Religious Studies: Philosophy of Religion and Ethics
As little children we first learnt to recognise letters, then words and in time these took on meaning in sentences. In our writing we first shaped letters then words and finally entered the frightening world of joined-up writing.
The world of ideas is rather similar. We all have ideas, opinions, prejudices and assumptions, yet it is rare that we have linked all of our thinking together into a coherent scheme. Philosophy attempts just such links. RS: Philosophy and Ethics seeks to encourage joined –up thinking. In this pursuit various and wide ranging philosophers and philosophies will be studied. We will embrace Plato’s ‘World of the Forms’, Aristotle’s concept of the ‘soul’ classical arguments for the existence of God which hold about as much water as a leaky bucket according to the great atheist philosopher David Hume, and we will take on concepts such as ‘miracle’ and belief in a good God despite the imperfection of his creation. Can such a God really reasonably be thought to exist? And if so what type of existence might it have?
Ethically are our morals based on anything other than our opinions? Can ‘good, bad, right, wrong’ in any sense be defined or are they like the colour yellow, knowable but undefinable? Can I only know good by experiencing bad? If I travelled back in time to 1909 and met an Austrian art student called Adolf in a bar, would I be justified in poisoning his beer, knowing as we do what he will do? Indeed if my actions are determined in what sense am I free? What have ethical theories such as Thomas Aquinas’ Natural Law or Bentham and Mill’s atheistic Utilitarianism got to say on matters of medical ethics, genetics, war, peace, pacifism, the environment and homosexuality? What do Christianity and the Bible have to say on such things and why do they matter anyway?
If you don’t like questions such as those above then we suggest RS: Philosophy and Ethics is not for you. However if you are intrigued by your own species, how we got here, and why we seem to be the only self reflecting species on the planet then why not join us?
Universities like students who can reason and think in a mature and balanced way, as does the world of work. RS: Philosophy and Ethics builds these skills of analysis and debate, critical thinking and mature reflection. These skills will be honed by challenging our thinking at every level. The content that will produce such thoughtful and employable students just happens to be fascinating too.
We follow the OCR specification. There is no Coursework.