On Monday, each outreach project group should deliver a 5-10 minute presentation in which you introduce yourselves, describe the project (show evidence of it if you’ve got it!), and in which each member reflects on the project and what they learned in the project.

On Monday by 11:59 PM, please submit your “Outreach project” section of your eportfolio, both in Digication and via email to me.  As we discussed in class, the outreach project is your opportunity to persuade your reader (me!) of your learning in this project.  You should show evidence of the project’s progress and reflect on what you learned.  The eportfolio lab in E-building is available for help in the technical questions of the eportfolio.

On next Wednesday, we’ll discuss Art and Aesthetics!  Please make sure you read the Tolstoy and Wilde handouts you picked up in class yesterday in advance of Wednesday’s class.

 

Today, our first order of business is to talk about two upcoming tasks!  The second oral exam and the final project!

If you’re in the 2:30 section, we’ll continue the conversation about God and good and evil that we began but had to pause on Wednesday.  

If you’re in the 1:00 section, each group will update the class on the outreach project.  You’ll have some time to work together in your groups today, too. 

We might also talk about language, and look at what Noam Chomsky, linguist and philosopher, says about it.

Today in class, we’re looking at the problem of evil: how can a good, powerful, and all-knowing God coexist with so much evil in the world?  We’re going to dig into the “Theological Explanations” chapter by Robert Nozick, and also in class we will read a (very) short story, Pick a Color by Etgar Keret.  No need to read Pick a Color ahead of time.

Don’t forget to submit your group and individual progress reports by email by Friday at 11:59 PM!

On Monday, in class, please be ready to give a short and informal update on your group’s progress in the outreach project.  On Monday, we’ll also talk about the upcoming final project and second oral exam.

See you soon!

The deadline to apply to graduate in December is fast approaching!  If you’re planning to earn your degree at the end of this semester, you must fill out an application at Admissions and Registration by October 31!  Don’t delay!

Grading spreadsheet

Here is the public grading spreadsheet!  Congratulations to Tinkerbell and Little Mermaid, the high scorers for the first oral exam.  (Fairy tale characters=exam success?)

We have class today!  Today, we will begin discussing God, considering mainly the question of the existence of a god or gods, and also thinking about why so many people in such diverse cultures harbor a belief in a god or gods.  

Next time, on Monday, October 21, we will not meet in our usual classroom, instead we will meet in the TLITC, in E-230, to begin working on e-portfolios.

On October 23, we will discuss the problem of evil–how can a good and loving God allow there to be so much evil in the world.  There will be a handout distributed in class today, which you should please read before October 23.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the oral exams!  I enjoyed talking philosophy with each of you.

Monday, we do not have class–enjoy the holiday!

For next Wednesday, please read the chapters indicated on the syllabus on God, along with this webpage and this webpage.  We’ll look at the question of the existence and non-existence of God. I will have a handout for you on Wednesday that you should read by the following Wednesday, please!

 

The oral exams are going well today!  The score to beat so far is a 94.  

If you haven’t signed up for the oral exam, or if you couldn’t make your timeslot today, I have added three last-chance timeslots to the sign-up sheet.  Please use them!

Remember, this coming week (the week beginning Monday, October 7) we will have oral exams.

Class will not meet.  Instead, please come and take your oral exam at the timeslot you signed up for on this website, in the spreadsheet linked in an earlier post.

Please arrive for your oral exam 5 minutes before your chosen timeslot.  My office is B-227-H.  It’s down the hallway by Student Payment and up a small set of stairs.  Please wait at the bottom of the stairs, in the hallway.  I’ll call you when I’m ready for your oral exam.  It’s important to wait at the bottom of the stairs to ensure that your fellow students can take the exam undisturbed.

Happy studying!