Topics include:
Religious language
The issue of whether religious language should be viewed cognitively or non-cognitively.
The challenges of the verification and falsification principles to the meaningfulness of religious language.
Religious language as a language game with reference to Wittgenstein.
Miracles
Differing understandings of ‘miracle’
realist and anti-realist views.
Comparison of the key ideas of David Hume and Maurice Wiles on miracles.
The significance of these views for religion.
Self, death and the afterlife
The nature and existence of the soul; Descartes' argument for the existence of the soul.
The body/soul relationship.
The possibility of continuing personal existence after death.
A personal experience of the divine.
An unexpected event demonstrating the specific power of the divine or supernatural. For Hume, this always entails a breach of the natural laws of physics, but Aquinas and others, emphasize the religious meaning of such events.
Scientific theories can give us true descriptions of the world and knowledge of things that we believe to exist but cannot observe. The world is ‘mind-independent’ and exists in and of itself regardless of our beliefs. about it.
The view that we cannot have knowledge of a mind-independent world, as any phenomena we observe are then interpreted through the mind. Therefore to speak of an unobservable ‘something’ such as the power of the divine has no cognitive content.
The ‘essence’ of the person. The nature of the soul is much debated but it is generally considered to be spiritual rather physical and it is usually distinguished from the body and the mind.
The ‘negative way’, mainly associated with Thomas Aquinas. He argues that human language is inadequate in describing God; therefore we can only speak of him in terms of what he is not.
Term used by R. M. Hare to describe a religious frame of reference within which everything is interpreted
A view of religious language which sees the words representing a reality to which they point, and in which they participate, but which they cannot describe.
Mystical experiences or systematic meditation, which cause a heightened awareness of the divine or an ultimate reality.
Evidence or argument establishing a fact or the truth of a statement. In philosophy, this means there is sufficient evidence or argument to support the truth of a proposition.
Awareness and evaluation of philosophical and religious arguments.
Understanding of the beliefs of others and respect shown through discussion of various viewpoints.
Topics include:
Introduction to meta ethics: the meaning of right and wrong
Free will and moral responsibility
The conditions of moral responsibility: free will; understanding the difference between right and wrong.
The extent of moral responsibility: libertarianism, hard determinism, compatibilism.
The relevance of moral responsibility to reward and punishment.
Conscience
Differing ideas, religious and non-religious, about the nature of conscience.
The role of conscience in making moral decisions with reference to:
telling lies and breaking promises
adultery.
The value of conscience as a moral guide.
Bentham and Kant
Comparison of the key ideas of Bentham and Kant about moral decision making.
Any ethical theory which argues that the rightness or wrongness of an act lies in doing the right thing because it is the right thing in itself – regardless of any consequences. It is judged by whether the act adheres to specific duties, and rules.
Any ethical theory which argues the rightness or wrongness of an action according to its consequences. The term is derived from the Greek ‘telos’ meaning ‘end’ or ‘purpose’.
Belief that human beings are ultimately free moral agents despite environmental and other limitations.
Belief that as all events are causally determined and the result of previous events, choices and actions, therefore human free will is an illusion.
Aristotle’s belief that developing the moral virtues depended on determining the ‘middle way’ between the vices of excess and deficiency.
A teleological, normative ethical theory. An example of ethical naturalism that identifies the ‘good’ in human experience is what causes pleasure and ‘wrong’ is what brings pain
To be morally responsible requires freedom of choice. It is the status of morally deserving praise, blame, reward, or punishment for an act or omission, in accordance with moral obligations.
A meta-ethical view that morality is defined by facts about nature or human nature.
The meta-ethical view that knowledge is a factual property known through means outside ‘naturalism’, for example by intuition or God’s commands.
Punishment for a crime via the death penalty.
Awareness and evaluation of ethical and religious arguments.
Understanding of the beliefs of others and respect shown through discussion of various viewpoints.
Topics include:
• Religion, gender and sexuality
• Religion and science
• Religion and secularisation
• Religion and religious pluralism.
The doctrine of Christianity which follows the teachings of Calvin, including predestination and sola scriptura.
The texts which are found in authorised versions of the Bible.
The Latin for ‘creation from nothing’, referring to the belief that God created the universe from nothing as an act of omnipotence and grace (love).
The belief, prevalent in Process Theology, that God is not fully omnipotent, but rather is confined by the laws of the universe and must act in accordance with them.
The study of the ‘end times’, or of the end of the world, which Christians believe will occur, and which is depicted in the book of Revelation (also known as the book of the Apocalypse).
A part of St Thomas Aquinas’ ‘Just War Theory’, ius ad bellum refers to the criteria that must be satisfied before a war can be declared and be considered justified and moral (for example, it must be declared by a legitimate authority).
