Philosophy of Religion

PHI3700 U01

 

Basic Info

 

Title
Philosophy of Religion

Prefix and Number

PHI3700

Section

01

Semester/Year

Fall 2025

Location

Day/Time

M/W 11:00AM-12:15PM

Instructor

Kenton Harris

Instructor Office

DM 343B (MMC)

Instructor Telephone Number

(305) 348-3516

Instructor E-mail

harrisk@fiu.edu

Instructor Web Site

http://www.fiu.edu/~harrisk/

Text(s)

The Idea of the Holy; Rudolf Otto

Breaking the Spell: Daniel Dennett

Tests

One In-class Exam

Papers

One Thesis Papers  (8-10-page papers)

Final Exam

Yes

Semester Calendar with link to notes

 

Important Dates:

 

Grades Assignment

Date Due

Percentage of Final Grade

Exam 1

10/9/25

25%

Paper 1a

 

30%

 

Peer Review

 

Paper 1b

 

Paper Supplemental: Professional Journal/ Conference Article Submission Venue Details Document

10%

Final Exam

As scheduled by the University Calendar

35%

Last Day to Drop without Incurring Financial Liability

8/31/25

Last Day to Apply for Fall 2024 Graduation

9/14/25

Last Day to Drop with a DR

11/3/25

 

Course Description:

 

This course will examine key concepts arising from the theory and practice of Religion including the nature of religion, of God, of faith, as well as traditional and modern arguments for and against the existence of God.  We will also consider what limits exist with respect to cognitions of God. 

 

Purpose:

 

How does this course advance/fit University Mission?

 

Because this is a course in the philosophical consideration of nature and elements of religion, it necessarily requires that student become acquainted with history, mythology, politics, and ethics.  Beyond that, the student will learn to sharpen his/her observational skills, analytic as well as synthetic thinking, and writing abilities and communication skills.  It is precisely this kind of breadth of knowledge and intellectual maturity, which is expected of a University graduate.

 

Objectives:

 

It is the objective of this course to acquaint the student with philosophy of religion both as a way of enriching the student's exchange with religion and religious discourse as well as give the student a deeper appreciation of the religions of world and the issues and controversies therein.  More generally, it is the aim of this course to familiarize the student with the discipline of philosophy, its ubiquitous presence in all areas of reflective human experience, its fruitful if occasionally tempestuous exchange with established religions, and the value of the examined life.  Finally it is the aim of this class to equip the student with the tools necessary to make informed and intelligent judgements about religion and religious practice.

 

Learning Methods:

 

The course will be primarily Lecture in format.  The student will be tested on comprehension of lecture and text material with one midterm exam and a comprehensive final exam.  Also, the student will be required to write at least one thesis paper involving some research and original thought.

 

Writing Component:

 

The thesis papers will be the focus of the writing component of the course.  However, student will also be required to write essay answers on both the midterm and the final exams.

 

Skills Component:

 

As with any philosophy class there will be heavy emphasis clear articulation skills, the ability to reason and justify one's one assertions, to see the implications and ramifications of theoretical positions.  Developing these skills will be a major focus of the course and, indeed, will be necessary for passing this course.

 

Learning Competencies:

 

The student will need to hone his/her skills as both an analytic and synthetic reasoner as well as his/her observation and communications skills.  This course will involve experiencing, thinking about, talking about and ultimately writing about art.

 

Basic Policies

 

Below are listed various procedural policies.  By remaining a registered student in this course you indicate you acceptance of the policies listed in this syllabus.

 

Attendance and make-up policies:

 

1.            Class participation and the in-class assignment are an integral part of a satisfactory grade.  Poor attendance will result in a lower grade.

 

2.            With respect to make-up exams, documented emergencies will be dealt with on an individual basis.

 

Drops:

 

Students unable to continue in the course should notify the instructor.  It is their responsibility to fill out official withdrawal forms with the registrar's office. If they do not officially withdraw, they will receive an F for the course.

 

Special Learning Needs:

 

Students with documented special learning needs are asked to have Disability Resource Center (http://drc.fiu.edu/) inform the instructor so that accommodations can be made when necessary for testing, note taking or, paper writing.

 

Class Conduct:

 

1. All students must come to class, on time and prepared with his or her own materials.

 

2. Phones must be turned off prior to class.

 

Requirements and Grading:

 

Paper Assignment:

Paper Assignment:

There will be one assigned thesis paper.  It will take the form of a critical summary and examination of an article from professional philosophy journal.   I will provided suitable options.  Alternatively, students may select others provided that they are from suitable professional venues (professional journals, professional conferences, conference proceeding, virtual professional journal, book chapters, etc.) but these must be approved by the instructor.  Students should select a recent article published within the last five years, although exceptions will be considered. 

