is an introductory course in the philosophy of religion, designed to lead you in an exploration of the major philosophical issues faced by religion, using the Western religious tradition as a focus. The course presupposes no particular background in religion but does require an active interest in matters of religion. The approach taken is distinctly philosophical rather than theological; that is, reason rather than faith shall be the criterion for the analysis of the adequacy of arguments. At the end of this semester, you should be able to present and discuss the major positions taken in the areas of: arguments for the existence of God, characteristics often ascribed to God, the problem of evil, religious language, and an analysis of religious experience. The purpose of this course is to explore the rationality of various traditional arguments and not to convert any student to any religious position.
2 Required Text:
Pojman, Louis P. (ed.), Philosophy of Religion: An Anthology. 4th edition. Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2002. Paperback.
3. Course Requirements:
3.1 Readings in text as assigned in class schedule.
3.2 Two short (10 page minimum) papers on topics suggested by me or chosen by you with my prior approval.
3.3 Three in-class examinations, including final, as scheduled. The first two exams are composed of 2 essay questions plus approximately 10 short answer questions; the 2nd exam covers only material from the previous exam. The final consists of 25-30 short answer questions, many with multiple parts, that can be answered in short paragraphs.
3.4 Attendance in class is required and monitored; it is also important to note that the examinations are based largely on material discussed in class. You are allowed 3 absences, excused or otherwise, before a grade penalty is assigned. With the 4th and subsequent un-excused absences, you will be penalized by a loss of 1 point per day up to a maximum of 10 points.
4. Notes on Written Work:
4.1 PHI 3700 is a Gordon Rule class. That means that you must submit a cumulative minimum of 6,000 words of written work. It also means that I am obligated to look more critically at the presentation and style of your written work.
4.2 Consequently, all written work done outside class must comply with acceptable college-level standards for grammar, spelling and content. Papers that contain more than three (3) major grammatical or spelling errors will be returned to you for correction and the work will not be counted as submitted until all errors are corrected.
4.3 Papers should be typed, double-spaced, in a font no smaller than 11 no larger than 12, with one inch margins, name on each page and no title page. You may use any standard writing style, but you must use footnotes and bibliography as appropriate.
4.4 Papers must be submitted by the dates given on the course schedule. Late papers or papers that have been returned to you but have not been re-submitted by the second subsequent class meeting are subject to a grade penalty of 1/3 grade reduction for each calendar day (not class day) late. Thus, a B+ would become a B on the first late day and a B- on the second, etc.
4.5 Plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated. Plagiarism is the submission of someone else's work as your own. There may well be a fine line between plagiarism and scholarship, since few if any of the ideas we have are truly original. The key is to properly attribute ideas to their source within a bibliography; where direct quotations are used, these must be footnoted.
4.6 Instances of plagiarism will be dealt with severely, resulting in a grade penalty of at least F-8 (see below) for the work plagiarized. I reserve the right to use Internet and other resources to ferret out plagiarism.
5. Your Grade:
5.1 Your course grade is composed of:
Each paper: 12.5% or total of 25%.
First two examinations: 20 % each or total of 40%.
Final examination: 25%
Participation/Attendance 10%
100%
5.2 Redemption: Any student who is dissatisfied with a grade received for any work submitted in this course-except for the final exam-- may resubmit the work after corrections, additions or other improvements are made. The redone work will replace the earlier grade only if it is a higher grade; that is, no student can do worse on a paper or exam by redoing it. Note that redone exams will be treated as take-home exams, requiring much higher standards of exposition by the student and evaluation by the instructor. The deadline for submitting a redone 1st exam is the day of the 2nd exam; the deadline for redoing the 1st paper is the day the 2nd paper is due; the deadline for redoing the 2nd exam and/or the 2nd paper is November 26.
5.3 Grading Scale: I do not grade on a curve or use some pre-ordained distribution; nor do I give "extra credit." In recognition of the fact that there are at least as many degrees of failure as there are of successful performance, I utilize a grading scale that reflects the nether world of F-ness. In some classes, an A and an F average to a C; in my world, an A and an F-12 results in an F. That grading scale:
A+ = 97-100 D+ = 61-64 F-6 = 25-28
A = 93-96 D = 57-60 F-7 = 21-24
A- = 89-92 D- = 53-56 F-8 = 17-20
B+ = 85-88 F = 49-52 F-9 = 13-16
B = 81-84 F-1 = 45-48 F-10 = 9-12
B- = 77-80 F-2 = 41-44 F-11 = 5-8
C+ = 73-76 F-3 = 37-40 F-12 = 0-4
C = 69-72 F-4 = 33-36
C- = 65-68 F-5 = 29-32
5.4 Pass/Fail Option: Students may elect to take this course Pass/Fail (S/U) by written notification at the time of the final examination. Please remember that some majors do not permit or seriously discourage S/U grades. Also remember that a Pass is a C- or better; a D+ or worse is a Fail (U).
