The unit provides an overview of some major concepts and thinkers in the Western philosophical tradition that are relevant for the study of theology. It is suitable both as a preparation for theological studies and also as an introduction for students wishing to pursue further philosophical studies. Thinkers studied will include some or all of Plato, Aristotle, Anselm, Aquinas, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Nietzsche, Gadamer and Heidegger. Themes studied will include some or all of the following: arguments for the existence of God, the classical attributes of God, religious language, natural law, political philosophy, the human person, ethics and the nature of the good, the problem of evil, and the nature of scientific knowledge.
Unit code: AP8000C (Approved)
Points: 24.0
Unit level: Postgraduate Foundational
Unit discipline: Philosophy
Proposing College: Catholic Theological College
Show when this unit is running1. | Critically expound the key differences between philosophy and theology, and their interrelations. |
2. | Outline the fundamental ideas, positions and arguments of the thinkers studied in the unit. |
3. | Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the major arguments of the thinkers presented in the unit and appraise their substantive positions. |
4. | Reflect on the relevance of the thinkers and arguments considered in the unit for theology. |
5. | Demonstrate the capacity to research a specific topic in a critically rigorous, sustained and self-directed manner. |
Lectures and discussion of primary texts
Type | Description | Word count | Weight (%) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Variant 1 | ||||||||
Tutorial Paper/Seminar Paper | Variant 1: seminar paper One choice from two assessment variants will be nominated at the time of scheduling by the lecturer/unit coordinator prior to the start of the unit, published in the unit outline. Students may have topical choices within a given assessment variant, but are not able to make choices outside that set of assessments. |
1000 | 20.0 | |||||
Essay | Variant 1: Essay |
3000 | 50.0 | |||||
Written Examination | Variant 1: 2-hour written examination |
2000 | 30.0 | |||||
Variant 2 | ||||||||
Essay | Variant 2: Essay One choice from two assessment variants will be nominated at the time of scheduling by the lecturer/unit coordinator prior to the start of the unit, published in the unit outline. Students may have topical choices within a given assessment variant, but are not able to make choices outside that set of assessments. |
2000 | 40.0 | |||||
Essay | Variant 2: Essay |
4000 | 60.0 |
Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Maggie Kappelhoff on 22 Jul, 2020
Unit record last updated: 2020-07-22 16:18:55 +1000