PE008-812 - Philosophy and Christian Thought

  • 2,976 Standard Tuition Fee
  • 12
    Credit Points
  • 0.125 EFT 
  • 8
    AQF level
  • Category developing unit
    B
  • philosophy ethicsUnit Discipline

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will

A. Know and understand

Demonstrate Advanced knowledge and understanding of the interaction of philosophy and theology.

B. Be able to

1. Examine a range of key philosophical ideas and approaches in the history of western philosophy, which are of relevance to Christian theology past and present. 

2. Demonstrate skills in interacting with different approaches to philosophical problems of knowledge, reality and morality from a Christian standpoint. 

3. Present Research-Aware evidence-based perspectives on western philosophy and its relationship with Christianity. 

C. Be in a position to

1. Apply perspectives from ‘Philosophy and Christian Thought’ to contemporary Christian living and ministry practice as a reflective practitioner. 

Content

An exploration of selected figures, topics, and ideas in the history of western philosophy and its contemporary expressions, considered in relation to Christianity, including some from each of the following four periods: 

1. Ancient Philosophy: e.g. Pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, stoicism, epicureanism, skepticism, cynicism, Origen, Augustine.

2. Medieval Philosophy, e.g. early-medieval debates over iconography, the “real presence” in the sacrament, and predestination, Anselm, Aquinas, Duns Scotus, Occam, later scholasticism.

3. Early Modern Philosophy, e.g. Renaissance humanism, Hobbes, Grotius, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant. 

4. Later Modern Philosophy, e.g. Hegel, utilitarianism, liberalism and democracy, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Marxism and socialism, existentialism, pragmatism, phenomenology, logical positivism and analytic philosophy, philosophical feminism, postmodernism. 

In covering material from the above four periods, students shall be given an introduction to the philosophical problems of the nature of knowledge, reality, and morality, particularly as these are relevant to Christian theology and practice. 

Set Readings

Allen, D. & E. O. Springsted, Philosophy for Understanding Theology. 2nd ed. (Westminster John Knox Press, 2007).

Antony, L. Philosophers without Gods: Reflections on Atheism and the Secular Life (Oxford: OUP, 2010).

Audi, R. (ed.), The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy. 3rd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2015).

Davies, B. (ed.), Philosophy of Religion: A Guide and Anthology (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).

Davies, B., An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion 4th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020).

DeWeese, G. J., and J. P. Moreland, Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult A Beginner's Guide to Life's Big Questions( Downers Grove: IVP, 2005).

Flint, T. & M. Rea, The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical Theology (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009).

Frame, J. M., A History of Western Philosophy & Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2015).

Gould, P. M. & R. B. Davis (eds), Four Views on Christianity and Philosophy (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016).

Hoffecker, W. A. (ed.), Revolutions in Worldview: Understanding the Flow of Western Thought (P&R Publishing, 2007).

Kenny, A., A New History of Western Philosophy (4 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004-2007).

Meister, C., Philosophy of Religion (London: Palgrave McMillan, 2014).

Oppy, G. & N. Trakakis (eds), The History of Western Philosophy of Religion, 5 vols (London & New York: Routledge, 2009).

Peterson, M. L., and R. J. VanArragon (eds), Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Religion. 2nd ed. (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2020).

Sproul, R. C., The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped Our World (Wheaton: Crossway, 2009).

Taliaferro, C., Philosophy of Religion: A Beginner’s Guide (London: Oneworld, 2009).

Tarnas, R., The Passion of the Western Mind (Ballantyne Books: 2005).

Wainwright, W., (ed) The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Religion (Oxford: Oxford University Press 2007).