Department of Religion and
Classics
Topics in Philosophical Theology: Trinity and Incarnation
REL 291 | PHL 260/460
Office: Rush Rhees Library 430
Hours: Wednesday, 1:00-2:00, or by appointment
Phone: x5-9370 (office), x5-5378 (secretary)
E-mail: edwd@troi.cc.rochester.edu
Topics for Spring 2009:
This seminar takes up a different set of topics each time it is offered. Thus, students are permitted to take this course more than once, and they will receive academic credit for it each time. For spring 2009 we will employ a philosophical approach to two central concepts of Christianity, namely, the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation. Particular attention will be paid to the question whether these claims can be given a coherent formulation and, if so, what sort of metaphysical views about identity, personhood, divinity, and substance would be required. (For a list of topics in prior years, click here.)
Requirements:
Members of the class are expected to be prepared to contribute to the discussion of the seminar. To facilitate this discussion, you will be required to write eight (8) 2-page papers. Each of these short papers will be on the assigned reading for the week. These short papers will be due by 5:00 p.m. on the Monday preceding class if you place a printed copy in my mailbox (next to RRL 430), or by 7:00 p.m. on the day before class if you email it to me (either as the text of a message or as an attachment in virus-free MS-Word, WordPerfect, *.rtf, or *.pdf file) at edwd@troi.cc.rochester.edu. You may choose which weeks to submit a short paper.
In addition, you will be required to write a course paper of 8-10 pages due on May 4. Your final paper may be based on one or more of your short papers.
The amount of writing and re-writing required in this course satisfies the requirements for an upper-level-writing course. If you would like to earn upper-level-writing credit, please register for REL 291W or PHL 260W.
Guide to writing philosophy papers:
Professor James Pryor of NYU has written an excellent guide for writing papers in philosophy. You can find a copy of it here. I highly recommend it.
Academic Honesty:
Academic honesty is required by the open and honest trust in communication that is part of the academic enterprise. Violations of academic honesty include plagiarism, misuse of library materials, obtaining an advance copy of an examination, or using or providing unauthorized help in taking an examination. A full statement of the University's policy on academic honesty may be found at http://www.rochester.edu/College/CCAS/AdviserHandbook/AcadHonesty.html. Of particular importance in this course, with its emphasis of writing papers as a contribution to the collective work of the seminar, is that students avoid plagiarism. Cases of suspected plagiarism will be sent to the College Board on Academic Honesty for adjudication.
Textbooks:
Richard Swinburne, The Christian God (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994).
Additional essays, available on electronic reserve through Blackboard.
Course Outline TBA
January 14: IntroductionJanuary 21:
Required:
January 28:
Required:
Recommended:
February 11:
Required:
February 18:
Required:
Recommended:
February 25:
Required:
March 4:
Required:
March 11: No Class--Spring Break
March 18:
Required:
Recommended:
March 25:
Required:
Peter van Inwagen, "And Yet They Are Not Three Gods but One God," in van Inwagen, God Knowledge & Mystery (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1995), pp. 222-259.
April 1:
Required:
April 8:
Required:
April 15:
Required:
April 22:
Required:
April 29:
Required:
Recommended:
Requirements for graduate students:
Graduate students who enroll in the course will have their work graded by standards appropriate for graduate work. In addition, such students are encouraged to become familiar with other recent literature on these topics.
Last updated 26 January 2009 by Edward Wierenga
© Edward Wierenga 2009