Courses

Contemporary Questions

Using traditional philosophy as a framework, this course will address a series of open-ended and interdisciplinary questions. The course will connect current cultural conversations to traditional philosophical reflections, and introduce students to the nature of interdisciplinary investigation. The questions to be considered include: Do we have free will? Are aesthetic judgments objective? Are there many universes? Is belief in God rational? The issues will be explored in a non-dogmatic way, emphasizing intellectual rigor rather than particular conclusions. Class discussions will identify, understand, and appreciate diversity of perspectives.

This class is required for freshmen in the Honors Scholar Program.

2005 Contemporary Questions Class by Josh Burley

Critical Thinking and Logic

Basic principles of logic, deduction and induction. This course includes brief treatment of symbolic logic.

Epoch Making Events in Science

This course involves consideration of the great ideas of science: the environments from which they arose, the people involved, and their impacts upon contemporary and succeeding civilization. Interactions of scientific thought with prevailing philosophical and religious outlooks are considered. Among the ideas and epochs discussed are: the origin of the Western scientific tradition in Ancient Greece, the Copernican revolution, evolution theory, relativity, atomic theory, quantum physics, and modern cosmology. This course includes brief discussion of the religious implications of contemporary science.

Texts: 

The Dancing Universe by Marcelo Gleiser

Study Guide PDF or Word Document

The Language of Science & Faith

Study Guide Word Document

Resources:

Syllabus

Schedule

Extra Credit

Museum of Science Extra Credit 

Black Box Exercise

Blockhead Exercise

Slides without Audio (PDF):

Opening Lecture

Presocratics 

Copernicus

Brahe & Kepler

Galileo

Newton

Big Bang

Intro to Darwin

Darwin on the Beagle

Evolutionary Evidence

Issues in Science and Religion

Examines the conversation between science and religion from historical, philosophical, and contemporary perspectives. Topics in this course are approached in an exploratory and intellectually humble way. Effort will be made to identify, understand, and appreciate a diversity of viewpoints on science and religion.

Syllabus

Course Readings