The central questions of this course are:
- Can humans know whether the claim "God exists" is true or not?
- If so, how?
- If not, why not?
- Are these first three questions actually useful?
This course examines the questions of divine existence with the tools of epistemology, the classic branch of philosophy that concerns itself with what we can know.
The major proofs from ontology, cosmology, teleology, and divine encounter are explained and tested.
The arguments against God’s existence, principally the problem of evil, are also tested.
Faith and transcendence-based claims, denying the need for proof, are examined.
Religious discourse uses intention rather than cause to explain the world. Approaches that accept this as fundamental are explored.
 Write a Review of Philosophy of Religion
LOLJPB, February 17, 2006
Reviewer: LOLJPB
General Content: Just above every teaching company course I have listened to has been great. However, every once in a while one of them will be truly outstanding, the kind of course that you wish would never end. Philosophy of Religion by James Hall from the University of Richmond was that type of course for me.
Although it’s a bit more complicated, the fundamental question this course attempts to answer is “Is there a God?” Hall gives this all-important question a balanced and appropriate treatment. Despite coming from a fairly fundamentalist Christian upbringing, Hall has a very thoughtful and sensible approach to religion. He walks the listener through various arguments for the existence of God including the Ontological, Cosmological and Teleological arguments. Hall explains each in way that even a layperson to religion could understand.
Where Hall shines is in the anecdotes and analogies he provides. These range from things in his personal history to stories from great religious thinkers of the past. A subject like the Philosophy of Religion could certainly end up being a bit dry but Hall keeps it very interesting.
A final highlight of the version of the course I listened was “executive summaries” at the end of every lecture. This was the first Teaching Company course that I’ve listened to that has had these and they are very helpful. I felt that I absorbed the material much better because of these. Kudos to the Teaching Company for this very helpful innovation!
Audio-Specific Content: I listened to the audio cassette version of this course. It consisted of 36 lectures on 18 cassettes. Each lecture was 30 minutes in length and was concluded with a short summary of the lecture content. James Hall’s voice was very easy and enjoyable to listen to. As with most Teaching Company courses, everything was of the highest quality.
- Published:
2002
- Number Of Lectures:
36
- Lecture Time:
30 Min.
- University:
University of Richmond
- LearnOutLoud.com Product ID:
P002695
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Religion & Spirituality
Philosophy
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