Philosophy, Religion, and Theology

Introduction to critical and interpretive methods in the study of the Old Testament.

Introduction to critical and interpretive methods in the study of the New Testament.

Basic beliefs and forms of the Christian religion.

An introduction to Philosophical traditions from around the world, with emphasis on how a Philosophical tradition may be a good way of living your life on a day to day basis. We’ll discuss Aristotelianism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Stoicism as competing proposals for what is true about and what is good for, and how you live your life. Students are encouraged to cultivate specific intellectual virtues such as curiosity, carefulness, autonomy, humility, and open-mindedness. In all discussions, we are truth-seeking and promoting what is good. By the end of the course, students will argue for which is the best philosophical way of life. This course is designed according to the Philosophy As a Way of Life pedagogy, whose key principles are (i) the pursuit of a good life, (ii) engaging diverse content and peers, (iii) student-led dialogue, and (iv) immersive assignments. After learning about a philosophical way of life, students will live that way of life by doing some daily exercises (for one week) that are based on that philosophical way of life. This twofold approach of study and practice will help students to make informed judgments about which philosophical way of life best gets at what is true about human life and good for human life. The course concludes with a GREAT DEBATE in which most students try to persuade other students (the “judges”) by reasoned argument about which philosophical way of life is best. Throughout the course, students will be introduced to some concepts from Logic, Epistemology, and Metaphysics to help them more fully engage with these competing philosophical proposals for how you should live your life.

Survey of several major living religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto, Judaism, and Islam. Students will study each religion in terms of its social, cultural, historical, ritual, and symbolic experiences.

An introduction to informal, syllogistic, and propositional logic. Topics include fallacies, valid and invalid syllogistic forms, and natural deduction in elementary symbolic logic. Emphasis will be placed on the development of basic logic skills in everyday communication and reflection.

The course examines the place of ethics within philosophy and religion, major ethical theories, and how ethical theories can be applied to contemporary issues, such as abortion, homosexuality, capital punishment, the environment, and euthanasia.

An introduction to the main questions, methods, and figures in the fields of Epistemology. Important topics may include the definition of knowledge, the structure of epistemic justification, internalism vs. externalism about epistemic justification, Skepticism, Perceptual Justification, Testimonial Knowledge, the epistemology of (Religious) Disagreement, or Virtue Epistemology. (Fall, every other year)

This class is an introduction to the main questions, methods, and figures in the fields of Metaphysics- which is about what is ultimately real. Important topics may include Truthmakers, Properties, Particulars, Composition, Causation, Passage of Time, Persistence, Social Ontology, or Free Will.  Questions include: What makes a sentence true? Are feelings, colors, or any attributes at all, real? Do small things (e.g., particles) ever compose a whole (e.g., a human being, a rose bush)? What is causation? What is time? Does anything exist for longer than a moment? What is a social construction (e.g., a garden, a gender, a race, a sport?)? What is free will? What is a comprehensive metaphysical worldview?

A survey of Ancient Greek Philosophy, including gures such as the ‘pre-Socratics’, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, as well as later gures like Porphyry, Plotinus, and/or Iamblichus. Topics include metaphysics, philosophical anthropology, ethics, political philosophy, and philosophy of religion.

A survey of classical and later Chinese philosophy. Topics to be covered include ethics, metaphysics, political philosophy, philosophy of gender, and/or epistemology. Figures include classical Chinese philosophers such as Kongzi (Confucius), Mozi, Yang Zhu, Mengzi, The School of Names, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, as well as some (later) Chinese Buddhists, and some Neo-Confucians.

This course is a philosophical examination of impairment and disability in personal and social contexts. Students will be introduced to histories of disability and Disability Studies. Disability Studies will be put in conversation with Metaphysics, History of (Western) Philosophy, Feminist and Queer Theory, Political Philosophy, Ethics, and/or Theology of Disability. Students will be challenged to think anew their beliefs and behaviors with regard to persons with disabilities in light of concerns of justice, interpersonal relationships, ethics, and systematic oppression.

How do gardens and gardening turn into a good human life and a just society? How do gardens and gardening relate to one’s religious commitments or practices? In this course, we will explore gardens from around the world, diverse gardening practices, and how they support various conceptions of a good human life, just societies, and how they relate to different religious beliefs and practices. We engage with documentaries about gardens from around the world. We explore local gardens, and even grow our own lettuce. We will come to understand how gardening practices can help us to cultivate intellectual virtues, moral virtues, and aesthetic sensibilities. This course is cutting-edge, since the ‘philosophy of gardens and gardening’ is a budding field of inquiry.

