Each seminar will cover important questions discussed in Colin Brown's book Christianity and Western thought. These include: Lecture 1: Introduction Lecture 2: Read Brown´s Christianity and Western thought (CWT)--Intro., Chapter 1 to 4--From the Pre-Socratics to Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle to the Epicureans, the Stoics, the Skeptics and the Cynics Lecture 3: Read Brown's Christianity and Western thought (CWT)--Chapter 5 to 7--From Philo to the Neoplatonists to Augustine to Boethius to Pseudo-Dionysius Lecture 4: Read Brown's Christianity and Western thought (CWT)--Chapter 7 to 8--From Anselm to Aquinas to Scotus to Occam Lecture 5: Read Brown's Christianity and Western thought (CWT)--Chapter 9--From Luther to Calvin--PAPER 1 due Lecture 6: Read Brown's Christianity and Western thought (CWT)--Chapter 10--From Molina to Suarez to Banez to Arminius and the Pyrrhonian Skeptics Lecture 7: Read Brown's Christianity and Western thought (CWT)--Chapter 11--From Galileo to Copernicus to Descartes to Spinoza to Leibniz to Pascal Lecture 8: Read Brown's Christianity and Western thought (CWT)--Chapter 12--From Hobbes to Deists and their Opponents Lecture 9: Read Brown's Christianity and Western thought (CWT)--Chapter 13--From Locke to Berkeley--PAPER 2 due Lecture 10: Read Brown's Christianity and Western thought (CWT)--Chapter 14--From the Existence of God to Hume Lecture 11: Read Brown's Christianity and Western thought (CWT)--Chapter 15--From Reid to Edwards to Deists in America Lecture 12: Read Brown's Christianity and Western thought (CWT)--Chapter 16 to 17--Enlightenment and Skepticism in France (Voltaire and Rosseau) and Germany (Lessing, Reimarus, and Kant) Lecture 13: Read Brown's Christianity and Western thought (CWT)--A Note on the Role of Women in the History of Western Thought (Diotima, Domna, Hypatia, Hildegard of Bingen, Heloise, Julian of Norwich, Bocchi, Galindo, de Nantes, Elizabeth I, von Bora, Teresa of Avila, Queen Christina of Sweden, van Schurman, Grignan, Cavendish, Conway, Masham, Pisciopia, etc)--PAPER 3 due Oral presentations will be scheduled during the Exam week. Basic Literature: Brown, Colin. (1990) Christianity and Western thought: A history of philosophers, ideas and movements. Intervarsity Press: Downers Grove. Recommended Literature: Tarnas, Richard. (1993) The Passion of the Western mind: Understanding the ideas that have shaped our world view. Ballantine Books: New York.
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The purpose of this course is to provide students with a survey of Christianity and Western philosophies from the Pre-Socratic tradition to the Age of Enlightenment. Students will benefit from this rich source that sketches the Western history of philosophers, ideas, and movements that have influenced and been influenced by Christian thought. We will explore how the ancient Greek and Roman schools of Philosophy served as the preliminary background from which the Church Fathers and Mothers got some of their intellectual ideas from. Additionally, we will study how Christian thinkers developed their philosophical and theological ideas from ancient to medieval times. Moreover, we will discuss how influential were the ideas held by modern philosophers and theologians from the Protestant Reformation to the Age of Enlightenment.
COURSE OUTCOMES: Upon successful completion of this course, students will: 1. Demonstrate first-hand knowledge of Western philosophical and religious thinking, their classic texts, and their cultural impact in our societies. 2. Explain and discuss major Western philosophical and religious themes and motifs. 3. Collect data and cite good examples of similarities and differences between ancient and modern Western worldviews. 4. Critically address the major philosophical problems encountered in the book, especially by taking greater responsibility for one?s own learning through the demonstration of curiosity, motivation, and risk-taking characteristics. 5. Utilize information technology to do research, specifically the Internet, and express themselves clearly, logically, and precisely in writing and in speaking. 6. Analyze and synthesize a broad range of material (including ability to make meaningful connections between various academic disciplines). 7. Produce an original work as part of a final oral presentation based on their ability to formulate a problem, develop a plan of action, and prove or disprove a hypothesis.
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