Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas

REL 230 | PHL 268 | PHL 468

Spring 2008

The First Paper

Due: ~~February 20~~ February 25

Suggested length: 5-6 pages

Suggested topics:

1. The standard interpretation of Augustine on foreknowledge and free will is due to William Rowe in "Augustine on Foreknowledge and Free Will" in Review of Metaphysics 18 (1964): 356-363 (and widely reprinted). Write an essay in which you state and evaluate Rowe's interpretation.

2. What does Augustine take to be the problem of evil, and what is his solution? Evaluate his solution.

3. In Adam, Eve, and the Serpent (New York: Random House, 1988) Elaine Pagels (esp. Ch. V) accuses Augustine of abandoning an earlier Christian view of human freedom (as well as his own earlier position) because of his development of a doctrine of original sin. Write an essay in which you discuss some of the issues here. In what sense, if any, does Augustine think that people are free? What is the doctrine of original sin? Can it be defended? Attacked?

4. Pick a topic that interests you. Consult with me, if you do.

Follow the links above for electronic copies of the essays in PDF format in Blackboard.

Guide to writing philosophy papers: Professor James Pryor of NYU has written an excellent guide for writing papers in philosophy. You can find a copy of it here. I highly recommend it.

Note for graduate students: Students enrolled in this course for graduate credit should pick a paper topic that demonstrates not only their close study of Augustine but also their engagement with recent philosophical literature. Some suggestions are:

1. A topic in Christopher Kirwan, Augustine (London and New York: Routledge, 1989).

2. Eleonore Stump, "Augustine on Free Will", in Eleonore Stump and Norman Kretzmann, eds., The Cambridge Companion to Augustine (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001): 124-147.

3. A relevant essay in Gareth B. Matthews, ed., The Augustinian Tradition (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999).

Don't plagiarize: Remember to quote all words that are not your own and to indicate by citation the source of any ideas that are not your own. Information about the College's policy on academic honesty may be found at http://www.rochester.edu/College/honesty/. Violations of academic honesty will be taken very seriously and dealt with according to the terms of this policy.