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Philosophical and Theological
Approaches to God/Theological
Cosmology and Anthropology
Part 1: Philosophical and theological
approaches to God
After investigating the approach to the gods in
mythology this course will explore the more
differentiated theological (Judeo-Christian) and
philosophical (pre-Socratic, Socrates, Plato and
Aristotle) approaches to God. This will be
followed by a critical examination of the
ontological argument for the existence of God in
St Anselm and the various responses to this
from St Thomas Aquinas to Kant and some
modern thinkers. The course will conclude with
a philosophical and theological investigation into
the experiential approach to God.
Part 2: Theological cosmology and
anthropology
Cosmology traces developments in the
natural-scientific study of the universe in its
complex history. This course will investigate
these developments as they have been
interpreted theologically and philosophically.
Natural-science descriptions of the world have
implications for how theology conceives of
God’s action in creation (pantheism, deism,
panentheism). It also has implications for the
role of the human person in creation and for
how sin and salvation are articulated and
understood. Consequently the course will also
explore anthropology, what it is to be human: in
theology the human person is understood as
created in the image of God, steward of
creation, embodied, contingent but also subject
to frailty and failure. Finally this course will also
briefly explore how specific cosmologies and
anthropologies (world-views) can influence
politics and ethics, using case studies from the
natural and environmental sciences.
How to apply
Applications can be made in person on
Wednesday, 19 September 2012, 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.
in the Department of Religions and Theology,
room 5010, level 5 of the Arts Building, Trinity
College, Dublin 2 or by post before 19
September 2012.
Fee
Part 1
€150
Part 2
€150
Both parts
€259
For security reasons payment should be by
cheque/draft/postal money order only, made
payable to Trinity College no. 1 account. A
concession rate is available to second and third
level students, unemployed persons and those
in receipt of a social welfare pension. Those
paying in two instalments must make the
second payment by Friday, 11 January 2013.
Date
Teaching in Michaelmas term commences
during the week beginning 24 September 2012
and in Hilary term during the week beginning 14
January 2013. Please note this is a day-time
course.
Duration
The course runs for a total of twenty-two weeks
in two parts. Part 1 runs through Michaelmas
term; part 2 runs through Hilary term.
Further information
Contact: Jane Welch, Executive Officer,
Department of Religions and Theology, Arts
Building, Trinity College, Dublin 2. Phone:
01 896 1297, email: