Phil & World Religions grades
Final grades are now posted on eGradebook and have been submitted to the registrar.
Final grades are now posted on eGradebook and have been submitted to the registrar.
Final exam grades are now posted on eGradebook.
Last day!!!
I collected participation logs and we reviewed for the final (which of course is Tuesday, May 13, 12-1:55pm, ABAH 225).
We finished our discussion of religious and mystical experience and started going over the study guide for the final.
No new reading was assigned.
On Friday we will simply finish reviewing for the final and then (assuming there is time) watch the last 20 minutes of The Rapture (as some of you requested).
We began talking about miracles and the modern world view.
There was a quiz at the end of class.
For Mon.: Finish Rowe, Chapter 8
From The Onion: Rock-Bottom Loser Entertaining Offers from Several Religions
Course evaluations were administered at the beginning of class.
We spent the remainder of the class reading and commenting on each other's papers.
Everyone who participated in today's "peer review" exercise automatically gets at least a "B" for their final class participation log (which, by the way, is due next Friday, the last day of class).
No new reading was assigned.
Reminder: the papers are now due on Monday, May 5!
We talked about Pascal's Wager and finished up our discussion of faith and reason.
I changed the due date for the papers to Monday, May 5 (a week from today). HOWEVER, you must bring in a rough draft of your paper on Wednesday (for a peer review exercise).
Reading for Wed.: pp. 133-140
We discussed Aquinas's and James's views on the relation between faith and reason.
No new reading was assigned.
We watched part of The Rapture and began talking about the relation between faith and reason.
Reminder: your papers are due one week from today.
No new reading was assigned.
We finished our discussion of Chapter 11.
For Wed.: finish Chapter 6
Class was canceled today due to the fire alarm. Have a nice weekend!
Quiz #8 was given at the beginning of class (while I rebooted my stupid computer).
We then poked a bunch of holes in the argument from divine foreknowledge and concluded that it ain't all that.
For Wed.: read Chapter 11.
I handed out the paper assignment. It is due in class Wednesday, April 30 (three weeks from today).
We finished our discussion of life after death and got started on the problem of divine foreknowledge and human freedom.
For Fri.: read Chapter 10
We finished the problem of evil and began discussing life after death.
For Wed: read Rowe, Chapter 9
We talked more about the problem of evil.
For Mon.: Finish Rowe Chapter 7
We finished up our discussion of the argument from design and started on the problem of evil.
Reminder: Part. Logs due Friday April 4
For Fri.: Finish Rowe Chapter 4 + pp. 112-119
We finished up our discussion of the ontological argument and started on the argument from design.
Reminder: participation log #2 due this Friday.
For Wed: read Rowe through p. 59.
We discussed and criticized Anselm's ontological argument for the existence of God.
Quiz #7 was given at the end of class.
For Mon: finish Rowe, chapter 3
We finished our discussion of the cosmological argument and began on the ontological argument.
For Fri.: read Rowe through p. 43
We reviewed the seven attributes traditionally ascribed to God, and then began discussing the cosmological argument for the existence of God.
There was a quiz at the end of class.
Reading for Wed: Rowe through p. 30
We watched a video of a "religious roundtable" discussion led by Professor Ali G. It was very dry, serious, and boring. ;)
Then we got started discussing the seven basic attributes of God, and some ways in which they are philosophically interesting and potentially problematic.
Reading for Monday (after the break): Finish Rowe, Chapter 1.
You can check your score in eGradebook. I will be using the grading scale in the syllabus (90-100% A, 80-89% B, etc.). Overall, I am very pleased with the scores. There were lots of As and Bs. Three of you even got a perfect 40/40!
The midterm was today.
No new reading was assigned.
We WILL be having class on Friday. There may even be a quiz. (Mwah ha ha hah! [evil laughter])
We wrapped up the first half of the course, talked a little bit about secular humanism, and watched part of a video of Richard Dawkins reading from his book, The God Delusion:
The midterm is on Wednesday. It will consist of 40 multiple-choice questions. Be sure to bring a #2 pencil and know your student ID number!
