REL4112F/REL5112F: Philosophers on Religion

REL4112F / REL5112F     PHILOSOPHERS ON RELIGION
(Not offered in 2025)
REL4112F: 24 NQF credits at NQF level 8
REL5112F: 24 NQF credits at NQF level 9

Convener: Dr L P Blond

Course entry requirements:
REL4112F: Acceptance for an honours programme.
REL5112F: Acceptance for a master’s programme.

Course outline: 
This course will explore a selection of philosophers who have placed religion at the centre of their work either in order to critique its worth or to transform religious concepts into different, often secular, forms. The philosophers selected will be major figures in Western thought who have challenged traditional forms of Jewish and Christian religious authority (for example, Spinoza and Nietzsche) or philosophers who have contributed to debates on the value of religious concepts and religious ethics (for example, Jacobi, Hegel, MacIntyre and Levinas) to demonstrate their continued relevance. The course will explore how value and meaning are contested on religious concepts and it will attempt to show that current debates extend and build on the significant contributions of earlier thinkers in the Western canon.

Lecture Times: Wednesdays

DP requirements: Regular attendance at all seminars and timeous completion of all assignments and essays.

Assessment:

• REL4112F: Attendance of and preparation for seminar, seminar papers (50%) and a final essay of 4000 words (50%).
  REL5112F: Attendance of and preparation for seminar, seminar papers (50%) and a final essay of 6000 words (50%).