Peer-reviewed journals contain articles by professional philosophers written for other professional philosophers.  I anticipate that students will find them challenging.  Students should not be discouraged by this.  I will work with students to help them along if and when that becomes necessary.

The Writing Requirements for this course will consist of four components

 Paper Assignments:

1.       Paper 1 First Draft

2.       Peer Review

3.       Paper 1 Final Draft

4.       Professional Venue Details Document

Elements of this assignment (6) 

1. Paper 1 First Draft

This paper will take the form of a critical summary and response to a selected article from a contemporary professional philosophical journal.  In this class we are utilizing peer review writing techniques.  On the day that the Paper 1 First Draft is due students will submit an electronic version to the Canvas site for this class.  The submitted paper copy should contain no identifying information but rather be prepared for blind review (Links to an external site.). 

I will then use the feature in Canvas to redistribute the papers to peers within the class. 

3. Peer Review

Each student will act as a peer reviewer for a fellow student.  Acting as a peer reviewer, each student will read a fellow student’s paper, provide feedback and fill out a rubric evaluation. With the information provided by the peer reviewer, students will then write a second, final draft of the original paper.  You will input your peer review comments suggestions and perhaps edits two (2) ways.

5.       Finally, on the same day your final draft is due you must submit a separate document that will be the

 

 

Because of how Canvas configures Peer Review submissions, students will need to submit their peer reviews in TWO ways:

 

1.  The 1st way is for your peer to view.  To do this you will input comments and edits using the comments section and edit tools with in Canvas. (Comments to your peer.)

 

2. The 2nd way is to provide me with your peer reviews.  To do this, you will create a separate document using the same comments, suggestions and potential edits. (You can simply cut and paste them from Canvas.)  That document you will upload via the assignment tab in Canvas. The due date for your peer review is one week after the due date for the original Paper 1a.

 

3. A week after your peer review is due, you are required to upload your final draft (Paper 1b).  By the time you're uploading your final draft you will have (1) read two classmates papers, (2) received comments from two of your classmates, and (3) you will have had two more weeks to consider your paper.  All this should combine so that you can submit a better, more thoughtful final draft paper.

 

For this Final Draft students will, students will prepare that paper for professional publication or presentation.  This means that students must locate a suitable professional venue for submission for professional publication or conference presentation,  This means that student must research what a suitable venue would be and then, what the required format for submission and follow that format (e.g. length, citation style, etc.),

 

4. The same day the final draft is due, students must also submit a separate document.  This additional document will identify the venue for professional presentation that the student has selected and explain why the student has chosen that venue as a suitable venue.  It should outline what the specific formatting requirements were. 

 

The grade for this assignment will be based on the quality of the original draft, the accuracy and completeness of the work the student did as a peer reviewer for his or her fellow classmate, and the quality of the final draft, specifically the degree to which it represents a further refinement and development of the first draft.  It will also be based on the accompanying venue documents.

 

In-class Examination:

 

There will be one in class exam given during the semester.  The exam will be drawn from a pool of essay questions provided to the students in advance.  The essay questions will be based on lectures and assigned readings.

 

This exam will be count as 25% of the final average.

 

Final Examination:

 

A final examination will be given during the final exam week as specified by the University calendar.  The final exam will also be essay in format and drawn from class lectures and text material.  As with the first exam, I will provide a pool of test questions to student before the exam.    The final exam will be not be cumulative, but rather cover material presented after the first exam. 

 

The final exam will count for 35% of the final grade.

 

Grading:

 

Grades will be based on the papers (40% total), in-class exam (25% total), and the final exam (35% total).

 

Grading Scale:

 

 

A = (100-94)

A- = (93-92)

B+ = (91-88)

B = (87-84)

B- = (83-81)

C+ = (80-77)

C = (76-70)

 

 

D = (69-60)

 

 

F =   (59-0)

 

 

ATTENTION STUDENTS: NOTE both the grading scale and the exam and paper dates now.  No exceptions will be made so you must decide NOW whether these terms are acceptable to you or not or whether they interfere will travel plans or per­sonal commit­ments.  It is your decision to remain in this course under the specified conditions and I encourage each of you to thoughtfully consider this before the drop/add deadline.