An introduction to the work of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim philosophers in the medieval period. Topics may include ethics, political philosophy, metaphysics, philosophical anthropology, and/or philosophy of religion. Figures may include Augustine, Boethius, Gregory of Nyssa, Yahya Ibn 'Adi, Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Saadia, Moses Maimonides, Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, Henry of Ghent and/or John Duns Scotus.

Study and practice of the basic skills of critical thinking, including deductive, inductive, analogical, cause-effect, statistical analysis, and normative argument.

A survey of Modern European Philosophers, from the early modern to late modern periods. Topics may include metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of gender, philosophy of religion and/or ethics. Figures may include Christine de Pizan, Laura Cereta, Margaret Cavendish, René Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Johannes Leibniz, David Hume, Baruch Spinoza, Immanuel Kant, and/or Thomas Reid.

A survey of major topics and influential theologians in the history of Christian theology from the 200s to the 1300s. Topics may include: Trinity, Incarnation, Interpretation of the Bible, Ecumenical Councils, Salvation, Icons, and Theological Ethics. We will study a variety of theologians, men and women, from the Greek, Latin, Syriac, and/or Arabic speaking worlds.

Building on the Introduction to Ethics course, this course dives into ways in which Ethics relates to Religion and Theology. We will look at several religious traditions (e.g., Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism). Topics covered include how God relates to morality, Divine Command theories, the Moral Gap between what we ought to do and our ability to do what we ought, and/or how religious or theological resources (beliefs, practices) relate to the existence of suffering. We also study theological revisions/challenges to several popular ethical theories (Eudaimonism, Utilitarianism, and Deontology), and/or how religious/theological resources may inform debates regarding forgiveness and mercy.

Systematic Theology is a branch of Theology concerned with summarizing the doctrinal traditions of a religion (as Christianity), especially with a view to relating the traditions convincingly to the religion's present-day setting. This course includes systematic Christian theology from Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and/or Protestant perspectives. Topics may include the Knowledge of God, Revelation, Biblical Hermeneutics, Divine Attributes, the Trinity, the Incarnation, Pneumatology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, Sacraments, Prayer, and/or the Afterlife.

Examines major approaches to the philosophical understanding of religion. Drawing from classical, medieval, and contemporary authors from Western and non-Western traditions, questions such as the nature of religion, the nature and existence of God, the problem of evil, the nature of religious experience, the relationship between faith and reason, and the nature of immortality will be investigated.

Examination of professional responsibility with case studies of ethical issues in business and the professions. (Same as ECO 350)

This course offers an introduction to key issues and debates in the philosophy of science, examining how scientific knowledge is developed, justified, and understood. Students will explore questions about what distinguishes science from other forms of inquiry, how scientific theories relate to evidence and observation, and what it means for science to offer objective or truthful representations of the world. Topics include the problem of induction, the nature of scientific explanation, the structure of theories, theory change and scientific revolutions, and ongoing debates between realism and anti-realism. The course also considers the social and ethical dimensions of scientific practice, including the influence of values, gender, and culture in the production and interpretation of scientific knowledge. Readings will include both classic works—by philosophers such as Hume, Popper, Kuhn, and Feyerabend—and contemporary perspectives that connect philosophical analysis to developments in modern science. Emphasis will be placed on cultivating the ability to think critically about scientific reasoning and to engage thoughtfully with the broader intellectual and social contexts of science.

An examination of the political thinkers who started the Western political tradition. Concentrating on original sources, students will consider the origin of political philosophy in selected works by such authors as Xenophon, Plato, and Aristotle. (Same as POL 351)

Study of major political thinkers such as Machiavelli, Locke, Rousseau, Hume, and Marx. Students will concentrate on selected works and topics that have influenced contemporary politics. (Same as POL 353)

An exploration of the causes and consequences of the Reformation with emphasis on understanding he role of the major reformers such as Luther, Calvin, and Loyola. In addition, students will explore the Reformation’s sociopolitical and cultural dimensions. (Same as HIS 355)

An introduction to the theory and practice of several vital critical approaches to literature, including cultural-historical, psychoanalytic, deconstructive, and feminist methodologies. Readings will include selections from primary theoretical texts by such figures as Freud, Lacan, Kristeva, Irigaray, Barthes, Derrida, Saussure, and Foucault, as well as selected literary texts to be interpreted through the various critical methods. This course is highly recommended for students interested in attending graduate school in literature, arts, and humanities. (Same as ENG 365)

Study in areas such as biblical interpretation, systematic and historical theology, and world religions.

Study in areas such as philosophical psychology and philosophical perspectives on various contemporary moral problems.

Concentrated study in selected fields.