Roadmap

01 Philosophy of religion

1. Philosophical Language and Thought

Ancient philosophical influences - Plato’s Forms and the cave
Ancient philosophical influences - Aristotle’s causes and Prime Mover
Soul, mind and body - Classical souls and Cartesian dualism
Soul, mind and body - Materialism and the mind-body debate

2. The Existence of God

Arguments based on observation - Design arguments
Arguments based on observation - Cosmological arguments
Arguments based on observation - Hume, evolution and chance
Arguments based on reason - Anselm’s ontological reasoning
Arguments based on reason - Gaunilo, Kant and logical objections

3. God and the World

Religious experience - Mysticism, conversion and James
Religious experience - Explanations and evidence
The problem of evil - Logical evil and Augustine
The problem of evil - Hick and soul-making

4. Theological and Philosophical Developments

The nature or attributes of God - Power, knowledge and goodness
The nature or attributes of God - Boethius, Anselm and eternity
The nature or attributes of God - Swinburne and divine action in time

5. Religious Language: Negative, Analogical or Symbolic

Religious language: Negative, Analogical or Symbolic - The apophatic way
Religious language: Negative, Analogical or Symbolic - Aquinas and analogy
Religious language: Negative, Analogical or Symbolic - Tillich and symbols

6. Religious Language: Twentieth Century Perspectives

Twentieth-century perspectives and philosophical comparisons - Ayer and verification
Twentieth-century perspectives and philosophical comparisons - Flew, Hare and Mitchell
Twentieth-century perspectives and philosophical comparisons - Wittgenstein and language games

02 Religion and ethics

1. Normative Ethical Theories: Religious Approaches

Natural Law - Telos, law and the precepts
Natural Law - Moral reasoning and double effect
Situation Ethics - Fletcher’s agape and propositions
Situation Ethics - Working principles and moral choice

2. Normative Ethical Theories

Kantian Ethics - Duty and the categorical imperative
Kantian Ethics - Postulates and practical objections
Utilitarianism - Utility and the hedonic calculus
Utilitarianism - Act, rule and moral judgement

3. Applied Ethics

Euthanasia - Life, consent and medical decisions
Euthanasia - Natural law and situation ethics in practice
Business Ethics - Responsibility and whistle-blowing
Business Ethics - Globalisation and human flourishing

4. Ethical Language: Meta-ethics

Meta-ethical theories - Naturalism and moral facts
Meta-ethical theories - Intuitionism and knowing good
Meta-ethical theories - Emotivism and ethical meaning

5. Significant Ideas

Conscience - Aquinas and moral judgement
Conscience - Freud and the unconscious
Conscience - Comparing explanations of conscience

6. Developments in Ethical Thought

Sexual Ethics - Religious teaching and changing attitudes
Sexual Ethics - Applying religious ethical theories
Sexual Ethics - Duty, utility and public decisions

03 Christianity — Developments in Christian thought

1. Insight

Augustine’s Teaching on Human Nature - The Fall, desire and human society
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Augustine’s Teaching on Human Nature - Grace and the human good
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Death and the Afterlife - Heaven, hell and purgatory
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Death and the Afterlife - Election and salvation
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Death and the Afterlife - Judgement and renewed creation
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2. Foundations

Knowledge of God’s Existence - Natural knowledge and reason
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Knowledge of God’s Existence - Revelation, faith and grace
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The person of Jesus Christ - Divinity, miracles and resurrection
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The person of Jesus Christ - Wisdom, forgiveness and inner purity
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The person of Jesus Christ - Liberation and challenges to authority
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3. Living

Christian moral principles - Bible, Church and reason
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Christian moral principles - Agape and distinctive Christian ethics
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Christian moral action - Bonhoeffer, Church and State
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Christian moral action - Costly grace and discipleship
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4. Development

Religious pluralism and theology - Exclusivism and inclusivism
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Religious pluralism and theology - Pluralism and the scope of salvation
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Religious pluralism and society - Migration, dialogue and mission
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Religious pluralism and society - Scriptural reasoning and truth claims
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5. Society

Gender and society - Christian teaching and gender roles
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Gender and society - Parenthood and changing families
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Gender and theology - Ruether, Christ and female wisdom
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Gender and theology - Daly and feminist comparisons
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6. Challenges

The Challenge of Secularism - Freud, Dawkins and religious belief
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The Challenge of Secularism - Christianity in public life
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Liberation Theology and Marx - Alienation, exploitation and social sin
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Liberation Theology and Marx - The preferential option for the poor
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04 Islam — Developments in Islamic thought

1. Foundations

Prophecy and Revelation - Prophets and Abrahamic revelation
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Prophecy and Revelation - Muhammad and the final revelation
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Tradition - Hadith, Sira and prophetic wisdom
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Tradition - Sunni and Shi’a authority
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2. Insight

