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CONTEMPORARY WORLD VIEWS
AND CHRISTIANITY
Note that the following details are tentative. Issues, readings, and assignments may be modified somewhat prior to the beginning of the term.
To print a four-page course syllabus in pdf format
click here: 11Phil339.pdf
Winter Term (II) 2011
TR: 12:30 - 13:50
Location: SJ 102
Course Registration #67509
Joseph A. Buijs, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus (Philosophy)
Office:
Phone: 780-492-7681
Fax: 780-492-8145
Email: jbuijs@ualberta.ca
Homepage:
www.ualberta.ca/~jbuijs/
Office Hours
The easiest way to contact me about course concerns is by email. (Place Phil 339 in the Subject Heading.) However, arrangements can be made to meet at any other convenient time as needed. Usually, I can also stop to address concerns or questions immediately after class.
Critical study of Christianity in dialogue with such worldviews as atheism, agnosticism, naturalism, materialism, existentialism, feminism, liberalism, and postmodernism.
Philosophical thinking explores the 'why' and 'wherefore' of any
and all human endeavours. In this course, philosophical thinking is
applied to the general framework that underlies whatever we do and
think. For although we inevitably adopt some framework--a view of the
world and the meaning of life within it, we are presented with options,
challenged by alternatives, pressured by counter influences. Our contemporary,
cultural, university setting exposes us to a number of sometimes radically
conflicting worldviews or fundamental convictions about human nature,
reality, knowledge, values, meaning and purpose. One of the common tensions
is between a religious and secular orientation, between theism and
nontheism. However, there are significant variations of each.
This course
will lead students into a critical exploration of selected worldviews.
It will lay out some of the fundamental claims that characterize a
worldview, consider the grounds or justification for those claims,
and assess their adequacy. Thus, an outcome of the course, it is expected,
will be the opportunity for students to reflect on their own underlying
convictions and as a result of critical reflection and comparison with
alternatives either to reinforce them with reasonable grounds or to
modify them into a coherent view.
As a philosophy
course, Phil 339 not only contributes to the broad outlook generally
offered by the Humanities and Liberal Arts but also promotes analytic
and critical thinking on issues that are fundamental and that
can be personally
significant.
The general objectives of the course are these:
Worldviews in Conflict and Dialogue: Selected Readings for Phil 339. Compiled by Joseph A. Buijs. University of Alberta Custom Courseware, December 2010.
Joseph A. Buijs, What is Philosophy? A Guide for the Beginning Student. Xeroxed for student use. University of Alberta, 2003.
The readings in the coursepack are required. They have been carefully
selected so as to give a general overview of any specific worldview,
a philosophical defence of some of its fundamental claims, and critical
challenges to some of its views. Most of the readings are between
10 and 20 pages in length; a few are less than 10 pages and a few are
over 20 pages. The coursepack includes brief bibliographies for further
study. Overall cost will be in the $ 55.00 range.
The coursepack
serves several purposes: to supplement in-class development of specific
worldviews, to offer a constructive as well as critical approach
to selected worldviews, to provide an initial resource for assignments
and further research.
The second recommended
text What is Philosophy? answers how philosophers
over time have viewed the scope and nature of philosophy. It offers
an historical and philosophical context for some of the views and
issues developed under various worldviews. The volume also contains
an outline of the basics of reasoning and critical reflection, as
well as some guidelines for approaching philosophical writing.
Some supplemental
material, recommended for further study or research, may be put on
reserve in Rutherford Library or St. Joseph's College Library. Additional
resources, available for more extensive explorations, will be posted
on-line on a WebCT site.
In addition to a reflective and critical study of required reading
material, the course will have the following requirements:
Written work is expected to be the student's own and specifically produced for this course. Any use of resources, whether merely drawing from the views and arguments of others or quoting verbatim, must be properly documented. For conventions on how to document resources see Documentation, References, Footnotes .
Please, note that the dates
have not as yet been modified from 2007 to 2009
TOPIC
(some of the dates are tentative and may change)
DATE
ASSIGNMENTS
Week 1
Worldviews:
concept and structure
Jan 11
Week 2
Worldviews: critical assessment
Jan 18
Week 3
Christianity: life and transcendence
Jan 25
Week 4
"
"
Feb 1
Take-home Test # 1
(due)
Week 5
Buddhism:
life and suffering
Feb 8
Week 6
Humanism: morality and meaning
Feb 15
Essay outline
(due)
READING WEEK
Feb 22
Week 7
Naturalism: science and the
world
March 1
Week 8
Postmodernism: meaning and
interpretation
March 8
Take-home
test # 2
(due)
Week 9
Atheism (Non-theism)
March 15
Week 10
"
"
March 22
Take-home Test #3 (Optional:
due)
Week 11
Alternative Worldviews
March 29
Essay
Week 12
Competing worldviews: convergence or conflict
April 5
Week 13
Final Exam
April 12
Take-home Available
The Final Exam in this course will be a take-home exam, unless
otherwise indicated. The exam will be made available, with instructions,
on April 12, 2011, and will be due on the scheduled date for this course.
