Fall 2004/Pasadena
PH852/552
Murphy
PH852/552: METHODS IN PHILOSOPHY. Nancey Murphy.
DESCRIPTION:
- This is a doctoral seminar for Ph.D. and Th.M. students, open to a
limited number of advanced M.A. and M.Div. students. The aims of this
course are: (1) to familiarize students with changing conceptions of the nature
of philosophy and philosophical methods since the beginning of the Modern
period; and(2) to investigate the consequences of methodological changes for
philosophy of religion, philosophical theology (i.e., theological method), and
apologetics. In the historical section of the course we examine Cartesian
rationalism, empiricist foundationalism, and Kantian critical method. We then
examine four current options: continental philosophy, analytic philosophy,
post-analytic philosophy, and MacIntyre's tradition-constituted
inquiry.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY:
- No direct relevance.
COURSE FORMAT:
- The class will meet weekly for three-hour sessions. Class time will
be divided between lectures and discussion of the readings. Lectures will
address the background and significance of the philosophers whose works we
read.
REQUIRED READING:
- Critchley, Simon. Continental Philosophy: A Very Short
Introduction. Oxford, 2001.
- Descartes, René. Discourse on Method and the Meditations.
Penguin, 1968.
- Kant, Immanuel. Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics. Hackett,
1977.
- MacIntyre, Alasdair. "Epistemological Crises, Dramatic Narrative, and the
Philosophy of Science." Most recently published in Why Narrative? Readings
in Narrative Theology, ed. Stanley Hauerwas and l. Gregor Jones (Eerdmans,
1989), pp. 138-57.
- Moser, Paul and Dwayne Mulder, eds. Contemporary Approaches to
Philosophy. Macmillan, 1994.
ASSIGNMENTS:
- Careful reading of assignments, regular attendance, class
participation. One 20-30 page paper as per CATS requirements; topics to be
chosen in consultation with the professor. In addition, students will be
assigned to prepare and lead class discussions.
PREREQUISITES:
- For master's students: previous work in philosophy and 3.5 Fuller
GPA; permission of instructor.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM:
- Methods seminar for CATS students in philosophy of religion;
elective for master's students. (May fulfill M.Div. core requirement in
philosophy (PHIL) for students with undergraduate major in philosophy.)
FINAL EXAMINATION:
- None.