Module THEO1181: Faith, Reason, and the Happy Life

Department: Theology and Religion

THEO1181: Faith, Reason, and the Happy Life

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To equip students with the skills of theological interpretation and analysis needed for further study in theology at level 2.
• To provide students with a basic framework needed to analyze and understand central religious insights into the nature of belief and of the good, and to interpret a range of theological genres on these topics with critical insight.
• To present key points of interaction between the categories of (a) theological epistemology and (b) theological notions of the good or happiness as these two domains of reflection move toward their point of intersection in the theological understanding of beatitude or the state of eudaimonia.

Content

• Faith is an unusual phenomenon. It is both a set of beliefs and the act of believing. It is sometimes a means of abiding adversity, precisely because of belief in the reality of some good or happy state. It is also a way of being - a state of loyalty or friendship or trust - in which the grounds for belief are not always entirely apparent, even to the one who trusts. For that reason, faith often looks as though it were opposed to reason, to evidence, to knowledge. Indeed, what does distinguish faith from fanaticism or superstition or bigotry? This course provides an advanced introduction to the idea of faith, its critiques, and its relation to the pursuit of happiness.
• While belief is often contrasted with reason, a great deal of theological reflection about belief (and other epistemological categories) takes place as humans confront adversities and seek the way to genuine happiness. The module therefore investigates the nature both of faith and of happiness at that point where Christian theology suggests they coincide: that is, where faith moves towards its consummation in a new understanding or vision that is also a state of blessed happiness. The module proceeds in roughly chronological fashion by examining the intersection of belief and the pursuit of happiness by selecting from such central texts and authors as the Book of Job, Sophocles' Electra, Plato, Augustine, Boethius, The Quest of the Holy Grail, Thomas Aquinas, Dante's Paradiso, Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, Pascal, Bunyan, Kierkegaard, and Newman. As such a listing suggests, these questions have both perplexed and delighted some of the most creative minds and acute thinkers for thousands of years. The prominent and often conflictual role of faith in the contemporary world suggests that these questions require thinking through in every age.

Learning Outcomes

• A knowledge of the underlying concepts and principles associated with theological epistemology, religious understandings of the good, the significance of their interaction, along with a capacity to interpret and evaluate central primary and secondary literature on these questions.

• An ability to analyse religious texts with rigour and historical depth. A capacity to perceive and interpret relationships between key theological beliefs and spiritual worldviews, such that their mutual influence becomes perspicuous and available for academic study. Skills in reading, researching, and writing about texts that, as spiritual artifacts, require careful attention to genre and to their perfomative or formative functions in religious communities. Also the capacity to think insightfully about any sort of belief, and to distinguish healthy acts of belief from those that seem less healthy.

• Skills in the analysis of the interaction between theory and practice in a wide range of traditions and cultures. An ability to read multivalent texts with intellectual nuance. Research, presentation, and writing skills. A capacity to discern the deep range of meanings suggested in metaphorical or imaginative language, and the ability to apply this discernment when investigating both logical arguments and non-discursive discourse.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures convey information and exemplify an approach to the subject-matter, enabling students to develop a clear understanding of the material and to improve their skills in interpreting and evaluating information.
• Seminars enhance subject-specific knowledge and understanding both through preparation and through interaction with students and staff, promoting awareness of different viewpoints and approaches, as well as affording developmental opportunities for skills in theological reflection.
• Formative essays develop subject-specific knowledge and understanding, along with student skills in the acquisition of information through reading and research, and in the structured presentation of information in written form.
• Summative Exams assess subject-specific knowledge and understanding, along with student skills in research, analysis, and argumentation, including the written presentation of information in written form under time constraints.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Four brief (1000 word) essays.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University