PHI 3700 001 PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
SYLLABUS
Prof. Richard Taylor, MPhil, PSA
Fall Semester, 2002 Ref. #82311
Monday Wednesday 11 - 12:15 CPR 460Course 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.
Required Text:
Pojman, Louis P. (ed.), Philosophy of Religion: An Anthology. 4th edition. Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2002. Paperback.Course Requirements:• Readings in text as assigned in class schedule.• Two short (10 page minimum) papers on topics suggested by me or chosen by you with my prior approval.
• 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.
• 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 unexcused absences, you will be penalized by a loss of 1 point per day up to a maximum of 10 points.
• 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.
• I strongly prefer hard copies of your papers. However, you may submit papers electronically, either on disk (PC, not Apple) or as an attachment to an e-mail. The deepest level of Dante's Inferno is reserved for anyone who sends me a computer virus.
• 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.
• Plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated. Plagiarism is the submission of someone else's work as your own. There may 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.
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.
• First two examinations: 20 % each or total of 40%.
• Final examination: 25%
•
Participation/Attendance: 10%
100%
• 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:
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.
Office
Hours, Phone, Fax and E-mail:
You are encouraged to use the
Blackboard Internet site dedicated to this class. There you will find, in
addition to this syllabus:
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.
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.
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.
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.