Course Syllabus

Community College                                                                                                       (610) 527.1341

PHIL/RS152                                                                                        hdmochowski@ccp.edu

Philosophy of Religion                                                                                Hank Dmochowski, PhD

 

(1) Course Description:

Systematic and historical analysis of philosophical problems of religion, such as the problem of evil and theodicy, the conflict between religion and science, the relationship between faith and reason, the nature of religious language, and arguments about the nature and existence of God.

(2) Instruction Materials: The required text is Louis P. Pojman, Philosophy of Religion , Waveland Press (ISBN 13; 978-1-57766-611-0). The book is available on Kindle and can be acquired through Amazon.com. In each unit module there are several related videos for viewing after the textbook chapter has been carefully read.

(3)   Course Information: Web-based or online courses are somewhat different from traditional face2face classroom courses. It is very important for a student in a web-course to have good time-management skills, self-discipline and reliable access to a working computer. There are rigid due dates for all assignments, quizzes, and discussions. All work must be submitted by midnight of the due date. It is therefore important to get an early start on your work. Should you encounter a problem with the Canvas Learning Management System, first email the instructor, but if your instructor is unable to resolve the problem then please contact the help desk: (Phone: On-camups, ext. 6000; Off-campus, 215-496-6000 Hours:   Mon – Thurs, 8 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Fri, 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.; Sat, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.)

You will be required to submit assignments, quizzes, and contributions to the discussion forum consisting of a Main Post and Response Post.  Each of your assignments and discussions needs to be written cogently, show that serious thought has been given to the question items, and reflect college-level writing skills. Please make sure that you save all your work to file in a dedicated folder on your computer as a safeguard.

Center on Disability Statement:

For a statement of the Community College of Philadelphia`s resources regarding the American Disability Act follow the following link.

Center on Disability.docx

Academic Integrity Statement:

For a statement of the Community College of Philadelphia's policies regarding 'Student rights and Responsibilities' follow the following link from the student handbook:

http://ccp.edu/college-catalog/college-policies-and-procedures/student-rights-and-responsibilities

ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS:

I have attempted to design an online course that has a simple structure to minimize the usual confusion one experiences at the start of an online course. There are eleven individual units in this class, each dealing with a different chapter in the textbook. Each week you will need to submit two pieces of work: (1) Discussion Contribution  (two posts) and either a (2) Quiz or an Assignment, but not both. All work needs to be submitted by Sunday midnight and no late work will be accepted. There will be no opportunities in this class for extra credit since there are twenty-two individual  pieces of work that factor into one`s overall average: 11 discussion posts, 5 assignments, and 6 quizzes. At the end of the course I will drop your lowest grade in each of the three categories: quizzes, discussions, and assignments. Each unit will inform you of the of the details for that unit`s work.  Lastly, please email your professor should you have a question or concern.

 

(4)   Grading Policy: Letter grades will be assigned according to the following categories: A (100-90), B (89-80), C (79-70), D (69-60), F (below 60). The student may view their current course average by clicking on the grade tool in the left side menu. The overall average can be found in the very last grade column. Final numerical averages will be calculated according to the following formula: Discussions - (30%), Quizzes - (40%),  Assignments - (30%)

 

30% Participation in Weekly Discussion Forum: This part of the grade is determined by the quality of one’s contributions to all eleven weekly discussions. Each of your two discussion posts needs to be 10-20 sentences in length. A conscientious student will aim at 20 sentences and a few more if needed.  (1) You are required to post a main contribution to each weekly discussion. This post should be identified as “Main Post”. (2) You also need to comment on one post of another student in this class. This post should be identified as “Response Post”. Your comments should be thoughtful, and pertinent to the other student’s posts. Please avoid simple comments such as: “I couldn’t have said it better!” or “I agree 100% with you.” Provide an explanation of why you agree or disagree with another`s post. In your responses disagreement is welcomed and encouraged, but remember that the rules of etiquette need to be respected in this class.  (3) As evidence that you are actively participating in the weekly discussion you should read most, if not all, of the posts by the members of this class. The best time to read all the posts is Sunday night. (4) You are asked to integrate the ideas from the unit's chapter, as well as other relevant sources into your two discussion posts. These four considerations will determine your discussion grade.

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40% Quizzes: This part of the grade will be determined by the student’s scores on fourteen multiple-choice quizzes. These quizzes will require that you read the textbook material very carefully and take good notes or construct a good outline. To do well in the quizzes, please utilize the study guides as you read through the different chapters. Each quiz will contain 10 multiple-choice questions and have a time limit of 15 minutes. Therefore, make sure that you master the material before the quiz so that you can move relatively quickly through the quiz. You will be notified of how much time you will have to complete the test beforehand. Note that you will not be able to revisit a question once you move to the next question item. Also, keep in mind that you will have enough time to complete all question items but not much more time than that. All quizzes will be available only from Saturday 12:01 AM to Sunday 11:59 PM.

 

30% Weekly Assignments: This part of the grade will be calculated as the average of five weekly assignments. Each of your answer items must be between 20-25 sentences in length and be carefully proofread so as to identify and correct any careless errors in spelling, grammar, and proper writing mechanics.  You may include one or two short quotes but do not pad your submissions with long quotes and under no circumstances should your writing be plagiarized from another author. You are asked to integrate the ideas of the assigned chapter, as well as other relevant sources of your choice into your assignments. Cite your source within parentheses, e.g. (...as was pointed out in the video: ('Hume's Critique of the Teleological Argument'). I am asking you to make connections among ideas and incorporate non-textbook materials, in addition to being clear in your writing.

 

Philosophy of Religion Learning Outcomes:

• Discuss the impact of religion on human civilization and the importance of analyzing religious questions from an impartial, unbiased, and rational perspective
• Describe the major arguments and counter-arguments for the existence of God.
• Gain an indepth understanding of issues related to religion such as: religious experience, the problem of evil, miracles, immortality, the relationship between faith and reason, religious doubt, and the connection between morality and religion.

 

PHIL/RS152  Course Outcomes: These outcomes refer to the overall student Learning Outcomes for Community College of Philadelphia as well as to the outcomes of the General Education Program.

• Identify and explain key terms and central concepts associated with the philosophical-religious topics covered in each chapter of the textbook.
• Understand and evaluate the arguments and counter-arguments underlying the issues discussed in each chapter of the textbook.
• Become familiar with some of the important thinkers in the area of the philosophy of religion.
• Explore several foundational issues and controversies in the philosophy of religion. 

 

Schedule of Topics, Student Work and Due Dates

ALL WORK DUE AT MIDNIGHT

 

Due Date	Topic	Work Due
6/04/2016	Unit 01 - Introduction	Discussion & Quiz
6/11/2017	Unit 02 - Cosmological Arguments Unit 03 - Teleological Arguments	Discussion & Quiz Discussion & Quiz
6/18/2017	Unit 04 - Ontological Arguments Unit 05 - The Argument from Religious     Experience	Discussion & Quiz Assignment & Quiz
6/25/2017	Unit 06 - The Problem of Evil   Unit 07 - Miracles	Assignment & Discussion Assignment & Discussion
7/2/2017	Unit 08 - Personal Identity & Immortality	Assignment & Discussion
7/09/2017	Unit 09 - Faith & Reason Unit 10 - Faith, Hope & Doubt	Discussion & Quiz Assignment & Discussion
7/16/2017	Unit 11 - Religion & Ethics	Discussion & Quiz