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Week 9 · Module overview

Week 9 — Philosophy of Religion

Introduction to Philosophy Free sample edition

Why this matters

A nursing student sitting with a family after a disaster and an engineering major asking whether a well-ordered machine must have a maker both meet this week's question.

In plain language

This week asks whether careful reasoning can show that God exists, or that God does not. You meet three classic arguments for God's existence: the ontological argument (an argument from the idea of a greatest possible being), the cosmological argument (an argument from the fact that things are caused), and the design argument (an argument from the order in nature). You also meet the strongest arguments on the other side, chiefly the problem of evil (the challenge that suffering poses for a wholly good, all-powerful God). Students of every belief, and of none, do the same work here: state each argument as its best defenders would, test it, and give the reply. The course does not tell you what to believe, and it keys no verdict on whether God exists.

  • Already covered: Weeks 2 and 5 gave you standard form, validity, strength, and a priori versus a posteriori; Week 8 introduced the wager.
  • This week: the ontological, cosmological, and design arguments, Hume's objections, and the problem of evil.
  • How they connect: you test each argument with those same tools.
  • Where we're going next: Week 10 begins the ethics unit.

Focus

Can reason show that God exists, or that God does not?

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

  • [ ] sort each argument as a priori or a posteriori
  • [ ] reconstruct the ontological argument and the island reply
  • [ ] judge Paley's watch for strength and give Hume's objections
  • [ ] state the problem of evil and the free will defense

To-do

Plan your week

  1. Read Chapter 9 (~45–55 minutes), then the lecture and slides.
  2. Work the lecture tutorial (60–90 minutes).
  3. Do the practice exercises (15–25 minutes).
  4. Do the Philosophy Workshop (about 90 minutes), discussion, and assignment.
  5. Take the quiz.

This week's checkpoint: credit the watch on the heath to Paley and say what Hume objected.

You've got this

Take it in order, and ask your instructor early if stuck.

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