Philosophy, Reasoned Belief, and Faith: An Introduction

Description

This clear, readable introduction to philosophy presents a traditional theistic view of the existence of God. There are many fine introductions to philosophy, but few are written for students of faith by a teacher who is sensitive to the intellectual challenges they face studying in an environment that is often hostile to religious belief. Many introductory texts present short, easy-to-refute synopses of the traditional arguments for God’s existence, the soul, free will, and objective moral value rooted in God’s nature, usually followed by strong objections stated as if they are the last word. This formula may make philosophy easier to digest, but it gives many students the impression that there are no longer any good reasons to accept the beliefs just mentioned. Philosophy, Reasoned Belief, and Faith is written for philosophy instructors who want their students to take a deeper look at the classic theistic arguments and who believe that many traditional views can be rigorously defended against the strongest objections. The book is divided into four sections, focusing on philosophy of religion, an introduction to epistemology, philosophy of the human person, and philosophical ethics. The text challenges naturalism, the predominant outlook in the academic world today, while postmodernist relativism and skepticism are also examined and rejected. Students of faith―and students without faith―will deepen their worldviews by thoughtfully examining the philosophical arguments that are presented in this book. Philosophy, Reasoned Belief, and Faith will appeal to Christian teachers, analytic theists, home educators, and general readers interested in the classic arguments supporting a theistic worldview. Cover Title page Copyright Contents Acknowledgments To the Instructor To the Student UNIT I . Three Things to Know before You Dive into Philosophy ONE. How Philosophy Began TWO. The Socratic Method THREE. And a Few Principles of Logic UNIT I I . Philosophy of Religion FOUR. The Design Argument FIVE. Design and Evolution SIX. The Cosmological Argument Interlude One. A Survey of Modern Cosmology SEVEN. The Problem of Evil UNIT I I I . Epistemology EIGHT. What Can We Know? NINE. C. S. Lewis and the Argument from Reason UNIT I V. Philosophy of the Human Person TEN. The Mind-Body Problem ELEVEN. Do We Have Free Will? UNIT V. Philosophical Ethics TWELVE. Can We Reason about Morality? Interlude Two. Or Should We All Become Moral Relativists? THIRTEEN. Moral Reasoning Applied to the State FOURTEEN. God and Morality Notes Index