Assessment

Essay

Module Aims

This module considers the philosophical issue of the existence and nature of God, and in particular focusses on the classical theistic approach to these issues. Following on from that, it will address the interplay of faith and reason, science and religion, society and religion, and finish off with a consideration of the problem of evil.

Indicative Syllabus:

• Arguments for the existence of God
• Philosophical consideration of the nature of God.
• Faith and reason – opposition and harmony.
• Science and religion – opposition and harmony.
• The public place of religion within a secular society.
• The problem of evil.

Bibliography

• — Davies, Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion (Oxford: OUP).
• — Brian Davies, Philosophy of Religion: A Guide and Anthology (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
• — St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae – available online: https://www.newadvent.org/summa/
• — St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles.
• — Frederick Copleston, A History of Philosophy.
• — Gaven Kerr, Aquinas’s Way to God: The Proof in De Ente et Essentia (New York: Oxford University Press).
• — Gaven Kerr, Aquinas and the Metaphysics of Creation (New York: Oxford University Press).
• — St Anselm of Canterbury, The Major Works (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
• — Jacques Maritain, Integral Humanism
• — Jacques Maritain, Man and the State
• — Jacques Maritain, Man and the State
• — John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
• — St John Paul II, Fides et Ratio
• — First Vatican Council, Dei Filius
• — Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes
• — Marilyn McCord Adams, The Problem of Evil
• — Plato, Collected Dialogues
• — Aristotle, Collected Works