JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY
God, Meaning, & Morality
REL 102
Fall 2019
Sec. 1 M-W-F 1115-1205
Sec. 2 M-W-F 125-215
1032 Duke Hall
Dr. Edward Perry Neel, Adjunct Instructor
Cleveland 320 Office Hours M-W-F 10-11
[email protected]
www.skeptichume.weebly.com
REL102. God, Meaning and Morality.
3 credits.
A study of the ways in which various communities perceive and understand the basis of knowledge, reality, meaning and purpose, ethics, and aesthetics. Students will explore religious and nonreligious approaches to these issues.
This class will focus on religious/theological issues that link the topics of God, Meaning, and Morality. 1. Arguments for and against the existence of God will be examined in Plato’s Dialogues, Hume and Schopenhauer. 2. The problem of suffering/evil will be examined in Plato, HOLY THE FIRM, the essays of Schopenhauer, THE PLAGUE, THE PROBLEM OF PAIN, THE STRANGER. 3. Eastern and Western religious traditions’ conceptions of the divine and of morality will be compared and contrasted. 4. Religious morality will be addressed in THE STRANGER, THE GAY SCIENCE, and DHARMA ROAD.
1. The student will be able to reflect on critical questions regarding the nature of suffering and evil.
2. The student will become familiar with the various religious concepts of morality as it is understood in major eastern and western traditions.
3. The student will explore the intersections of the concepts of god, of meaning, and of morality as they occur in theistic and non-theistic thought as well as eastern and western religious traditions.
Texts: EUTHYPHRO, APOLOGY, CRITO, Plato. DIALOGUES CONCERNING NATURAL RELIGION, David Hume. THE TAO TE CHING. THE ANALECTS OF CONFUCIUS. SUFFERING, SUICIDE and IMMORTALITY, Arthur Schopenhauer. HOLY THE FIRM, Annie Dillard. THE PLAGUE, Albert Camus. THE PROBLEM OF PAIN, C.S. Lewis. THE GAY SCIENCE, Friedrich Nietzsche. THE STRANGER, Albert Camus. DHARMA ROAD, Brian Haycock. Handouts.
Grades: There will be 3 objective, multiple choice tests. No late tests given. Please don't ask for exceptions. If you must be away on official JMU business, you may take a quiz early. Please arrange with me. (In extreme circumstances, at the discretion of the instructor, a make-up assignment may be given.)
The final exam will be a comprehensive, take-home essay. It will be explained the last week of the semester.
Tests: 300 points
Final: 200 points
Total: 500 points
A 90+% B 80+% C 70+% D60+%
Attendance is expected. I do not distinguish excused and unexcused absences. So use your absences judiciously. No late tests. If you must miss a class due to university commitments, see me before your absence. At my discretion, I may issue an essay assignment to make up for a missed test.
THE CLASSROOM IS A CELL-FREE ZONE. Absolutely no cellphones. NO CELL PHONES, FOOD, OR GUM. NO LAPTOPS. Electronics are extremely distracting to you and your neighbors in class. So don't use them!
(“I don’t have pet peeves, I have deep psychological hatreds.” George Carlin)
We look very closely at all of our readings. Therefore, you must bring the current reading assignment to class.
Schedule:
August 26- Introduction to the course
28- The Concept of God (handout)
30- Plato, "Euthyphro"
September 2- "Euthyphro" continued
4- Hume, "Dialogues"
6- "Dialogues" continued
9- continued
11- "Dialogues" continued
13- Hume, "On Miracles"
16- Test 1: The Concept of God, Euthyphro, Hume
18- Eastern Thought- "Tao Te Ching”
20- Analects" of Confucius
23- Schopenhauer, "The Sufferings of the World”
25- Schopenhauer, "The Vanity of Existence"
27- Schopenhauer, "Suicide"
30- Theodicy (handout)
October 2- Dillard, "Holy the Firm"
4- continued
7- continued
9- Camus, "The Plague"
11- continued
14- continued
16- Lewis, "The Problem of Pain"
18- continued
21- continued
23- Test 2
25- "The Sermon on the Mount" (handout)
28- Plato, "Apology"
30- continued
November 1- "The Four Noble Truths" (handout)
4- Existentialism (handout)
6- Nietzsche, "The Gay Science" (section numbers will be provided)
8- continued
11- Camus, "The Stranger"
13- continued
15- continued
18- continued
20- Haycock, "Dharma Road"
22- continued
December 2- continued
4- Catch-up Day
6- Test 3
Exam Week
This schedule is a merely a structure and guideline. Often times we fall behind. But everything is done in the same order. You are expected to keep up with the assignments and read in advance of class and come prepared. Bring the current reading assignment to class.
