PHILOSOPHY, ETHICS AND RELIGION

Course summary

The subject offers students the chance to further develop their knowledge of philosophy, ethics and issues of morality whilst at the same time investigating the philosophical and theological arguments concerning the existence of God. Religious Studies provides students with the following transferable skills: • Knowledge of global issues • The ability to interpret, contrast and evaluate opinions/approaches to a topic • The ability to write a succinct essay containing well-constructed arguments • Good debating skills • An ability to assess the validity of an argument and reach a well-informed conclusion regardless of one’s personal beliefs Philosophy • ancient Greek philosophy • the nature of the soul, mind and body • arguments about the existence or non-existence of God • the nature and impact of religious experience • the challenge for religious belief of the problem of evil • ideas about the nature of God • issues in religious language Ethics • normative ethical theories • the application of ethical theory to two contemporary issues of importance • ethical language and thought • debates surrounding the significant idea of conscience • sexual ethics and the influence on ethical thought of developments in religious beliefs Islam • religious beliefs, values and teachings, their interconnections and how they vary historically and in the contemporary world • sources of religious wisdom and authority • practices which shape and express religious identity, and how these vary within a tradition • significant social and historical developments in theology and religious thought • key themes related to the relationship between religion and society