Philosophy of Religion (PHIL 134/RELI 126)

In trying to make sense of our place in the universe, Western religious thinkers have addressed a host of persistent problems. Where have we come from? Do we have a purpose, and do we fit into some grand plan? Can we make sense of a world filled with so much evil and pain? What becomes of us when we die? What is the value of faith, and how are we to reconcile it with the religious pluralism of modern society? In PHIL-134, we will explore and critically assess attempts to answer these questions. We will rely on the works of classic and contemporary writers, including Thomas Aquinas, Bertrand Russell, Voltaire, C. S. Lewis, Plato, and Bernard Williams; and we will focus on issues ranging from the existence of God to the connection between God and ethics, to the problem of evil, to questions about death, and to concerns about the relationship between faith and disagreement that confront us in contemporary society.

John Lawless’s webpage