The assignment for the second essay is to defend one of the following theses.
We can know God’s existence and attributes through natural theology: that is, through scientific reasoning.
We cannot know God’s existence and attributes through natural theology, but we can know by revelation: that is, through religious experience.
We can know that God does not exist, because God’s existence is not supported by scientific reasoning and because it is contrary to the observation of evil.
We can neither know that God exists nor know that God does not exist, and the norms of belief in God are personal and pragmatic.
NOTE WELL: I am not asking for a brief summary of every idea that you encountered on this topic. The resulting paper would be "a mile wide and an inch deep." You should select what you think are the strongest arguments and most centrally important ideas and aim for focused and deep discussion of that material, ideally incorporating your own reactions into the discussion.
You should defend your chosen thesis in an essay that is a minimum of five complete, 12 pt, Times New Roman, double-spaced pages of writing. Your essay should include proper references to course materials, and demonstrate how you have developed and defended your thoughts in response to the various positions we have encountered in the readings and videos. Defend the view you find most plausible.
A defense of one of these theses is not a story about how you, personally, came to hold the view that you hold. A defense should aim to persuade the reader to hold your positions on the basis of reasons and arguments that appeal to the broadest audience possible. This essay should be about the evidence and arguments for your views, not the psychological causes.
Good responses will show thoughtful engagement with the course materials, so be sure to make explicit references to the course media. You should review discussion posts, yours and others, reread, and rewatch where appropriate, in order to marshal support for your chosen thesis. In addition to explaining arguments contained in the videos, you should expand on them with your own ideas and examples. Good responses will focus on what you judge to be the most important arguments. Rather than trying survey many arguments in support of your thesis, focus on one or two, explain them in detail, then explore and refute counter-arguments from opposing viewpoints.
Your essay should properly quote, paraphrase, and cite the sources that you use, and you should include a works cited page. I don’t care what citation style you use. Just pick one and stick to it. A tool such as
citation machine
may be helpful.
The penalty for plagiarism will be a zero for the assignment, whether you claim the plagiarism was inadvertent or not.
It is impossible to adequately defend any one of these theses without discussing the others.
The very best essays will exhibit exemplary awareness and sensitivity to opposing viewpoints. To do this most effectively you will need to anticipate and refute objections from opposing perspectives.
In preparing and writing the essay, contemplate what might lead someone to endorse each of the three theses that you reject, so you can anticipate and respond to objections.
The midterm is worth 200 out of the 1000 points for the course. The rubric is as follows.
0-36 The essay is well edited, clearly written, fully developed, and collegiate.
0-36The essay demonstrates thoughtful engagement with course media.
0-36Thoughts and relations between them are clarified and illustrated with examples.
0-36The main claims of the essay are defended with evidence and arguments.
0-36Opposing viewpoints are fairly considered.
0-10The essay is insightful.
0-10The essay is well organized.