Contact Information
Dr. Perry Neel
[email protected] (preferred)
540-448-0538
"'So Merlyn sent you to me' said the badger, 'To finish your education. Well, I can only teach you two things. To dig, and love your home. These are the true end of philosophy.'" The Badger from "The Sword in the Stone," THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING, T.H. White.
Honor Code: This class adheres to the Honor Code and policies of this University.
Add/Drop: In accordance with the dates posted by the University Registrar
Weather: Class is canceled if the University is closed, or if I email you otherwise.
Religious Accommodations will be made for the observance of holidays. Please contact the instructor prior to the holidays so that arrangements can be made.
REL 102 is a General Education Cluster Two Course.
Cluster Two: Arts and Humanities
Cluster Two shows students what it means to live lives enriched by reflection, imagination and creativity. It does so by offering each individual a multidisciplinary experience within the arts and humanities, those areas of endeavor that humans have long valued for their intrinsic worth and that invite a deeper appreciation of the human experience. The broadly stated goals for Cluster Two are:
To introduce students to cultural, historical, aesthetic and theoretical expressions of and questions about human experience.
To expose students to multiple academic disciplines in the arts and humanities and their methods and unique perspectives.
To inspire a deeper awareness of how the interplay between culture and expression affects both collective and individual identities.
To foster appreciation of the aesthetic and formal qualities of literary, visual and performing arts.
To engage students in thinking critically and communicating clearly about enduring questions concerning human life, culture and history.
Cluster Two Structure
Students complete nine credits by choosing one course from each of three groups: Human Questions and Contexts; Visual and Performing Arts; and Literature.
Group One: Human Questions and Contexts
Students will take one course from the list below. GAMST 200 takes an interdisciplinary approach to questions about American identity and shows how they reflect a complex interplay of cultural, historical, religious and ideological perspectives. The GANTH and GHIST courses introduce students to the great cultures of the world by surveying the common patterns of experience that characterized Western, Middle Eastern, Asian, African, Meso- and South American societies in the past. The GHUM courses are interdisciplinary, in-depth explorations of specific topics, cultures, periods or themes. The GPHIL and GREL courses explore the great inquiries into human existence and the ways different cultures across different time periods constructed their responses to questions concerning humans' existence and their relationship to nature, ultimate reality and the universe. Thus all of the courses in Group One emphasize central questions about the human condition and ways of studying values and beliefs as they are shaped by class, gender, race, historical events, philosophy and religion.
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God, Meaning, & Morality
REL 102
Fall 2019
Sec. 1 M-W-F 1115-1205
Sec. 2 M-W-F 125-215
1032 Duke Hall
Dr. Edward Perry Neel, Adjunct Instructor
Cleveland 320 Office Hours M-W-F 10-11
[email protected]
www.skeptichume.weebly.com
REL102. God, Meaning and Morality.
3 credits.
A study of the ways in which various communities perceive and understand the basis of knowledge, reality, meaning and purpose, ethics, and aesthetics. Students will explore religious and nonreligious approaches to these issues.
This class will focus on religious/theological issues that link the topics of God, Meaning, and Morality. 1. Arguments for and against the existence of God will be examined in Plato’s Dialogues, Hume and Schopenhauer. 2. The problem of suffering/evil will be examined in Plato, HOLY THE FIRM, the essays of Schopenhauer, THE PLAGUE, THE PROBLEM OF PAIN, THE STRANGER. 3. Eastern and Western religious traditions’ conceptions of the divine and of morality will be compared and contrasted. 4. Religious morality will be addressed in THE STRANGER, THE GAY SCIENCE, and DHARMA ROAD.
1. The student will be able to reflect on critical questions regarding the nature of suffering and evil.
2. The student will become familiar with the various religious concepts of morality as it is understood in major eastern and western traditions.
3. The student will explore the intersections of the concepts of god, of meaning, and of morality as they occur in theistic and non-theistic thought as well as eastern and western religious traditions.
Texts: EUTHYPHRO, APOLOGY, CRITO, Plato. DIALOGUES CONCERNING NATURAL RELIGION, David Hume. THE TAO TE CHING. THE ANALECTS OF CONFUCIUS. SUFFERING, SUICIDE and IMMORTALITY, Arthur Schopenhauer. HOLY THE FIRM, Annie Dillard. THE PLAGUE, Albert Camus. THE PROBLEM OF PAIN, C.S. Lewis. THE GAY SCIENCE, Friedrich Nietzsche. THE STRANGER, Albert Camus. DHARMA ROAD, Brian Haycock. Handouts.
Grades: There will be 3 objective, multiple choice tests. No late tests given. Please don't ask for exceptions. If you must be away on official JMU business, you may take a quiz early. Please arrange with me. (In extreme circumstances, at the discretion of the instructor, a make-up assignment may be given.)