Since
the exam is for a course in philosophy, it will test for philosophical
understanding and philosophical thinking, more than for memorized information.
Sample questions will be made available during the course.
Requests
for deferrals and re-examinations follow the policy as set by the
Faculty of Arts; see sections 23.5.5 of the University of Alberta
Calendar .
Intro | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Top of Page
N.B. Some of the readings indicated below may change in a revised coursepack.
Introduction
Sample Issues
What is this course about? Why is the topic significant?
Proposed Readings
Joseph
A. Buijs, "Introduction," in Worldviews in Conflict and Dialogue
(unpublished manuscript), 1-3.
James w. Sire, "Camel Kangaroo and Elephant," in
Naming the Elephant, Worldview as a Concept (Downers Grove
IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004): 15-21.
Anthony Falikowski, "Taking it Personally - Philosophy of Life
Preference Indicator," in Experiencing Philosophy (Upper Saddle
River NJ: PrenticeHall, 2004): 43-47.
Intro
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I. Worldviews: Concept and Structure
Sample issues
What is a worldview? How is it different from ideologies? What is the structure and significance of a worldview among our belief-systems? What are some examples of conflicting worldviews? What is my worldview?
Proposed Readings
David
K. Naugle, "A Philological History of 'Worldview'," in Worldview,
The History of a Concept (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans,
2002): 55-67.
Joseph A. Buijs, "Belief Systems: Attitudes, Ideologies
and Worldviews," in Worldviews in Conflict and Dialogue
(unpublished manuscript), ch. 1: 1-26.
Intro
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II. Worldviews: Critical Assessment
Sample Issues
How can we address the issue of conflicting worldviews? By which criteria can we assess worldviews?
Proposed Readings
Joseph
A. Buijs, "Critical Assessment of Belief Systems," in Worldviews
in Conflict and Dialogue (unpublished manuscript), ch. 2: 1-20.
James w. Sire, "Flesh and Bones: Theoretical and Pretheoretical,"
in Naming the Elephant, Worldview as a Concept (Downers
Grove IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004): 75-89.
Joseph A. Buijs, "Philosophical Thinking: Language and
Logic," in What is Philosophy? Guide for the Beginning
Student (Reproduced for Student Use; St. Joseph's College,
University of Alberta, 2003): 53-89.
Intro
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III. Religious Worldviews I: Christianity
Sample issues
What is fundamental to a Christian worldview? How does Christianity view the world, the nature of human beings, the meaning and purpose of human life? How does Christianity view the limits or extent of human knowledge? What is the basis, or justification, for these Christian views? What is philosophically plausible in a Christian worldview? What, if anything, is problematic in this worldview?
Proposed readings
Jerry
I. Walls, "Heaven, Hell, and Harry Potter," in Harry Potter and Philosophy,
If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts, ed. Daniel Baggett and Shawn E. Klein (Chicago
IL: Open Court, 2004): 63-67.
Joseph A. Buijs, "Religious Worldviews I: Christianity," in
Worldviews in Conflict and Dialogue (unpublished manuscript),
ch. 3: 1-51.
William Desmond, "God, Ethos, Ways," in God and
Argument. Dieu et l'Argumentation Philosophique, ed. William
Sweet (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 1999): 65-83.
Intro
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IV. Religious Worldviews II: Buddhism
Sample issues
What is fundamental to a Buddhist worldview? How does Buddhism view the world and human life within it? What is the basis, or justification, for these Buddhist views? What is philosophically plausible in a Buddhist worldview? What, if anything, is problematic in this worldview? How does a Buddhist view compare, or contrast, with a Christian view of reality, human nature, knowledge?
Proposed readings
Michael
Brannigan, "There is No Spoon: A Buddhist Mirror," in The Matrix
and Philosophy. Welcome to the Desert of the Real, ed. William Irwin
(Chicago: Open Court, 2002): 101-110.
Joseph A. Buijs, "Religious Worldviews II: Buddhism," in
Worldviews in Conflict and Dialogue (unpublished
manuscript), ch. 4: 1-24.
John B. Cobb Jr., "Buddhist Emptiness and the Christian
God," Journal of the American Academy of Religion
45 (March 1977): 11-25.
Intro
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Sample issues
What is the fundamental focus of humanism? What is the basis of value and meaning in human life? Is "man the measure of all things"? What is philosophically plausible in humanism? What, if anything, is problematic? Are humanism and its varieties compatible with Buddhism? Is a Christian humanism possible? In what sense or to what extent?
Proposed readings
Kevin
Schilbrack, "Life's a Piece of Shit: Heresy, Humanism and Heroism in
Monty Python's Life of Brian," in Monty Python and Philosophy:
Nudge Nudge, Think Think, ed. Gary L. Hardcastle and George A. Reisch
(Chicago: Open Court, 2006): 13-23.
Joseph A. Buijs, "Humanism," in
Worldviews in Conflict and Dialogue (unpublished
manuscript), ch. 5: 1-46.
