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Overview

What is religion? How do religious people think? Where do their ideas come from? Are any of them true? These and other questions are addressed.

Philosophy of Religion courses often focus on arguments for and against the existence of God, that is to say, the God of Christianity. But Christianity is just one kind of religion; there are many others. Some have a supreme God, others have many gods, some (arguably) have no gods at all. So this course takes a wider view of religion, looking at what people regard as sacred: that which derives its authority from the "hidden realm" (te wāhi ngaro) of gods, spirits, and ancestors. It asks about the character of religious language, looks at what religious practices aim to do, and then examines the various sources of religious knowledge: divination, dreams, visions, mystical experience, spirit possession and prophecy, and (finally) arguments, including those for the existence of God.

About this paper

Paper title Reason, Belief and the Sacred
Subject Philosophy
EFTS 0.15
Points 18 points
Teaching period Semester 2 (On campus)
Domestic Tuition Fees ( NZD ) $1,040.70
International Tuition Fees Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website.
Prerequisite
One 200-level PHIL paper
Restriction
PHIL 210, PHIL 229
Schedule C
Arts and Music
Eligibility
Suitable for all students who have an interest in philosophical questions. No previous philosophical knowledge is required, but students will be expected to read widely and write clearly.
Contact
gregory.dawes@otago.ac.nz
Teaching staff

Course Co-ordinator and Lecturer: Professor Greg Dawes

Paper Structure

The course has three parts:

  • Part One: Religious Representations
  • Part Two: The Aims of Religion
  • Part Three: Doxastic Methods
Teaching Arrangements

There will be three 50-minute classes each week, with one devoted to tutorial-style discussion.

Textbooks

As well as the course outline distributed in class, a course book will be made available. Other recommended works will be accessible on Blackboard or in the Library, on Reserve.

Graduate Attributes Emphasised
Global perspective, Interdisciplinary perspective, Scholarship, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Ethics, Research, Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes.
Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete the paper will be able to:

  • Outline what is distinctive about religious language and thought
  • Describe the various aims of religion
  • Describe and evaluate the sources from which believers draw their claims to knowledge
  • Evaluate those (assumed) sources of religious knowledge
Assessment details

Assessment:

  • Weekly exercises in class: 15%
  • Three in-class tests: 15%
  • An essay of no more than 3,000 words: 25%
  • Final examination: 45%

Timetable

Semester 2

Location
Dunedin
Teaching method
This paper is taught On Campus
Learning management system
Blackboard

Lecture

Stream Days Times Weeks
Attend
A1 Monday 11:00-11:50 29-35, 37-42
Wednesday 11:00-11:50 29-35, 37-42

Tutorial

Stream Days Times Weeks
Attend
A1 Wednesday 10:00-10:50 29-35, 37-42
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