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This series of eight lectures delivered by Dr T. J. Mawson at the University of Oxford in Hilary Term 2011, introduces the main philosophical arguments pertaining to the Western monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Each lecture has an associated hand-out (two for the first lecture).Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Western monotheism philosophical foundations • divine essential/accidental attributes • arguments for God: ontological, cosmological, design • religious experience, miracles • objections: problem of evil • faith, Pascal’s WagerThis podcast presents an eight-lecture academic introduction to philosophy of religion, focusing on the main philosophical issues and arguments associated with Western monotheistic traditions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Across the series, the lecturer examines what it means to talk about God in philosophical terms by distinguishing and analyzing divine attributes, including core (“essential”) characteristics and further (“accidental”) properties often discussed in classical theism.
A central theme is the evaluation of major arguments for the existence of God. The lectures cover prominent strands of natural theology, including cosmological and ontological approaches as well as design-based reasoning, and they consider how appeals to religious experience and reports of miracles function as potential evidence. Alongside these arguments, the series also addresses philosophical challenges to theism, especially the problem of evil as a key line of objection to God’s existence or to traditional claims about God’s nature.
The series concludes by turning to issues of faith and rational decision-making, engaging with Pascal’s Wager as a way of thinking about belief in God under conditions of uncertainty. Overall, the content aims to orient listeners to standard topics, distinctions, and argumentative strategies in contemporary and historical debates within the philosophy of religion.
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8. Faith and Pascal's Wager 2012-May-02 39 minutes |
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7. Arguments against the Existence of God - The Problem of Evil 2012-May-02 40 minutes |
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6. Arguments for the Existence of God - Religious Experience and Miracles 2012-May-02 42 minutes |
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5. Arguments for the Existence of God -The Design Argument 2012-May-02 40 minutes |
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4. Arguments for the Existence of God - The Ontological and Cosmological Arguments 2012-May-02 41 minutes |
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3. The Accidental Properties of God 2012-May-02 43 minutes |
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2. The Essential Properties of God (continued) 2012-May-02 45 minutes |
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1. The Essential Properties of God 2012-May-02 41 minutes |