Syllabus
Philosophy of Religion
Philosophy 134
Summer Session II 2008
Instructor: Meg Wallace
Office: Caldwell
206B
Office Phone: 919-926-7291
Office Hours: TBA and by appointment.
Email: megw@email.unc.edu
Course Webpage: http://www.unc.edu/~megw/Phil134SSII08
Where: Caldwell 105
When: M-F 11:30am-1:00pm
Required Texts
There are no
required texts for this course. All readings will be on-line and can be
found on this webpage here.
Linked readings will be in the following sorts of formats: html, doc,
and pdf. Please make sure that you can access these types of files.
Also, there will occasionally be readings that are linked through
JSTOR; you will need to be on campus or working through the
University's proxy server in order to access them. Please get in touch
with me if you are having difficulty accessing any of the material.
Course Description
This is an introductory course designed to give you a brief
overview of some of the main issues in Philosophy of Religion. We will
be addressing such questions as whether God exists, whether God even could exist (i.e., is the idea of
God even coherent?), and what it would mean if God either did or didn't
exist. In particular, we will be looking at some of the main arguments
for and against the claim that God exists. We will also discuss what
sort of attributes God has or might
have, and why, as well as the connection between God and morality and
God and the meaning of life. Finally, we will be addressing the
difference and tension--if there is any--between faith and reason,
religion and science, etc.
Course
Requirements
(i) 3 Exams
There will be three exams throughout the semester--two midterms and one
final. The midterms will be on Thursday, July 3 and Friday, July 18,
during our regular class
time. The final will be on Thursday, July 24 11:30-2:30. All exams will
be
comprehensive, in short answer/long essay format. More details about
the exams will be given in class.
(ii) Participation
You are expected to read the assignments, think carefully
about the readings, attend class, and attend class prepared. A significant part of
your grade will be allotted for participation,
which
includes coming to class, taking part in class discussions, turning in
class
assignments, coming to office hours, corresponding via email when
necessary, etc.
Grades
Your final grade in this course will be broken down as
follows:
Midterm I
30%
Midterm II
30%
Final
30%
Participation
10%
Caveat: You must pass the final exam,
and you must turn in all of
the required assignments, in order to pass
the class.
Honor Code
It is expected that everyone in the class has read, understood,
and obeys UNC's Honor Code, which you can read on-line here. For more general
information about the university's honor system, go here.
General Advice
Philosophy
is oftentimes difficult. You may find
that you
need to read an article several times before you even have a sense of
what the
article is about. Please don't get frustrated—you’ll discover that
having
patience and working through such arduous material will be incredibly
rewarding. However, chances are that even reading and re-reading the
material
will not be enough. That is why I encourage every single one of you to
see me in
my office hours whenever you feel you need the extra help. I have two
hours a
week specifically allotted for meeting with students, but feel free to
make an
appointment with me if another time would be more convenient. Also, I
am open
to having group meetings or study sessions outside of class time
whenever you
feel such a meeting would be beneficial.
Page Last Updated:
June 12, 2008
Back to Phil 134 Main Page
Back to Meg's
Teaching Page
Back to Meg's Main Page