Undergraduate Course: Atheism in Debate: Dawkins, his allies and his opponents (DIVI08002)
Course Outline
| School | School of Divinity |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course investigates contemporary atheism and its critics. It considers the great atheists of the past as predecessors to the writings of Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion), Daniel Dennett (Breaking the Spell), Sam Harris (The End of Faith) and Christopher Hitchens (God is not Great), together with fierce rebuttals by their opponents. Visiting students are especially welcome. |
| Course description |
week one Introduction
week two Eighteenth Century France: Voltaire
week three Eighteenth Century Germany: Lessing
week four Eighteenth Century Empiricists: Hume and Mill
week five Nineteenth Century Empiricists: Darwin and Huxley
week seven Twentieth Century Empiricists: Ayer and Others
week eight Nineteenth Century Germany: Hegel
week nine Nineteenth Century Germany: Strauss
week ten Nineteenth Century Germany: Feuerbach
week eleven Nineteenth Century Germany: Marx
week twelve Nineteenth Century Germany: Nietzsche
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting Students especially welcome. Students should be in at least second year of study; prior study of religion courses an advantage but not required. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 33,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
152 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
There will be two essays required. The first (2000 words), due in the middle of the semester, will count for 35%, and will be a book review of one of the primary texts, selected by the student. The second (3000 words), due during the exam period, will count for 65%, from a selection of set essays published at the start of the course. The difference in weighting will permit formative feedback, and will permit students to build on what they have learned in the previous essay or essays. |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
- understand the main texts set for tutorials, and show an ability to summarise a significant body of material concisely and clearly;
- summarise the principal arguments of the atheists and their critics, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and offer critical analysis of one or more topics in the set texts;
- differentiate the views of the atheists and those of their interpreters, identify key terms and their meanings, and identify challenges in interpreting the primary texts;
- structure an argument, use correct grammar in expressing philosophical ideas, and support claims with reference to specific named primary and secondary texts;
- demonstrate an ability to identify key terms and their meanings;
- demonstrate good judgement about how to judge the relative importance of items on course bibliographies, and of arguments made in individual works, and engage in constructive scholarly discussion and debate with other seminar members.
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Reading List
Primary Texts:
Richard Dawkins The God Delusion (Black Swan, 2007)
Daniel Dennett Breaking the Spell (Penguin, 2007)
Sam Harris The End of Faith (Free Press, 2006)
Christopher Hitchens God Is Not Great (Atlantic, 2007)
Historical Texts:
Voltaire Candide
Gotthold Lessing On the Proof of the Spirit and of Power
David Hume Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (Section X)
JS Mill Autobiography
AJ Ayer Language Truth and Logic
GWF Hegel Phenomenology of Spirit
DF Strauss Life of Jesus Critically Examined
Ludwig Feuerbach Essence of Christianity
Karl Marx A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel¿s Philosophy of Right
Friedrich Nietzsche: The Antichrist
Secondary Texts:
David Fergusson Faith and its Critics (OUP, 2011)
David Bentley Hart Atheist Delusions (Yale, 2010)
Terry Eagleton Reason, Faith and Revolution (Yale, 2010)
John Humphrys In God We Doubt (Hodder, 2008)
Alister McGrath The Dawkins Delusion (SPCK, 2007)
Michael Poole The New Atheism (Lion Hudson, 2009)
David Robertson The Dawkins Letters (Christian Focus, 2007)
Jonathan Sacks The Great Partnership (Hodder & Stoughton, 2011)
Keith Ward Why There Almost Certainly Is A God (Lion Hudson, 2008) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Ability to summarise difficult material;
Ability to structure arguments logically;
Ability to interpret set texts;
Ability to produce a properly referenced essay. |
| Keywords | Atheism |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Nick Adams
Tel: (0131 6)50 8918
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Katrina Munro
Tel: (0131 6)50 8900
Email: |
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