Course Outline: Fall 2015
LTh Course God & Problem of Evil
Location:
Day(s):
Wednesday
Time:
6:30-9:30 pm
Instructor(s): Jeremy Frost
Contact info: frostjp@mcmaster.ca
Course Syllabus:
“I have looked around society, but the evidence is contrary.
The god does not impede the way of a devil.”
-Babylonian, ~1000 BCE.
In this course we will reflect on the age old question of the relationship between God and the existence of
evil. We will limit our investigation to classical Christian and Enlightenment writers in order to familiarize
ourselves with the history of thought that informs contemporary discussions of theodicy.
By the end of this course students should be able to:
-Identify key texts in the classical and Enlightenment traditions relating to theodicy.
-Rearticulate the main questions undergirding the issue of theodicy.
-Understand how reflections on theodicy have informed modern theological discourse.
Course Materials:
Required: David Hume, Dialogues and Natural History of Religion (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2008).
Recommended: Diana Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual, 6th edition (Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011).
Further selections will be taken from online sources.
Assignments & Method of Evaluation of Assignments:
Discussion Participation- 20%
Reading Summaries- 20%
Essay Outline- 10%
Essay- 30%
Exam- 20%
Week 1: Introduction, Augustine
Week 2: Hume Part 1
Week 3: Hume Part 2
Week 4: Kant Part 1
Week 5: Kant Part 2 (Essay outline due)
Week 6: After Auschwitz
2
Week 7: Exam review (Essay due)
Discussion Participation (20%):
Students are expected to attend all classes prepared to participate in discussion with their fellow
classmates and instructor. Discussion topics will range from our weekly readings to subjects raised in
class. 10% of this mark will be derived from weekly attendance (for more on attendance see section 5
below).
Reading Summaries (20%):
Weekly reading summaries will be submitted at the end of each class so that students will have their
reflections on hand during class discussion. Summaries will be approximately 250 words in length,
double-spaced, and capture the main elements of the assigned reading for that week. We will set aside
class time to further reflect on our reading as a group, as well as discuss the reading’s relevance to the
general themes of the course.
Essay Outline (10%):
The essay outline will be at least one page, double-spaced, approximately 350-500 words in length. This
will not be written in point form. Further details regarding the essay outline will be discussed in class.
Essay (30%):
Students will address a theodicy we have encountered in class, indicating why they think it succeeds or
fails to present a convincing “defense of the highest wisdom of the creator against the charge which
reason brings against it” (Kant, On the Miscarriage of All Philosophical Trials in Theodicy). In addition to
summarizing a theodicy, students will be expected to understand what objections it is being formulated in
response to (feel free to draw on other examples we have studied in class, as many writers are
responding to similar concerns). Does the theodicy succeed? Why or why not? What objections might
be brought against it? How might it be improved? Essays are to be 5-6 pages in length, double-spaced,
12 font size or equivalent. Please use Turabian style (for help with Turabian style writing please visit the
“Citing and Writing” section of your university library website: https://www.lib.uwo.ca/essayhelp, or for a
quick guide visit: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html).
Exam (20%):
There will be a three hour exam at the completion of this course. More details regarding the form and
content of the exam will be made available in class at the appropriate time.
Additional Statements:
1.
Statement on Use of Electronic Devices during Tests and Exams: During exams no electronic
devices will be allowed. Students will come prepared to write with the appropriate writing material.
It is not appropriate to use technology (such as, but not limited, to laptops, PDAs, cell phones) in the
classroom for non-classroom activities. Such activity is disruptive and is distracting to other students
and to the instructor, and can inhibit learning. Students are expected to respect the classroom
environment and to refrain from inappropriate use of technology and other electronic devices in class.
3
2.
Statement on Academic Offences: Scholastic offences are taken seriously and students are
directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic
Offence, at the following web site: http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2014/pg113.html.
3.
Plagiarism-detecting Software/Computer Marking:
A) All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the
commercial plagiarism detection software under license to the University for the detection
of plagiarism. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents
in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently
submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently
between The University of Western Ontario and Turnitin.com ( http://www.turnitin.com ).
4.
5.
Support Services:

Huron’s Faculty of Theology, Office of the Dean:
http://www.huronuc.on.ca/faculty_of_theology/info_for_current_students

Faculty of Theology office: srice@uwo.ca, 519-438-7224, ext. 289

Coordinator of Continuing Education and Non-Degree Programs: jmanstead@rogers.com, 519438-7224 ext 289
Accommodation for absences:
If documentation is required for either medical or non-medical academic accommodation, then such
documentation must be submitted by the student directly to your Faculty’s Dean’s office (or academic
counselor), and not to the instructor. For the Faculty of Theology, all such documentation must be
submitted to room A227. It will be the Dean`s office that will determine if accommodation is
warranted.
a) Non-medical absences:
Due dates indicate the latest time an assignment may be submitted before incurring academic
penalty. Assignments may be handed before their due date when this has been previously arranged
with the instructor. Students are encouraged to hand their essay outlines in before the due date in
order to maximize the amount of time they will have to receive feedback from the instructor and
integrate this into their final essay. Late submissions will receive a deduction of a percentage of the
grade each late day. The penalty for late assignments will be 10% a day, including Saturday and
Sundays. Late penalties will not be waived unless your Faculty or Program Office advises the
instructor that it has received appropriate documentation supporting your reasons for being unable to
submit work (see also section 5.b. below).
b) Medical absences: See also the Policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness
—Undergraduate Students, at http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/appeals/medical.pdf)
For work representing 10% or more of the overall grade for the course, a student must
present documentation indicating that the student was seriously affected by illness and could not
reasonably be expected to meet his/her academic responsibilities. Documentation must be
submitted as soon as possible to your Faculty Dean’s office (Huron Arts & Social Science
4
students should take their documentation to the Academic Counsellor, through the Academic
Services Centre at Huron), together with a Request for Relief specifying the nature of the
accommodation requested. The request and documentation will be assessed and appropriate
accommodation will be determined by the Dean’s office in consultation with the instructor(s.)
Academic accommodation will be granted ONLY where the documentation indicates that the
onset, duration and severity of the illness are such that the student could not reasonably be
expected to complete his/her academic responsibilities.
The UWO Student Medical Certificate (SMC) and Request for Relief are available at the Student
Centre website (https://studentservices.uwo.ca/secure/index.cfm), Huron University College
Academic Counselling website (www.huronuc.on.ca) or from the Dean’s Office or Academic
Services Centre at Huron.