No new reading was assigned.
We finished up our discussion of Islam today.
There was a quiz at the end of class.
For Mon: read Rowe through p. 11
We watched a Huston Smith video on Islam.
I handed out a study guide for the midterm (which is a week from today).
Quizzes 3 and 4 and participation logs will be handed back on Friday.
Reading for Friday: Smith, pp. 170-7, 245-9
We talked about Islam some more.
Midterm exam is on Wed. March 12.
Study guide handed out this Wed (3/5).
Reading for Wed.:
Smith pp. 157-69
Anthology, 301-6
Today we had a guest speaker: Professor Sean Walsh of the UMD Philosophy Department. He spoke on the relations between faith, reason, and community in Catholicism.
Reading for Mon.:
Smith pp. 146-155
We finished up our discussion of Christianity and started on Islam.
On Friday, Professor Sean Walsh of the UMD Philosophy Department will be our guest speaker. He will talk about Catholicism.
For Fri.: Smith, pp. 218-229
Today we had a guest speaker: Don Ross, rabbinical assistant at Temple Israel Duluth. He spoke on the topic of -- you guessed it -- Judaism.
Reading for Wed:
Smith pp. 206-217
Anthology, pp. 271-274
We finished up Judaism and started on Christianity.
Quiz #3 was given at the end of class.
Increment #1 of the participation log was collected.
Reading for Mon:
Smith pp. 192-203
Anthology, pp. 221-222, 227
We finished up our discussion of Taoism and started on Judaism.
Remember: Participation logs due Friday!
Reading for Fri:
Smith pp. 179-191
A few of you have asked about the comparative sizes (in terms of number of adherents) of the different religions we have been studying. Here are some statistics that you mind find interesting/helpful.
We watched a PBS video on Confucianism and Taoism (featuring Huston Smith).
Reminder: participation logs due this Friday.
Reading for Wed.:
Smith through p. 143
Anthology, pp. 147-8, 171
We covered the entire chapter on Confucianism today (!) and got started on Taoism.
We also watched (the rest of) this totally awesome video on the Four Noble Truths:
Oh yeah, and there was a quiz at the end of class.
Reading for Monday: Smith through p. 121.
Announcements:
- Participation logs (first increment) are due on Friday of next week (Feb. 22)
- The midterm exam will be given on Wednesday, March 12
We finished up our discussion of Buddhism today.
Here's proof that Buddhists aren't always non-violent!
Next time, we'll start on Confucianism.
Reading for Fri.:
Smith through p. 97 (start on next chapter if you like)
Today we finished up our discussion of Hinduism and began on Buddhism.
Reading for Wed.:
Smith through p. 85
Anthology, pp. 81-82
Today we had a guest speaker: Shane Courtland of Tulane University, who discussed the "problem of evil" -- a topic we will return to later in the semester.
For Mon.: read Smith through p. 75.
We talked about some important sacred texts of Hinduism (the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads), as well as the stages and stations of life in Hinduism. There was a quiz at the end of class.
Reading for Friday: Smith through p. 69.
Today we talked about the four different types of yoga.
Reading for Monday: Van Voorst, pp. 55-59 (selection from the Bhagavad Gita)
Today we had a guest speaker (Jamie Kelly of Boston University) who discussed William James's "The Will to Believe".
For Monday: finish Smith's chapter on Hinduism.
We talked a little more about philosophy, religion, and the relation between them. We then began our discussion of Hinduism. We covered the material in the Smith text through about p. 24.
Reading for Wed.: Smith through p. 47, Anthology pp. 49-54.
I introduced myself and went over the syllabus. We talked a little about what religion and philosophy are, and discussed some ways in which they are similar/different.
Reading for Monday: Smith through p. 38.
I will be gone on Friday, but class will still be held. You will be watching a video on Hinduism and Buddhism.