Philosophy of religion

 

Petr Dvořák, LS 1/1, zp

 

The course is a survey of some fundamental issues and topics in the analytic philosophy of religion: (i) the nature of religious language, (ii) the proofs for the divine existence, (iii) problems and paradoxes related to God?s omniscience, omnipotence and ontological primacy over creation, (iv) the problem of evil and the free will defense. The emphasis is placed on Western understanding of the divine (in the so-called Abrahamic traditions).

  Each topic is introduced by way of a lecture followed by readings in the field, accompanied by discussion. The student chooses either to write a paper on some issue of interest or undergo a discussion with the instructor at the end of the course testing general grasp of the materials.

 

Selected bibliography

 

Craig, William Lane, Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom ? The Coherence of Theism : Omniscience, Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1991.

Davies, Brian, Philosophy of Religion: A Guide and Anthology. Oxford: OUP, 2000.

Fischer, John Martin (ed.), God, Foreknowledge, and Freedom. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1992.

Leftow, Brian, Time and Eternity. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1991.

Mackie, J. L., The Miracle of Theism: Arguments For and Against the Existence of God, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983.

Plantinga, Alvin,  The Nature of Necessity. Oxford: Clarendon, 1974.

Swinburne, Richard, The Coherence of Theism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.

Yandell, Keith, Philosophy of Religion: A Contemporary Introduction. London: Routledge, 1998.

Wierenga, Edward, The Nature of God. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1989.