Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas

REL 230 | PHL 268 | PHL 468

Spring 2008

The Second Paper

Due: ~~March 26~~ April 7

Suggested length: 5-6 pages

Suggested topics:

1. Anselm is famous for inventing the Ontological Argument for God's existence (Proslogion 2 and 3). Write a paper in which you formulate and evaluate this argument or in which you critically discuss some aspect of the voluminous literature on this topic.

2. Anselm discusses free will in two works. In On Free Will (pp. 175-192) he discusses whether people have free will and whether that included the ability to sin. In his De concordia praesentiae et praedestinationis et gratiae Dei cum libero arbitrio (pp. 435-474) he discusses the apparent inconsistency between divine foreknowledge and human free action. Give an exposition and evaluation of Anselm's treatment of one of these topics.

3. Anselm developed an account of the doctrine of atonement in his Why God Became Man (Cur Deus homo) (pp. 260-356). Give an exposition and evaluation of Anselm's treatment of this topic.

4. In both his Proslogion and his Monologion Anselm makes various claims about God's nature and about the divine attributes. (For example, in Pros. 18 and Mon. 17 Anselm attributes simplicity to God. Other atttributes discussed include omnipotence, justice, eternity, and omnipresence.) Write an essay in which you critically discuss Anselm's view of God's nature or of one or more divine attributes.

5. Two recent papers by Marilyn McCord Adams discuss Anselm's approach to philosophical theology: "Fides quarens intellectum: St. Anselm's Method in Philosophical Theology," Faith and Philosophy 9 (1992): 409-435, and "Praying the Proslogion: Anselm's Philosophical Method," in Thomas Senor, ed., The Rationality of Belief and the Plurality of Faith (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995), pp. 13-39. Write an essay in which you discuss one or the other of these papers.

6. 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.

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.