The second aspect of St Thomas Aquinas’ ‘Just War Theory’, ius in bello refers to the criteria that must be followed during warfare in order for it to continue being justified and moral (for example, trying to avoid harming innocent civilia
The belief that all religions describe and worship the same God, just in different ways and from different perspectives. All religions have access to the Truth of God.
‘Only faith’; the belief that a Christian is justified (shown to be righteous and a good Christian) before God only by their faith in him and Jesus, rather than by their actions or ‘works’.
‘Only Scripture’; all that Christians need in order to understand God, Jesus, and their faith can be found in the Bible, which contains the inerrant words of God and must be the sole source of authority for Christians.
Awareness and evaluation of theological arguments and religious thought.
Understanding of the beliefs of others and respect shown through discussion of various viewpoints.
Students will study beliefs and teachings about:
-God
-Self, death and the afterlife
-Sources of wisdom and authority
-Religious experience
-The relationship between scientific and religious discourses.
-The truth claims of other religions
-Miracles.
The following issues, and the impact of the discussion on religious belief past and present, should be considered:
-How far the belief is reasonable – that is based on reason and/or consistent with reason.
-How meaningful the statements of faith are, and for whom.
-How coherent the beliefs are, and how consistent they are with other beliefs in the belief system.
-The relevance of philosophical enquiry for religious faith, with particular reference to the debate about the nature of faith as ‘belief in’ or ‘belief that’.
The use of logic to come to a conclusion.
Language which conveys a knowledge claim or factual information which can be shown to be true or false depending on evidence.
Language about which it is inappropriate to ask whether it is true or false in a factual sense. This includes, for instance, statements of emotions or moral claims.
Idea that the meaning of a statement lies in the method of its verification—so that any statement that cannot, even if only in theory, be verified, is meaningless.
Belief that the meaningfulness of a statement lies in the method of its falsification. A sentence is only factually significant if there is some evidence to falsify it.
Mystical experiences or systematic meditation, which cause a heightened awareness of the divine or an ultimate reality.
An experience of the holy; something wholly other than the natural world and beyond comprehension. Involves the power or presence of a deity. Otto describes them as ‘mysterium tremendum et fascinans’ (‘a tremendous and fascinating mystery’).
A vision without any visual image, an ‘illumination of the soul’ which is seen with the ‘eye’ of the mind. Those who experience them claim to ‘see things as they really are.’ They are hard to describe using language as they are a form of mystical experien
Vision seen in the mind, usually through a dream experience.
Awareness of religious and philosophical thought and the influence on society and believers.
Understanding of how views and beliefs are formed and practiced. Respect and tolerance shown.
Students will study Christian responses to the following approaches to moral decision-making in the light of key Christian moral principles:
-deontological, with reference to Kant.
-teleological and consequential, with reference to Bentham.
-character based, with reference to virtue ethics.
The impact of other ethical perspectives and ethical studies on Christian views about these issues, both past and present. This will include challenges to and support for Christian views; compatibility of Christian views with those of other ethical perspectives; the relative strengths and weaknesses of Christian perspectives and other ethical perspectives studied on these issues; the implications of criticisms of Christian ethical teaching for the religion as a whole and its sources of authority.
Also known as factory farming, this is a production-focused approach towards farm animals which aims to maximize output, while minimizing production costs. Often associated with intensive breeding programmes, hormone modification and cramped conditions.
The use of non-human animals in experiments for medical or scientific progress.
Considers the meaning and justification of ethics. Meta ethics considers the meaning of terms such as ‘good’ and ‘right’.
To be morally responsible requires freedom of choice. It is the status of morally deserving praise, blame, reward, or punishment for an act or omission, in accordance with moral obligations.
Belief that human beings are ultimately free moral agents despite environmental and other limitations.
The faculty said to enable us to make moral decisions, by giving us a sense of right and wrong.
A teleological, normative ethical theory. An example of ethical naturalism that identifies the ‘good’ in human experience is what causes pleasure and ‘wrong’ is what brings pain
A sport involving the hunting, wounding, or killing of animals.
Any ethical theory which argues that the rightness or wrongness of an act lies in doing the right thing because it is the right thing in itself – regardless of any consequences. It is judged by whether the act adheres to specific duties, rules and obligat
Any ethical theory which argues the rightness or wrongness of an action according to its consequences. The term is derived from the Greek ‘telos’ meaning ‘end’ or ‘purpose’
Awareness of religious and ethical thought and the influence on society and believers.
Understanding of how views and beliefs are formed and practised. Respect and tolerance shown.