6. Proselytizing: Because of the personal nature and sensitivity of many of the topics discussed in this course and because a critical analysis of the rationality of religious beliefs can be troubling to some students, it is important that no one in the class be made to feel under any pressure, by a student or by me, to change or modify a religious belief. Proselytizing of any kind will not be tolerated; however, requests to provide arguments or reasons for one's beliefs are entirely appropriate.
7. Office Hours, Phone, Fax and E-mail:
My office is FAO 235. I strongly prefer that we arrange appointments in advance; however, I will keep open office hours of 1-2 Monday thru Thursday. Office phone: (813) 974-5796. Home phone and fax (do not call after 9 p.m.): (813) 949-2859. The phone answering machine is always on. My e-mail address is: rtaylor@chuma1.cas.usf.edu. Do NOT use the e-mail system in Blackboard.
8. PHI 3700 on the Internet:
8.1 You are encouraged to use the Blackboard Internet site dedicated to this class. There you will find, in addition to this syllabus:
1. your grades posted (only you have access) as soon as work is graded.
2. the class lecture notes
3. announcements of any changes to material in this syllabus
4 . a glossary and other study guides
5. and much more as this site is constructed.
8.2 Each USF student now has direct access to course materials for any course that uses Blackboard through "my.usf.edu", the portal site. To access your courses and other important information, go to: https://my.usf.edu.
8.3 Past experience shows that the 2 most popular uses of the web site are for grades and for class notes. Your grades will be posted as soon as I have determined them. You will also find a "Cumulative Points" column that takes into account all grades received to date. This allows you to determine at any point how well you are doing and what your may predict for the ultimate course grade. Class notes are simply those overheads used in the class lecture and discussion. Please do not ignore the glossary, which contains listings for all of the crucial concepts discussed in the course.
9. Tape Recordings. You may make audio tape recordings of the class for your own or classmate's use only. You may not sell, barter, trade or otherwise profit from any recording, notes or other materials, including those on the Blackboard site that you or I create for this class.
10. Cell Phones, Pagers, etc.: All cell phones, pagers or similar electronic instruments of acoustical torture must be turned off before class. Anyone whose device sounds during class will be asked to leave immediately.
11. Tentative Course Schedule:
The following schedule is subject to change. Any changes will also be listed on the Internet site calendar. The readings assigned correspond to the Pojman text.
August 25 Course Introduction
27 Arguments for the Existence of God:
Ontological. Read pp. Introduction and 69-72
September 1 Labor Day Holiday
3 Ontological continued. Read pp. 73-86
8 Cosmological. Read pp. 2-47
10 Cosmological continued (no reading assigned).
15 Teleological. Read pp. 48-68
17 Other (i.e. moral, pragmatic). Read pp. 359-37
22 Religious Experience
Mysticism. Read pp. 92-107
22 First Paper Due
24 Arguments from Religious Experience. Read pp. 108-136
29 Review and Catch-up
October 1 First Examination
6 The Problem of Evil:
The Problem and Some "Solutions". Read pp.137-159.
8 Some More "Solutions." Read pp. 160-206; Yom Kippur
13 Faith and Reason
The Verification Controversy. Read pp. 337-358
15 Fideism. Read pp. 377-403
20 Existentialism and Religion (no reading assigned)
22 Rationality and Justified Religious Belief. Read pp. 404-446
27 The Attributes of God:
Time and Eternity. Read pp. 207-230
29 God's Omniscience and Omnipotence. Read pp. 231-256
November 3 Review and Catch-up
5 Second Examination
10 God and the Concept of Person (no reading assigned)
12 Miracles and Revelation: Read pp. 257-302
12 Second Paper Due
17 Religious Pluralism:
Arguments For and Against Pluralism. Read pp. 507-537
19 Religion and Ethics: Read pp. 559-580
24 Death and Immortality: Read pp. 303-336
26 Science, Religion and Evolution: Read pp. 447-496
26 Last Day to Turn in Redone Work
December 1 Catch-up and Review
3 Catch-up and Review
8 Final Examination 10:30-12:30 in HMS 321