Syllabus Models Of Ultimate Reality Revised

RELIGIOUS & PHILOSOPHICAL MODELS OF ULTIMATE REALITY PHIL 4900-001; PHIL 5990-001; PHIL 5920-001; REL 4980-001 SYLLABUS Class meetings: Wednesdays, 4:30-7, UH 2210 Instructor: Jeanine Diller, Ph.D. Email (the best way to reach me): [email protected] Office and phone: Scott Hall 2015, 530-4520 (my office), 530-6190 (Philosophy Department office) Office hours: the half hour before class each week near/in the classroom; Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:30 to 1:30 in my office; and by appointment (don’t hesitate to make one!). Topic: We will engage in the philosophical exploration, critique and comparison of (a) philosophical models of God, gods and other ultimate realities implicit in some of the world’s major religions and philosophical traditions, with a focus on Western traditions and an openness to Eastern ones, and of (b) the ideas of such models and doing such modeling per se. The insistence on philosophical classification is designed to enable the sighting of conceptual family resemblances of ultimate realities across diverse traditions. Objectives: For you to walk away with: (1) A good basic understanding of each of the models of ultimate reality we cover, and thus a good sense of the extant conceptual options about ultimate reality; (2) An understanding of their salient similarities and differences, and (3) of their strengths and weaknesses, with the end goal of (4) identifying philosophically satisfying ways to conceive the nature of ultimate reality. TEXTS Buy online: Charles Hartshorne and William L. Reese, eds., Philosophers Speak of God (hereafter PSG), originally University of Chicago Press, 1953, reissue by Humanity Books, an imprint of Prometheus Books, 2000, $25.72 new (Amazon.com), 535 pages, ISBN 1-57392-815-190000. Please get this particular edition so we all have the same page numbers. Selections on electronic reserve from: • Philosophia (hereafter Phil), vol. 35, nos. 3-4, December 2007 on Models of God. Available on the University’s Library website. Go to www.utoledo.edu/library/, click on “Online Journals” on the middle left, type in Philosophia in the search bar, choose Philosophia (Ramat Gan) and specifically the second “Springer link” to it (that’ s the publisher, the source), enter your name and rocket number as requested for access, and then choose the relevant volume above. • And other sources to be placed on our class website.

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SCHEDULE OF READINGS & TOPICS “Required” readings are required for both undergraduate and graduate students. “Suggested” (simpliciter) readings are suggested for all. WEEK 1, 8/26: Conceptual Foundations 1. What is a philosophical model of ultimate reality? 2. Overview of specific models named below 3. First glance at meta-theoretical questions about models of ultimate reality, such as: Is it even possible to model ultimate reality? If so, is it desirable? Why? Required: Hartshorne and Reese’s introduction to the topic, PSG, 1-25; James E. Taylor, Phil 289-292 Suggested: Ted Peters, “Models of God”, Phil 261-272; Wesley Wildman, “Comparing Religious Ideas: There’s Method in the Mob’s Madness” from Comparing Religions: Possibilities and Perils? Ed., Indinopulos, et. al., to be placed on our class website WEEK 2, 9/2: Ancient (Panentheistic?) Models: Ikhnaton, Vedas, Lao-tse, Hebrew Bible Required: PSG 29-38 WEEK 3, 9/9: Greek Philosophical Models: Plato and Aristotle Required: PSG 38-75 WEEK 4, 9/16: Classical Theism I: Philo and Anselm Required: PSG 76-84, 96-106 Required for grad students and suggested for undergrads: Augustine (85-96) and Maimonides (111-119) WEEK 5, 9/23: Classical Theism II: Leibniz and Kant Required: PSG 137-150 Required for grad students and suggested for undergrads: Aquinas (119-133) and Descartes (133-137) Suggested: The rest of the chapter Michelle to present Leibniz; Tyler to present Kant. JMD to provide review sheet. WEEK 6, 9/30: Pantheism: Sankara and Spinoza. Review for midterm. Required: PSG 165-177, 189-197 Required for grad students and suggested for undergrads: Asvagosha and Ramanuja (177-189) Suggested: The rest of the chapter Janathan to present Sankara. WEEK 7, 10/7: Emanationism: Plotinus. One-hour midterm during second half. Required: PSG 211-224

