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This course introduces philosophy of religion with a global perspective and a comparative approach. It will explore the reasons and rationalities embedded in a variety of religious traditions including Buddhism, Chinese religions (Confucianism and Daoism), Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. The main topics will fall into three areas: the human condition, ultimate realities, and religious truth.
Schilbrack argues that the traditional view of the philosophy of religion, which is the rationality of traditional theism, should evolve to become a fully global form of critical reflection on religions in all their variety and dimensions, in conversation with other branches of philosophy and other disciplines in the academic study of religions. Each of all 7 chapters addresses a distinct issue-the full task of philosophy of religion, the philosophical aspect of religious practices, the place of religious beliefs among religious people, the existence of religion, the definition of religion, the relationship between religion and reality, and the academic study of religions.
This book presents the early modern history of philosophy and theology. It draws on the work of philosophers and theologians from a wide range of historical religious and philosophical traditions, such as Ramanuja, al-Ghazali, Anselm and Jefferson. This book is divided into three parts. Part One addresses problems of religious diversity and public life. Part Two and Part Three examine theistic arguments in pre-modern and early-modern contexts, and provide the historical perspective that a productive reconsideration of the conceptual frameworks of philosophy of religion requires a rich history of the traditions of reasoning and practice out of which the philosophy of religion emerged.
This book traces the effort by Chinese thinkers of the Warring States Period to seek reconciliation between humankind and the world. It begins with an introduction of the context and background of the formation of the problem of evil. Then the book discusses the efficacy of human action and the Mohist opposition to fate, the shift away from morality toward a focus on efficacious human action in the Daodejing, reapproaching heaven and serving heaven in Mengzi, the overcoming of categories of good and bad in Zhuangzi, and Xunzi’s account of the fragility of the human as well as the formation of a sustainable and ethical order through accumulated human effort.
