Course assignments will include a midterm and final essay exam, and two papers of approximately five pages each. 10 Theories Human Nature , ed. Haberman and Stevenson. Ethical Theory and Social Issues , ed. In Western culture, the source of traditional morality has been the biblical religion of Jews and Christians.
Biblical religion is rooted in the belief in divine revelation.
This course will explore the distinction and increasingly intractable conflict between the traditional religious and contemporary secular points of view on morality. First, wen shall look at the very notion of divine revelation. Is it philosophically defensible or even intelligible in a Christian Scriptures. The course readings are taken from professedly Jewish and Christian B Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox B and secular philosophical authors. It is hoped, of course, that more light than heat can be shed on these complex and sometimes troubling questions and issues.