Albert Dondeyne, "Modern Humanism and Christian Faith in God,"
in A Catholic/Humanist Dialogue: Humanists and Roman
Catholics in a Common World , ed. Paul Kurtz and Albert Dondeyne
(Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1972), 10-16.
Intro
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Sample issues
What is fundamental to a naturalistic worldview? What are its ontological, epistemological, and ethical views? How can we adequately explain the moral dimension of human beings? Their mental capacities and experience of consciousness? What are the legitimate scope and limits of science? Must naturalism be necessarily materialistic? Must naturalism be non-theistic? What is philosophically plausible in naturalism? What, if anything, is problematic?
Proposed readings
Angus
Menuge, "Why Eustace Almost Deserved His Name: Lewis' Critique of Modern
Secularism," in The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy. The Lion, the
Witch, and the Worldview, ed. Gregory Bassham and Jerry L. Walls (Chicago:
Open Court 2005): 193-203
Joseph A. Buijs, "Naturalism,"
in Worldviews in Conflict and Dialogue (unpublished
manuscript), ch. 6: 1-30.
Kelly Nicholson, "The Inadequacies of Materialistic Accounts," in
Body and Soul, the Transcendence of Materialism (Boulder
CO: Westview Press, 1997), 29-48, 165.
Intro
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Sample issues
What are the origins of postmodernism? What are the fundamental contentions of postmodernism? How does postmodernism understand meaning, truth, reality? Is reality merely a human construct? Is truth made rather than discovered? Is morality conventional rather than universal? What is philosophically plausible in postmodernism? What, if anything, is problematic? Is a christian postmodernism or a buddhist postmodernism possible?
Proposed readings
David
Westman, "The Matrix: Simulation and the Postmodern Age," in
The Matrix and Philosophy. Welcome to the Desert of the Real
, ed. William Irwin (Chicago: Open Court, 2002): 225-239.
Joseph A. Buijs, "Postmodernism," in Worldviews in Conflict
and Dialogue (unpublished manuscript), ch. 7: 1-35.
Andrew J. Dell'Olio, "Between Exclusivity and Plurality,
Toward a Postmodern Christian Philosophy of Other Religions," in
Postmodern Philosophy and Christian Thought, ed. Merold
Westphal (Bloomington IN: Indiana University Press, 1999), 268-85.
Intro
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Sample issues
On what basis is atheism or non-theism opposed to theism? Are there significant varieties of non-theism or atheism? How does a non-theistic worldview address the issue of meaning or purpose in life? What is philosophically plausible in atheism or non-theism? What, if anything, is problematic? Is any fruitful dialogue possible between theists and non-theists?
Proposed readings
Richard
Dawkins, "A Deeply Religious Non-Believer," in The God Delusion
(Boston: Houhgton Mifflin, 2006): 11-27.
Joseph A. Buijs, "Atheism,"
in Worldviews in Conflict and Dialogue (unpublished
manuscript), ch. 8: 1-59.
Marcel Neusch, "Some Human Words about God," trans. Matthew J.
O'Connell, in The Sources of Modern Atheism. One Hundred Years of
Debate over God (New York: Paulist Press, 1982): 213-243, 262-263.
Intro
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IX. Competing Worldviews -- Convergence or Conflict
Sample issues
How can we address the issue of pluralism among worldviews? Is conflict inevitable? Is convergence possible? What are some of the parameters for constructive dialogue among conflicting worldviews? Can faith commitments be integrated into intellectual pursuits?
Proposed readings
Joseph A. Buijs, "Religion, Science and Philosophy: How Are They Compatible?" Religious Studies and Theology 11 (January 1991): 27-38.
Intro
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| Take Home Test # 1 | Take Home Test # 2 | Take
Home Test # 3 (Optional |
|
| Scope | The concept of 'worldview' | Christianity, Buddhism, or Humanism | Naturalism or Postmodernism |
| Content/Question | Selected from pre-assigned questions (on WebCT) | Selected from pre-assigned questions (on WebCT) | Selected from pre-assigned
questions (on WebCT) |
| Page length | 3 pages maximum (typed) | 3 pages maximum (typed) | 3 pages maximum (typed) |
| Date Due | January 25, 2011 | February 15, 2011 | March 22, 2011 |
| Value | 15% of the term | 15% of the term | Either maximum 5%
or substitute for the lower of # 1 and # 2 |
| DUE | Outline:
February 15, 2011 Final Draft: March 29, 2011 |
| VALUE | Outline: 5% of the
term mark Essay: 25% of the term mark |
| OBJECTIVE |
|
| LENGTH | 8 pages maximum (computer
print-out, double-spaced, 12-point font) |
| SCOPE | Select a conceptual
framework (religion, ideology, philosophy, worldview) other than
any of the six taken in the course:
|
| APPROACH | Select a conceptual
framework that is of interest and consider the following:
|
| SOME SUGGESTIONS | Two resources are useful
starting points to explore specific conceptual frameworks or worldviews:
|
| FURTHER HELP | For suggestions on
developing a critical, philosophical approach see
Writing Philosophically
. For sample references see Documentation, References, Footnotes . |
Last updated November 28, 2010