"The point of philosophy is to start with something
so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something
so paradoxical that no one will believe it."
Bertrand Russell
What is this Course About?
University course description: “An introduction to basic philosophical issues connected with religious belief such as the nature and existence of God, the problem of evil, miracles, and the significance of religious experience.”
Philosophy of religion classically is concerned with the arguments for
and against the rationality of religious beliefs and a religious worldview.
It also has interest in the analysis of religious language and the clarification
of the relation between religious and other sorts of explanations.
Various kinds of arguments have been traditionally considered in philosophy
of religion: ontological, cosmological, and teleological arguments, arguments
from miracles, cumulative case arguments, religious epistemology and
religious
experience, arguments from transcendental experience, arguments based
on moral experience, pragmatic arguments, and classic topics such as “Pascal’s Wager”.
Required
Text:
Because of the price of most textbooks, I am trying to avoid
using one. Instead, the class web site will have links to the various
readings needed for each week. This does not completely exclude the possibility
that we may hit a place in the course where it will be necessary to purchase
one or more outside books, but I will try to avoid this or keep the number
required to an absolute minimum.
Suggested Reading for those with limited exposure to philosophy: Sophie's
World by
Jostein Gaarder.
There is a list of terms from Sophie's World that you should be
familiar with available under "Materials".
Grading and Exams:
There will be two exams given, each worth 30% of the grade.
There will be a set of homework assignments, worth 30%, that will be
due at the beginning of the class period for which they are assigned.
The remaining 10% of the grade will be based on attendance, student participation,
and in-class writing assignments. Missed assignments or exams cannot
be made up without a legitimate university excuse in writing or prior
consent of the instructor.
Study Tips:
To be successful in this course, you will have to devote time to studying
for it: reading, writing, and thinking. First of all, you will need to
devote time for completing the homework assignments. All assignments
must be typed out and turned in on the day they are due. Second, your
performance on the two essay exams will be the major basis for your
grade in the course. They will focus on the readings and the topics discussed
in class. Thus, to review for the exams and be able to write well-organized
and thought-through answers to the questions on these exams, you will
need to take good class notes. The best way to master this material is
to read through your entire set of notes and the underlining you do in
the texts once a day (it should take no more than 10-15 minutes). This
work should not be left until exam time but should be a regular part
of your studying each day.
A research paper can be done for extra credit (highly recommended!). See more under "Homework".
Academic Integrity, Plagiarism and Cheating
Integrity is the foundation for any disciplined growth of
knowledge in academic work. If one cannot depend upon the work of colleagues
to "tell it like it is", then the very basis of learning and scholarship
is in jeopardy. As a result, the university takes a very negative
view on cheating or plagarism.
It is important to learn how to use the ideas and words of others in
your work. Just as you would probably consider it wrong to open the door
to someone else’s car and take whatever is there, so it is wrong
to simply write down the words, phrases and ideas of other people without
giving credit to their source.
“Fraud is intentionally putting forth
another's work as your own and should be dealt with severely.”(Michael
Mattison , “Spilled Words: Thoughts on Citation and Plagiarism”,
http://www.boisestate.edu/wcenter/ww120.htm)
The Boise State University Student Conduct Program defines
plagiarism as follows:
Plagiarism is the inclusion of someone else's product, words, ideas,
or data as one's own work. When a student submits work for credit that
includes the product, words, ideas, or data of others, the source must
be acknowledged by the use of complete, accurate, and specific references,
such as footnotes.
Expectations may vary slightly among disciplines. By placing one's name
on work submitted for credit, the student certifies the originality of
all work not otherwise identified by appropriate acknowledgements. On
written assignments, if verbatim statements are included, the statements
must be enclosed by quotation marks or set off from regular text as indented
extracts.
A student may avoid being charged with plagiarism if there is an acknowledgement
of indebtedness. Indebtedness must be acknowledged whenever:
1. one quotes another person's actual words or replicates all or part
of another's product;
2. one uses another person's ideas, opinions, work, data, or theories,
even if they are completely paraphrased in one's own words;
3. one borrows facts, statistics, or other illustrative materials--unless
the information is common knowledge.
Unauthorized collaboration with others on papers or projects can inadvertently
lead to a charge of plagiarism. In addition, it is plagiarism to submit
as your own any academic exercise (for example, written work, printing,
computer program, art or design work, musical composition, and choreography)
prepared totally or in part by another.
Any cheating or plagiarism will be dealt with very seriously and could
result in failure of the course, a disciplinary review or even suspension
from the university. Bottom line: "It's wrong and it just
isn't worth it!"
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