Attachment 1
PHIL 110
Prof. Downey
Prof. Patrick Downey
Office: FAH 240-8
Office Hours:
Office Phone: 631-4455
Home Phone:
Philosophy of Religion
Phil. 110-01
Course Description: This class is an exploration in the sub-field of Theology that might be
called "Foundational" or Fundamental Theology, inasmuch as it gets to the foundational question
of whether Christian Faith should be pursued as a body of knowledge or a disciplined way of life
in the first place. In this light, this class might more appropriately be called “Philosophy and
Religion.” It will raise the question of the relation between the philosophical life as described by
Plato, and its appropriate relation to the major religion of the West, the Christian Faith. This
question is often summed up in the question “what has Athens to do with Jerusalem.” Further
complicating this question is what we might today call “spirituality,” which can be plausibly
argued as a life of religion, philosophy, both, or neither. The texts we will use to get a taste of
the philosophical life as exemplified by Socrates, particularly in its challenge to the "gods of the
city," are Plato's Apology, Ion and Euthyphro. The texts we will use to exemplify the Christian
faith will be Genesis, The Gospel of Mark, Paul's Epistle to the Romans and the Nicene Creed.
The text that will bring into stark relief the tension between Socratic philosophy and Christian
faith will be Kierkegaard's Philosophical Fragments. How to address the question of
"spirituality" is best done, I believe, by reading several key texts of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the
father of both the private and civic aspects of spiritual understanding found in such diverse
thinkers as Schleiermacher, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Emerson, and Thoreau—not to mention
their 20th century epigones. By the end, I trust, the student should be able to lucidly and
critically ask for him or herself the question whether the life of philosophy, faith, or spirituality is
more compelling. Such lucidity should be achieved by discriminating between the three: above
all, by deciding whether "spirituality" as it tends to be called today, is a subset of philosophy,
Christian faith, both, or something entirely sui generis.
Learning Goals: By the end of the course a student should be able to:
Give an account of the philosophical good life as exemplified by Socrates
Explicate the critique of the "gods of the city" in terms of inspiration vs. knowledge
Explicate the dilemma between the gods loving something because it is just vs. that love
making it just
Narrate the initial scenes in Genesis as it bears on the issue of a Creator God, knowledge, sin,
and goodness
Draw out the themes in The Gospel of Mark that respond to the earlier themes in Genesis
Grasp the arguments in Romans that point back to Genesis and Mark, and ahead to the Nicene
Creed
Reproduce Kierkegaard's account of the Socratic project in terms of the teacher, the learner
and the condition
Reproduce Kierkegaard's account of the "thought project" in terms of the teacher, the learner
and the condition
Explicate what Kierkegaard terms the "Absolute Paradox"
Elucidate Rousseau's arguments regarding knowledge, ignorance, feeling and simplicity
Elaborate upon Rousseau's account of the social contract, civil religion, and 'not tolerating
intolerance'
Relate the "creed" of the Savoyard Priest to the Nicene Creed
Critically formulate their own more or less provisional creed or lack thereof in terms of
Kierkegaard's and Rousseau's arguments
Grading: There will be three take-home exams during the semester, in addition to one final
written exam. The first two exams will deal respectively with the Socratic project of
Kierkegaard in relation to the dialogues we have read from Plato, and Kierkegaard's "thought
project" in relation to Genesis, Mark, Romans and the Nicene Creed. The third take home exam
will relate the various arguments of Rousseau as they relate to what might be called
"spirituality." The final exam will be an in-class exam that asks for a provisional and critical
assessment of the themes discussed in the course
Attendance: Two excused absences will be allowed during the semester, but any absences,
physical or spiritual, may affect your participation grade.
Texts: Texts are a must, reading them and having them. Reading them will be evaluated in
class, but having them will be adduced at the beginning of each reading, whereupon you must
show physical evidence of having the text in your possession. If you do not have one in your
possession and there are texts available, you will be asked to leave.
Kierkegaard: Philosophical Fragments, Princeton, trans. Hong, 1985
Plato: Ion Hackett, trans. Woodruff, 1983
Plato: Euthyphro Hackett, trans. Grube, 1981
The Essential Rousseau, Meridian, trans. Lowell Bair, 1975
Calendar
Monday, February 11, 2002
Introduction
Wednesday, February 13, 2002
Plato’s Ion
Monday, February 18, 2002
Plato’s Ion
Wednesday, February 20, 2002
Plato’s Euthyphro
Monday, February 25, 2002
Plato’s Euthyphro
Wednesday, February 27, 2002
Genesis 1-11
Monday, March 4, 2002
Genesis 1-11
Wednesday, March 6, 2002
Gospel of Mark
Monday, March 11, 2002
Romans 1-8
Wednesday, March 13, 2002
Kierkegaard, Philosophical Fragments
Monday, March 18, 2002
Kierkegaard, Philosophical Fragments
Wednesday, March 20, 2002
Kierkegaard, Philosophical Fragments
Easter Break March 23-April 1
Wednesday, April 3, 2002
Kierkegaard, Philosophical Fragments
Monday, April 8, 2002
Kierkegaard, Philosophical Fragment
Wednesday, April 10, 2002
Kierkegaard, Philosophical Fragment
Monday, April 15, 2002
Rousseau, Discourse on Arts and Sciences
Wednesday, April 17, 2002
Rousseau, Discourse on Inequality
Monday, April 22, 2002
Rousseau, Discourse on Inequality
Wednesday, April 24, 2002
Rousseau, Social Contract 8-38
Monday, April 29, 2002
Rousseau, Social Contract 8-38, 106-114
Wednesday, May 1, 2002
Rousseau, Reveries of a Solitary Walker (selections)
Monday, May 6, 2002
Rousseau, Creed of a Savoyard Priest
Wednesday, May 8, 2002
Rousseau, Creed of a Savoyard Priest
Monday, May 13, 2002
Rousseau, Creed of a Savoyard Priest
Wednesday, May 15, 2002
Rousseau, Creed of a Savoyard Priest
Finals