By the end of the course, students will be able to explain—orally or in writing—the issues covered in class and the ideas of the authors studied in relation to the themes addressed; compare different theories; and express a critical, personal viewpoint on the themes and authors discussed.
Academic training requires a deepening of religious knowledge to avoid any disconnect between scientific training and reflection on the fundamental issues of existence. In this regard, the course will explore the philosophical question of God, focusing specifically on arguments for and against His existence. Two corollary questions linked to these arguments will round out the discussion: the problem of evil and the possibility of experiencing God.
After a brief introduction contextualizing the question of God and His existence—as well as the concepts of proof and argument—the course will examine, in turn, the major arguments against and for God's existence: the absence of experience, the problem of evil, the First Cause, teleological arguments, and the ontological argument, along with their respective critiques.
1. Introduction: proofs or arguments
2. God: a concept without experience
3. God: a cause that explains nothing
4. God and evil
5. God: First Cause and origin—the cosmological argument
6. The teleological argument and the anthropic principle
7. The ontological argument: Saint Anselm, Descartes, and the Kantian critique
8. Revisiting the question of evil: major responses to an insoluble problem
9. God: what kind of experience is possible?
Lectures, note-taking, PowerPoint presentations.
Depending on the number of enrolled students, assessment will consist of either a written exam with open-ended questions or an oral exam involving a randomly drawn question.
Useful references can be found on Webcampus.
| Training | Study programme | Block | Credits | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| List of cross-disciplinary teaching units | Standard | 1 | 3 | No |
| Bachelor in Law | Standard | 2 | 3 | Yes |
| Bachelor in Biomedical Sciences | Standard | 2 | 3 | No |
| Bachelor in Law | Double bac droit-philosophie | 2 | 3 | Yes |
| Bachelor in Law | Erasmus Belgica UHasselt | 2 | 3 | Yes |
| Bachelor in Law | Eramus 2+2+1 | 2 | 3 | Yes |
| Bachelor in Economics and Management | Standard | 3 | 3 | No |
| Bachelor in Political Sciences : General | Standard | 3 | 3 | No |
| Bachelor in Information and Communication | Standard | 3 | 3 | No |
| Bachelor in Business Engineering | Standard | 3 | 3 | No |