Summer Semester 2024
Master's Programme Philosophy of Religion at the Faculty of Catholic Theology
Compulsory Module 3: Critical Analysis of Worldviews
202.554 VO Metaphysics, philosophy of language, and religion. Christian KANZIAN
Start: Monday 04.03.2024, on-site, next time online in Summer Semester 2025
Learning Outcome: Knowledge of systematic connections between core topics of philosophy of language, metaphysics and philosophy of religion.
Contents: In the course we start from central topics of the philosophy of language, examine their relevance for metaphysics/ontology, with regard to selected topics of the philosophy of religion, such as religious speech, existence/existence of God, theodicy.
Methods: Lectures with discussions.
Assessment: Oral exam.
Literature: Will be presented in the course of the lecture.
202.555 SE Classical and contemporary criticism of religion. Katherine DORMANDY
Start: Tuesday 05.03.2024, on-site, next time online in Summer Semester 2025
Learning Outcome: Familiarity with historical and contemporary criticism of religion and religious beliefs, the ability to think critically and articulate one’s own opinion on this topic.
Contents: Few topics are more controversial than religion – whether the controversy concerns which religion to adopt, or whether religion in general is bad or dangerous. We will explore a wide variety of criticisms of religion, with the aim of making up our own minds on these questions. We’ll start with criticism of general religious truth-claims: is the monothistic concept of God impossible? Does horrendous evil make it impossible for such a God to exist? How solid are the traditional arguments for God’s existence? Then we’ll investigate psychological and political criticisms: Is religion just a psychological crutch or an „opium for the masses“? Is God just a projection of brains that have evolved to believe? Are traditional religious worldviews inherently racist or sexist? Third, we‘ll explore the idea that religion is the ultimate conspiracy theory, fostering fundamentalism and polarlization.
Methods: Weekly discussions of important texts.
Assessment: Short essays.
Literature: Will be given at the beginning of the semester.
Compulsory Module 4: Contemporary Philosophy of Religion
202.556 VO Advanced issues in contemporary philosophy of religion: Pascal's Wager argument; alternatives to classical theism. Winfried LÖFFLER
Start: Monday 04.03.2024, on-site, next time online in Summer Semester 2025
Learning Outcome: Students have advanced knowledge of selected subtopics in contemporary philosophy of religion and are able to relate it to relevant other philosophical fields (such as logic, ontology, philosophy of mind).
Contents: Presentation and critical analysis of modern approaches to Blaise Pascal’s “Wager argument” and of alternatives to classical theism.
Methods: Live-stream lecture with the possibility of discussion. The lecture will also be recorded.
Assessment: Oral examination.
Literature: W.J. Wainwright (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Religion (2005); T. Schärtl et al. (Hg.), Rethinking the Concept of a personal God: Classical Theism, Personal Theism, and Alternative Concepts of God (2016).
202.557 SE Contemporary texts in the philosophy of religion: God and abstract objects. Bruno NIEDERBACHER
Start: Monday 04.03.2024, on-site, next time online in Summer Semester 2025
Learning Outcome: Get acquainted with the issues concerning the relation between God and abstract objects.
Contents: We assess and discuss how abstract objects (like properties, relations, propositions, numbers, possible worlds etc.) could be related to God.
Methods: Reading, presentations, papers, discussions.
Assessment: Final paper.
Literature: Paul M. Gould (ed.), Beyond the Control of God? Six Views on the Problem of God and Abstract Objects. New York 2014.
Compulsory Module 6: Religion, Culture and Society
202.510 VO Religion, Culture and Society. Daniel WEHINGER
Start: Tuesday 05.03.2024, online
Learning Outcome: We will examine central theories of the social dimension of human life.
Contents: Being with others appears to be an essential aspect of human existence. But how can the role that others play in our life be grasped theoretically? What is the relation between self and other? And in which ways is the image we have of ourselves shaped by others? We will discuss some of the most influential philosophical answers to these questions.
In particular, we will ask:
- Why does Sartre claim that “hell is other people”? And how is this claim related to his theory of subjectivity?
- What does Merleau-Ponty mean when he describes our encounters with others as a kind of “intercorporeity”?
- How is the interaction theory of social cognition related to the Hegelian idea of a struggle for recognition?
Methods: Lecture inputs and discussion.
Assessment: Oral exam.
Literature: Will be announced during the lecture.
202.511 SE Philosophical approaches to inclusion and diversity: What is racism today? Katherine DORMANDY
Start: Thursday 07.03.2024, online
Learning Outcome: The ability to think critically about racism and other forms of unjust social exclusion, and the ability to clearly present and justify our own views.
Contents: Racisim is as old as humanity, but takes on different forms in different contexts. What does racisim look like in our society today? And what is racism to begin with? Is race itself a legitimate category? Is racisim something that we can as individuals choose to reject, or does addressing it require wholescale social change? We will read a variety of classic and contemporary texts on racism, with the aim of thinking openly and critically about an issue that is relevant to all of us.
Methods: Discussion of important texts on the topic.
Assessment: Short essays.
Literature: Will be announced; many of the texts are in English.
Elective Module 3: Interdisciplinary Aspects of Philosophy of Religion
202.516 VO Interdisciplinary Aspects of Philosophy of Religion. Christoph JÄEGER
Start: Thursday 11.04.2024, online
Learning Outcome: Familiarity with core aspects of relations between philosophy of religion and other academic disciplines.
Contents: Interdisciplinary aspects of the philosophy of religion, especially concerning theories of the emotions from cognitive science, sociological theories of religion, and the study of religions.
Methods: Discussion of relevant texts.
Assessment: Submission of short essays.
Literature: TBA in the first session.
202.517 SE Interdisciplinary Aspects of Philosophy of Religion: Cognitive Foundations of Religion. Josef QUITTERER
Start: Tuesday 5.04.2024
Learning Outcome: Basic knowledge of the cognitive foundations of religion.
Contents: Is God ‘sitting’ in the brain? What are the neural correlates of religious experiences? Which cognitive capacities do we need for religious beliefs? Is Religion a (by)product of evolutionary developments? What are the selective advantages of religious attitudes?
These questions are discussed in the seminar on the basis of selected texts.
Methods: Reading of texts, discussion.
Assessment: Active participation in the discussion, essays.
Literature: To be announced in the seminar.
General information on exams, dates and sign-on at the department (in German).