PHIL 134/RELI 126.001 – Reason, Faith, and God: Philosophy of Western Religion

Instructor: Nolan Whitaker. This course meets MWF 9:05 – 9:55 a.m. in GA 308.

This course will consist in a philosophical investigation of the following questions:

1. Does God exist?
2. Is it rational to believe in God or some particular religion?
3. Does the success of science undermine religious belief?

There are arguments that support positive and negative answers to each question. For example, some philosophers have argued from observations about the fine-tuning of our universe to the conclusion that God exists. And some have argued from the existence of pain and suffering to the conclusion that God does not exist. Answering these questions will therefore involve thinking carefully about the following issues: the origin and existence of the universe, the problem of suffering and evil, religious experience, the success of science, and more.