Philosophy of Religion Journal Assignments

At the beginning of the semester create a Google account, and then create a single Google doc titled last name Critical Thinking. The title of the document is up in the left hand corner. All of your written work for the semester will be put into this document.

Video: Creating a Google Doc

Each week, you will add a writing assignment to this document. (Do not create separate documents for the different assignments). There are detailed instructions about Google accounts and documents on the syllabus. You will have one Google doc and all of these journal entries will be added to it.

Each week, put the new entry at the top of the document and give that section the whole, exact title from the instructions in bold print. So for the first one, the title would be: 1 Simplicity and Design.

Grading Criteria for the Journal: There are too many students and too many video project entries for me to give many individual comments or grades on the Video Projects. I will give some feedback early in the semester, but after that, it will be up to the student to follow these instructions:

1) All of the entries must be completed. Any missing projects will result in a proportional reduction in the overall grade.

2) All of the journal entries must be completed on time. The time and date when it was submitted is available to me in the Revision History tab of Google Docs. Any revisions that occur after the due date will also be evident in the Revision History view. Late assignments will not be accepted.

3) All of the questions in the individual projects must be addressed. And they must be addressed specifically and thoroughly. Copy and paste the full particular assignment directly into the document, then answer each question directly and at length. Entries that fail to quote and answer each question will be graded down.

4) It will vary from entry to entry, but doing a thorough and acceptable job of addressing the questions will typically take at least 200 words per entry. A few sentences or two short paragraphs won't be sufficient.

5) The entries must be completely free of spelling, grammar, and structure errors. They must meet the standards of written college English. Any entries that have spelling, grammar, and writing structure errors will not receive credit. Entries that are a single block of text with no paragraphs or thesis sentence organization will not receive credit.

6) The entries must reflect a clear understanding of the arguments, concepts, principles, and distinctions that the philosopher in the video makes. The entries must be long enough and detailed enough to reflect your understanding.

7) If you are in doubt, write more. Take the opportunity to expand on the topic and questions under consideration. Offer some of your own ideas in addition to addressing the project questions. Entries that are only 5 sentences long, for example, will not receive credit.

During the semester, and at the end, I will review all of your entries. The grade on this portion of the coursework will be proportional to the extent to which they meet all of these criteria.

Here are the assignments:

1 Simplicity and Design Bede Rundle explains some points about the Design Argument here: Bede Rundle: Arguing God from Design Why does he think that the design argument gives a more complicated solution than the atheism alternative, and why does that solution weaken the argument? Write your answer in your last name Religion Google Doc at the top with the heading 1 Simplicity and Design. Be sure to share the document with me with the button in the upper right as a collaborator with the email address: mccormick@csus.edu by Sunday, Sept. 5 at 11:59 pm.

2 Laws

What is our explanation of the most fundamental laws of nature, as Weinberg sees it here: Steven Weinber: Where Do the Laws of Nature Come? What makes a theory more beautiful, according to Weinberg? Write your answers in your last name Religion Google Doc at the top with the heading 2 Laws. Each week you will add the new weekend project to the top so they are all in one document in reverse chronological order. Do not create multiple Google Docs for this course. It should be done by Sunday, Sept. 12 at 11:59 pm.

3 Suffering and Islam

What does Ayoub say is the Islamic answer to the problem of evil here:

Mahmoud Ayoub: Did God Create Evil? What is different about the answer he gives? Write your answer at the top of your last name Religion Google doc with the heading 3 Suffering and Islam. Each week you will add the new weekend project to the top so they are all in one document in reverse chronological order. It should be done by Sunday, Sept. 19 at 11:59 pm.

4 Miracles and Evil

What does Phillip Clayton think about miracles and evil here: Philip Clayton: Is Evil Necessary in God's World? Is Clayton a theist or an atheist? What sort of miracles could God do, according to Clayton? Write your answers at the top of your last name Religion Google doc with the heading 4 Miracles and Evil. It should be done by Sunday, Sept. 26 at 11:59 pm.

5 Testimony

What is the fundamental problem with arguing for miracles on the basis of testimony, according to Walter Sinott-Armstrong here: Walter Sinnot Armstrong: Arguing God from Miracles and Revelations Label this section of your Google doc as 5 Testimony. Complete it by Sunday, Oct. 3 at 11:59 pm.

6 Hinduism

Is Hinduism atheistic, according to Varadaraja Raman here: Arguments for Atheism and Hinduism Why does he think so? Is the Hindu committed to be an atheist, or something weaker? What are their views about a God, gods, or no god. Label this section of the doc 6 Hinduism. Complete it by Sunday, Oct. 10 at 11:59 pm.

7 Near Death Experiences

There are some reasons in this article to be skeptical about reports of life after death. Brain Activity and Near Death Experiences. What are they? What's the difference between real death and clinical death? What else could be contributing to stories of the afterlife? What sort of evidence would be better for life after death? Label your answer 7 Near Death Experiences and put it at the top of your Google doc. Complete it by Sunday, Oct. 24 at 11:59 pm.