The final exam will be a comprehensive, take-home essay. It will be explained the last week of the semester.
Tests: 300 points
Final: 200 points
Total: 500 points
A 90+% B 80+% C 70+% D60+%
Attendance is expected. I do not distinguish excused and unexcused absences. So use your absences judiciously. No late tests. If you must miss a class due to university commitments, see me before your absence. At my discretion, I may issue an essay assignment to make up for a missed test.
THE CLASSROOM IS A CELL-FREE ZONE. Absolutely no cellphones. NO CELL PHONES, FOOD, OR GUM. NO LAPTOPS. Electronics are extremely distracting to you and your neighbors in class. So don't use them!
(“I don’t have pet peeves, I have deep psychological hatreds.” George Carlin)
We look very closely at all of our readings. Therefore, you must bring the current reading assignment to class.
Schedule:
August 26- Introduction to the course
28- The Concept of God (handout)
30- Plato, "Euthyphro"
September 2- "Euthyphro" continued
4- Hume, "Dialogues"
6- "Dialogues" continued
9- continued
11- "Dialogues" continued
13- Hume, "On Miracles"
16- Test 1: The Concept of God, Euthyphro, Hume
18- Eastern Thought- "Tao Te Ching”
20- Analects" of Confucius
23- Schopenhauer, "The Sufferings of the World”
25- Schopenhauer, "The Vanity of Existence"
27- Schopenhauer, "Suicide"
30- Theodicy (handout)
October 2- Dillard, "Holy the Firm"
4- continued
7- continued
9- Camus, "The Plague"
11- continued
14- continued
16- Lewis, "The Problem of Pain"
18- continued
21- continued
23- Test 2
25- "The Sermon on the Mount" (handout)
28- Plato, "Apology"
30- continued
November 1- "The Four Noble Truths" (handout)
4- Existentialism (handout)
6- Nietzsche, "The Gay Science" (section numbers will be provided)
8- continued
11- Camus, "The Stranger"
13- continued
15- continued
18- continued
20- Haycock, "Dharma Road"
22- continued
December 2- continued
4- Catch-up Day
6- Test 3
Exam Week
This schedule is a merely a structure and guideline. Often times we fall behind. But everything is done in the same order. You are expected to keep up with the assignments and read in advance of class and come prepared. Bring the current reading assignment to class.
Contact Information
Dr. Perry Neel
[email protected] (preferred)
540-448-0538
"'So Merlyn sent you to me' said the badger, 'To finish your education. Well, I can only teach you two things. To dig, and love your home. These are the true end of philosophy.'" The Badger from "The Sword in the Stone," THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING, T.H. White.
Honor Code: This class adheres to the Honor Code and policies of this University.
Add/Drop: In accordance with the dates posted by the University Registrar
Weather: Class is canceled if the University is closed, or if I email you otherwise.
Religious Accommodations will be made for the observance of holidays. Please contact the instructor prior to the holidays so that arrangements can be made.
REL 102 is a General Education Cluster Two Course.
Cluster Two: Arts and Humanities
Cluster Two shows students what it means to live lives enriched by reflection, imagination and creativity. It does so by offering each individual a multidisciplinary experience within the arts and humanities, those areas of endeavor that humans have long valued for their intrinsic worth and that invite a deeper appreciation of the human experience. The broadly stated goals for Cluster Two are:
To introduce students to cultural, historical, aesthetic and theoretical expressions of and questions about human experience.
To expose students to multiple academic disciplines in the arts and humanities and their methods and unique perspectives.
To inspire a deeper awareness of how the interplay between culture and expression affects both collective and individual identities.
To foster appreciation of the aesthetic and formal qualities of literary, visual and performing arts.
To engage students in thinking critically and communicating clearly about enduring questions concerning human life, culture and history.
Cluster Two Structure
Students complete nine credits by choosing one course from each of three groups: Human Questions and Contexts; Visual and Performing Arts; and Literature.
Group One: Human Questions and Contexts
Students will take one course from the list below. GAMST 200 takes an interdisciplinary approach to questions about American identity and shows how they reflect a complex interplay of cultural, historical, religious and ideological perspectives. The GANTH and GHIST courses introduce students to the great cultures of the world by surveying the common patterns of experience that characterized Western, Middle Eastern, Asian, African, Meso- and South American societies in the past. The GHUM courses are interdisciplinary, in-depth explorations of specific topics, cultures, periods or themes. The GPHIL and GREL courses explore the great inquiries into human existence and the ways different cultures across different time periods constructed their responses to questions concerning humans' existence and their relationship to nature, ultimate reality and the universe. Thus all of the courses in Group One emphasize central questions about the human condition and ways of studying values and beliefs as they are shaped by class, gender, race, historical events, philosophy and religion.
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