Philosophy of Religion
Objectives
a) To develop a critical understanding of the religious and philosophical traditions that play a more important role in the contemporary world.
b) To develop skills of critical thinking in order to evaluate arguments and views.
c) To develop the capacity to establish relationships between present events and philosophical and religious systems.
d) To develop the capacity to think critically from the perspective of different religions and cultures.
General characterization
Code
711031069
Credits
6.0
Responsible teacher
Alberto Oya Marquez
Hours
Weekly - 4
Total - 168
Teaching language
Portuguese
Prerequisites
Not applicable
Bibliography
Williams, Bernard (1995). Problems of the Self. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
James, William (1896/1979). “The Will to Believe”, in The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy. London: Harvard University Press. [Portuguese Translation: James, William (1896/2001). A vontade de crer. São Paulo: Loyola].
Nietzsche, Friedrich (1887/1989). On The Genealogy of Morals, in On the Genealogy of Morals and Ecce Homo, edited and translated by Walter Kaufmann, 13–163. New York: Vintage Books [Portuguese Translation: Nietzsche, Friedrich (1887/1976). A genealogia da moral. Lisboa: Livraria Guimaraes].
Peirce, Charles Sanders (1908/1980). “A Neglected Argument for the Reality of God”, in Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce, ed. Ch. Hartshorne and P. Weiss. London: Harvard University Press [Portuguese Translation: Peirce, Charles Sanders (1908/2023). “Um argumento negligenciado em favor da realidade de Deus”, Cognitio: Revista de Filosofia 24 (1), pp. 1–25].
Unamuno, Miguel de (1913/1966). Del sentimiento trágico de la vida en los hombres y en los pueblos, in Miguel de Unamuno: obras completas (vol. VII: ‘Meditaciones y ensayos espirituales’), ed. Manuel García Blanco, 109–302. Madrid: Escelicer. [English Translation: Unamuno, Miguel de (1913/1972). The Tragic Sense of Life in Men and Nations, in The Selected Works of Miguel de Unamuno (vol. 4), ed. and trans. Anthony Kerrigan, 3–358. Princeton: Princeton University Press // Portuguese Translation: Unamuno, Miguel de (1913/2008). Do sentimiento trágico da vida. Lisboa: Relógio d’Água Editores]
Unamuno, Miguel de (1924/1966). La agonía del cristianismo, in Miguel de Unamuno: obras completas (vol. VII: ‘Meditaciones y ensayos espirituales’), ed. Manuel García Blanco, 303–364. Madrid: Escelicer. [English Translation: Unamuno, Miguel de (1924/1974). The Agony of Christianity, in The Selected Works of Miguel de Unamuno (vol. 5), ed. and trans. Anthony Kerrigan, 1–109. Princeton: Princeton University Press. // Portuguese Translation: Unamuno, Miguel de (1924/2014). A agonia do cristianismo. Lisboa: Cotovia]
Unamuno, Miguel de (1930/1967). San Manuel Bueno, mártir, in Miguel de Unamuno: obras completas (vol. II: ‘Novelas’), ed. Manuel García Blanco, 1127–1154. Madrid: Escelicer. [English Translation: Unamuno, Miguel de (1930/1976). Saint Manuel Bueno, martyr, in The Selected Works of Miguel de Unamuno (vol. 7), ed. and trans. Anthony Kerrigan, 135–180. Princeton: Princeton University Press. // Portuguese Translation: Unamuno, Miguel de (1930/1999). São Manuel Bom, mártir, trans. Cristina Rodriguez and Artur Guerra. Algés: Difel.]
Teaching method
Lectures focus on the reading, commentary, and analysis of classic philosophical texts in a manner that encourages critical discussions with students
Evaluation method
Evaluation: final exam (70%) and a short essay (30%).
Subject matter
The first part of the course will offer students a coherent and systematic characterization of Miguel de Unamuno’s (1864–1936) philosophy of religion. Special emphasis will be placed on clarifying Unamuno’s claim that we all are “men of flesh and bone” who irremediably suffer from an insatiable “hunger for immortality” that leads us to suffer from the “tragic feeling of life”, and which, according to Unamuno, ultimately moves us to engage in a religious, lovingly driven way of life. The second part of the course will contrast Unamuno’s philosophy of religion with that of other classical thinkers, such as Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677), Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914), Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), William James (1842–1910), Joaquim Xirau (1895–1946), R. B. Braithwaite (1900–1990) and Bernard Williams (1929–2003). Contrasting Unamuno’s philosophy of religion with these aforementioned thinkers will serve as an entry point for students to the study of philosophical themes that are currently being vividly discussed in the field of Philosophy of Religion. These themes include: non-doxastic conceptions of religious faith in general, and religious fictionalism in particular; pragmatic arguments for religious faith; the desirability (or undesirability) of immortality; the Christian conception of love as an exercise of self-affirmation; and the alleged natural (or ontological) foundation of religious faith.