God's Existence: Defensible or Delusion? (AP2850P)

Content

Does God exist? And can this be proved to the satisfaction of a non-believer, or even the doubter in myself? This unit looks at how philosophers – from Plato’s time to ours – have sought to answer these questions. It explores traditional moves, such as ontological proofs, cosmological proofs, and Pascal’s wager, as well as more recent discussion, including the intelligent design argument, and Richard Dawkins’ characterisation of this and other proofs, including those invoking religious experience, as “deluded”. Gradually, great philosophers – Aquinas and Descartes, Hume and Kant – are seen to shine within an ongoing quest, to which we ourselves might be drawn: the search for a God whom philosophy can persuasively defend, but never enclose.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

18 points in AP (Philosophy) or equivalent

Pedagogy

Synchronous interactive lectures and tutorials

Indicative Bibliography

• Davies, Paul. The Mind of God. London: Penguin Books, 1992.
• Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion. Paperback ed. Boston: Mariner Books, 2007.
• Descartes, René. Discourse on Method and the Meditations. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1968.
• Hick, J.H. Arguments for the Existence of God. London: Macmillan, 1970. (recommended for purchase)
• Hume, David. Principal Writings on Religion including Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion and the Natural History of Religion. Pref. J.C.A. Gaskin. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
• Küng, Hans. Does God Exist? New York: Crossroad, 1991.
• Levering, Michael. Proofs of God: Classical Arguments from Tertullian to Barth. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2016.
• Mackie, J. L. The Miracle of Theism. Paperback ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.
• Spitzer, Robert J. New Proofs for the Existence of God: Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2010.
• Swinburne, Richard. The Existence of God. Rev. ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Assessment