New Due Date: the beginning of class on Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
Assignment: The assignment is to keep a journal during our section on philosophy of religion and free will. I want you to write several short journal entries about the various arguments for and against the existence of God, as well as an entry on our section on free will. We’ll be going over all these topics in class during the next few weeks. Each entry should be around two paragraphs long.
This assignment is a chance for you to do philosophy. I want you to demonstrate that you understand what we are reading and discussing. (Present each argument in your own words.) In addition to this, I want you to critically evaluate each argument we read and discuss. (Are any premises questionable? Does the argument provide enough support for its conclusion?) It is also a chance for you to give your opinion on these arguments, and defend your opinion with good reasons.
You should have the following journal entries, in this order:
1) An entry explaining and evaluating the cosmological argument (Aquinas reading).There is no length requirement. (Again, the suggestion is around two paragraphs per journal entry.)
2) An entry explaining and evaluating the ontological argument (Anselm & Guanilo readings).
3) An entry explaining and evaluating the design argument (Hume reading).
4) An entry explaining and evaluating the problem of evil argument (Sober and Augustine readings).
5) A philosophy of religion wrap-up entry where you discuss your thoughts about God after reading these philosophers and discussing this in class. Has your opinion about God changed? Have your reasons for your opinion changed?
6) An entry on free will (Nagel,Sober, Maimonides,Aristotle, and Hospers articles). Do you think we have free will? Why or why not? Consider the various arguments for and against free will we’ve studied in class, as well as the various theories (libertarianism, hard determinism, and compatibilism).
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