Philosophy 240
Fall, 2010

Select one or the other of the following two topics.

Option One

"The conditions of human life are such that, in all matters of importance to us, we have to choose (or act as if we had chosen) between competing schemes of thought which have varying degrees of rational support, but which cannot be shown to be true beyond all dispute. Our choice determines not only what we do, but who we are. In this predicament it is not sensible, or indeed even possible, to be forever changing our stance, because in that case we should not adhere to our convictions long enough to put them to the test, or to effect worthwhile changes in the world, or to develop for ourselves a consistent character. So there is need for a robust faith (a deliberate commitment) in virtue of which we can hold to our course when the going gets difficult, as sooner or later it always does."

Discuss the above quotation insofar as it is relevant to classical theism. Is it right? Might it be rational  for someone to have such faith? If so, how? If not, why not?

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Option Two

Evaluate the following argument as carefully as you can.

"Unless theism can assemble reasonably clear evidence to support the thesis that God exists, rational people cannot respond even with agnosticism, let alone faith. The only proper response is atheism. Rationally, faith should involve confidence in a reasonable commitment; and agnosticism is rational only when a hypothesis and its denial both have some support, that is, when the evidence is balanced so that the thesis is about 50 percent probable. Since the traditional arguments for the existence of God fail to give significant support, both theism and agnosticism are unfounded."

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A printed copy of your essay, which may not exceed 1000 words, is due in class  on Friday, November 26.

An identical electronic copy of your essay is due on the Turnitin site before 6:00 p.m. that same day. (I recommend that you not leave this to the last minute. Allow for difficulties. Your essay may be submitted to Turnitin at any time before the official deadline, including a day or two earlier.) A paper will be deemed late if it fails to meet either of these deadlines.

Late papers will be penalized in the following way: I will expect more of them; that is, I will expect them to reflect the fact that the student had extra time to work on them, and I will grade them accordingly. In addition, late papers will not receive written comments.

Work independently of others. Plagiarism will be dealt with severely. Make sure that you have read the material referred to on the home page for this course about academic honesty.

I recommend that students consult the document, "Writing a Philosophy Paper". You may also want to read the information about various abbreviations used in grading, and quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing.

Return/transfer to the Philosophy 240 home page.