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WEEK 8, 10/14: Modern Panentheism I: Whitehead and Buber Required: PSG 273-285, 302-306 Required for grad students and suggested for undergrads: Peirce (258-269) and Iqbal (294-297) Suggested for all: The readings we’re skipping between these thinkers Erin to present Whitehead; Bryce to present Buber. WEEK 9, 10/21: Modern Panentheism II and Limited Panentheism: Radhakrishnan, James and Rahner Required: PSG 306-310, 335-352, selection from Rahner on our website Required for grad students and suggested for undergrads: Watts (324-334) Suggested: The readings we’re skipping here between these thinkers Teresa to present Radhakrishnan, Chuck to present James, and Danielle to present Rahner WEEK 10, 10/28: Extreme Temporalistic Theism: Socinus and Ames Required: PSG 225-227, 380-385 Required for grad students and suggested for undergrads: Alexander (365-372), Berman (373-379) Suggested: The readings we’re skipping between these thinkers WEEK 11, 11/4: Skeptical or Atheistic Views I: Buddhism, Carneades & Hume, Schopenhauer Required: PSG 411-448 Alexandra to present Buddhism; Joshua to present Hume; and Adam to present Schopenhauer NO CLASS on 11/11 due to Veterans’ Day WEEK 12, 11/18: Skeptical or Atheistic Views II: Feuerbach and Nietzsche Required: PSG 448-468 Required for graduate students and suggested for undergrads: Freud (468-485) Suggested: In Phil: Pamela Sue Anderson & Charles Taliaferro on ideal observer theories; Donald L. Turner & Ford Turrell & Daniel Murphy on Levinas Bob to present Feuerbach WEEK 13, 12/2: Hot-off-the-press Models: John Bishop and Jerry Martin Required: In Phil: John Bishop (God as Love 387-402), Martin online Suggested: possible selections TBA Patrick to present Bishop. JMD to provide review sheet. WEEK 14, 12/9: Diversity of Models. Review for final. Wildman and Dell’Olio, Phil 407-432 Suggested: Diller’s intro to Phil 261-272 FINAL EXAM: 12/16 from 5-7 p.m. in our room, or possibly online. TBA.

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ASSIGNMENTS

• Readings listed under each week are to be done by the time you walk into class for that week.

• 30%: A 20- to 30-minute presentation and accompanying 10-12 page paper (1520 pages for graduate students) on one of the thinkers we are covering, to be presented on the day we cover them. Presentation 5%; paper 25%.

Presentation and paper should (1) include a brief bio of the thinker with a quick one-paragraph overview of their philosophical/religious thought (e.g. consult the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy online); (2) present the details of their model of ultimate reality as found in our selection; (3) critically reflect on the strengths and problems of their view, being sure to use desiderata from class on what models of ultimate reality should do, as you go; (4) draw a nuanced conclusion about their model (and make it your thesis at the start of the paper); and finally (5) raise 2-3 questions for thought and discussion. Create a 1-3 page handout for your presentation with a summary of key points, including questions for discussion. Post it on our website under “presentations” at least 48 hours before your presentation. Presentations graded as done or not (where done = did you cover all 5 points; did you create a handout; did you post it 48 hours ahead). Papers graded according to guidelines I will give you by the second week. JMD to do examples during Week 2; you sign up to present anytime thereafter. You may hand in your paper up to one week after your presentation, in case you wish to revise it in light of class discussion.

• 10%: A response journal, with minimum 1-page/2-4-paragraph entries to be

written each week after class and before you start the next readings; due each week by Fridays. Open format; I may also offer prompt questions. For 100% credit, need 10 responses that show an understanding of the readings and class discussion, and thoughtful reflection/assimilation of them. I will let you know if a particular post is too insubstantial to count. Can be posted on the bulletin board or sent by email or physically to me personally if you want privacy; or a mix of both obviously. Assemble all and hand in on Week 14.

• 25% each: One-hour midterm and final, each with two parts: identify concepts with a short answer; respond to an essay question.

• 10%: Participation, including attendance, and in-class and online participation.

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OTHER NOTES Disabilities: Any student needing accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss specific needs. Students with documented disabilities should contact the Office of Accessibility (ext. 4981 http://utoledo.edu/studentaffairs/accessibility) to coordinate reasonable accommodations. Electronic communications: “Electronic communication is a valid mechanism for official communication with students at The University of Toledo. The University has the right to send official communications to students electronically. The University has the right to expect that students will receive electronic communications and will read them on a frequent and consistent basis. Students may opt out of certain electronic communications where required by law. Students are responsible for monitoring and managing their University-provided email account on a frequent and consistent basis. Students may choose to forward email to non-University email accounts at their own risk. Students who choose to have email forwarded to another email address are responsible for both email contents and associated attachments. The University is not responsible for email forwarded to any other email address. A student's failure to receive or read in a timely manner official University communications sent to the student's official email address does not absolve the student from knowing and complying with the content of the official communication. The University will also utilize web portal communication channels to communicate with students. Students are responsible for monitoring their web portal communications on a frequent and consistent basis.”

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