DVSC 622 30300:Introduction to Constructive Studies:
Philosophy of Religion in the Twentieth Century
Fall Term, 2006
Swift Hall 106
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:30-11:50
Instructor: Dan Arnold
Office phone: 702-8276
E-mail: d-arnold@uchicago.edu
Office hours: Swift 401A, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:30-2:30 (or by arrangement);
contact my secretary (Susie McGee, 702-7049) for an appointment
Teaching assistants: Megan Doherty (megs@uchicago.edu)
and Karl Hefty (khefty@uchicago.edu)
Conception of the Course
By way of exemplifying work that goes on among faculty in the Constructive Studies Committee of the Divinity School, this course will survey influential thinkers from the broadly Anglo-American tradition of philosophy, including William James, Charles Hartshorne, Antony Flew, William Alston, and Pamela Anderson. Most of the selections will be drawn from the area doctoral qualifying exam bibliography on "Anglo-American Philosophy of Religion in the Twentieth Century." While chiefly intended to serve as an introduction, for entering M.A. students, to work in Constructive Studies, the course may be taken by other students with permission of the instructor.
Required readings:
The following titles are available at the Seminary Coop Bookstore, and on reserve at Regenstein Library:
William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience
Wayne Proudfoot, Religious Experience
William Alston, Perceiving God
Antony Flew, God & Philosophy
John Dewey, A Common Faith
Charles Hartshorne, The Divine Relativity
Ludwig Wittgenstein, Lectures & Conversations...
Charles Taliaferro, Consciousness and the Mind of God
**The following title will need to be ordered by students -- either as a special order from the Seminary Coop, or online through, e.g., The Advanced Book Exchange or Amazon:
Pamela Sue Anderson, A Feminist Philosophy of Religion (Oxford: Blackwell, 1998)
A few additional short readings are available for download from electronic reserve.
Course requirements:
In addition to regular attendance and spirited participation in (or at least, alert attention to) discussion, two written exercises will be assigned. The first will be a 5-7-page paper, due at the beginning of the sixth week; the second will be an 8-12-page paper, due no later than December 8. (For helpful guidance on the kind of exercise I will have in mind, consider philosopher James Pryor's "Guidelines on Writing a Philosophy Paper.")
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Schedule of Class Topics, Readings
WEEK 1 (Tue., 9/26; Thur., 9/28):
Course introduction: Philosophy of Religion and the Constructive Studies committee of the Divinity School. Reading (for Thur.): Jonathan Z. Smith, "Religion, Religions, Religious" (e-reserve); Merold Westphal, "The Emergence of Modern Philosophy of Religion".
WEEK 2 (Tue., 10/3; Thur., 10/5):
Tue., 9/3: Epistemology and "religious experience" I: William James. Reading: William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience.
WEEK 3: (Tue., 10/10; Thur., 10/12):
Epistemology and "religious experience" II: Critique. Reading: Wayne Proudfoot, Religious Experience.
WEEK 4: (Tue., 10/17; Thur., 10/19):
Epistemology and "religious experience" III: "Reformed Epistemology." Reading: William Alston, Perceiving God.
WEEK 5: (Tue., 10/24; Thur., 10/26):
The positivist challenge: A case against theism. Reading: Antony (yes, that's right, no h) Flew, God & Philosophy.
WEEK 6 (Tue., 10/31; Thur., 11/2):
Two short but pregnant works:
Tue.: An answer to the positivist challenge: "Wittgensteinian fideism." Reading: Ludwig Wittgenstein, "Lectures on Religious Belief" (Lectures & Conversations, pp.53-72).
Thur." A different alternative to positivism: The pragmatist optimism of John Dewey. Reading:John Dewey, A Common Faith.
WEEK 7 (Tue., 11/7; Thur., 11/9):
Metaphysics, in the strict sense. Reading: Charles Hartshorne, The Divine Relativity; Hartshorne, "What Did Anselm Discover?" (e-reserve; for Thur.).
WEEK 8: (Tue., 11/14; Thur., 11/16):
What might a feminist philosophy of religion look like? Reading: Pamela Sue Anderson (not to be confused with the other one...), A Feminist Philosophy of Religion.
WEEK 9: (Tue., 11/21; Thur., 11/23):
A lesson in the professional life of the religious studies scholar: NO CLASS (AAR conference, Thanksgiving)
WEEK 10: (Tue., 11/28; Thur., 11/30):
But enough of that stuff, let's talk about my interests for a bit...: On how a philosophically technical discussion (concerning the irreducibility of intentionality) might relate to the question of God. Reading: Charles Taliaferro, Consciousness and the Mind of God.
Final papers due by December 8.