God is One - Qur’anic arguments and transcendence
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God is One - Interpreting descriptions of God
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Human Destiny - Creation, worship and moral trial
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Human Destiny - Afterlife, justice and mercy
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Human Destiny - Divine will and human action
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3. Living

The Shari’a - Ideal law and its sources
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The Shari’a - Ijtihad, taqlid and schools of law
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The Shari’a - Applying law to new problems
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Sufism - Ihsan and mystical selfhood
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Sufism - The Sufi path and Rumi
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4. Development

Science and Philosophy - Scientific enquiry and Ghazali
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Science and Philosophy - Ibn Rushd and philosophical debate
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Gender Equality - Spiritual equality, law and culture
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Gender Equality - Feminist interpretation and the hijab
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5. Society

Tolerance - Religious freedom and minorities
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Tolerance - Apostasy and modern interpretations
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Justice and Liberation - Justice, mercy and public interest
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Justice and Liberation - Shari’ati and Murad on liberation
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6. Challenges

Islam and the State - Pre-modern authority and the Ulama
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Islam and the State - Secularisation and modern states
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Islam in Europe - Minority life and jurisprudence
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Islam in Europe - European identities and coexistence
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05 Judaism — Developments in Jewish thought

1. Foundations

Jewish Oral and Written Law - Torah, Tanakh and oral transmission
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Jewish Oral and Written Law - Talmud and halakhic development
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Jewish Oral and Written Law - Reading Pirkei Avot chapter 1
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Covenant in the Torah - Abrahamic promises and covenant form
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Covenant in the Torah - Mosaic law and covenant development
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2. Insight

Maimonides: Jewish Theologian and Philosopher - Principles 1–5 and the nature of God
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Maimonides: Jewish Theologian and Philosopher - Principles 6–9 and revelation
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Maimonides: Jewish Theologian and Philosopher - Principles 10–13 and human destiny
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Suffering and hope - Job and undeserved suffering
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Suffering and hope - Messianic hope and Jewish responses
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3. Living

Halakhah - Kashrut and the kosher kitchen
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Halakhah - Loans, trade and deception
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Halakhah - Marriage, sexuality and niddah
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Conversion - Conversion and the Shulkhan Arukh
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Conversion - Jewishness, descent and diversity
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4. Development

The Jewish Haskalah and Jewish Emancipation - Mendelssohn, reason and Haskalah
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The Jewish Haskalah and Jewish Emancipation - Citizenship, reform and Jewish identity
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Zionism - Herzl and Ahad Ha’am
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Zionism - Zionist diversity and contested identity
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5. Society

State of Israel and the Biblical Promised Land - Land, covenant and stewardship
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State of Israel and the Biblical Promised Land - The creation and development of Israel
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State of Israel and the Biblical Promised Land - Religious responses and competing claims
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Rethinking Women: Jewish Feminism - Plaskow, Torah and Jewish memory
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Rethinking Women: Jewish Feminism - Adler and marriage as partnership
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6. Challenges

Post-Holocaust theology - Rubenstein and the death of God
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Post-Holocaust theology - Fackenheim and Maybaum
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Post-Holocaust theology - Berkovitz and theological comparisons
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Chagall: art as resistance - Jewish life in The Fiddler and The Praying Jew
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Chagall: art as resistance - Solitude, White Crucifixion and resistance
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06 Buddhism — Developments in Buddhist thought

1. Foundations

The Buddha - Siddhartha’s life and the Middle Way
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The Buddha - Brahmanism, Sramanas and intellectual context
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Taking Refuge - Buddha and Dhamma as refuges
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Taking Refuge - Sangha, lay people and Buddhist identity
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2. Insight

Samsara - The six realms and rebirth
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Samsara - Karma, poisons and dependent origination
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The Three Marks of Existence - Impermanence and the kinds of dukkha
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The Three Marks of Existence - No-self, aggregates and the chariot
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3. Living

Four Noble Truths - Suffering, craving and the doctor analogy
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Four Noble Truths - Nirvana, cessation and detachment
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Four Noble Truths - The interdependent Eightfold Path
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Meditation - Samatha, vipassana and mindfulness
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Meditation - Jhanas, benefits and secular practice
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4. Development

The Development of Mahayana Buddhism - Emergence, upaya and Lotus parables
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The Development of Mahayana Buddhism - Bodhisattvas, vows and perfections
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The Development of Mahayana Buddhism - Trikaya and the nature of Buddha
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Madhyamaka and Prajnaparamita - Nagarjuna, emptiness and the Heart Sutra
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Madhyamaka and Prajnaparamita - Two truths, nirvana and conventional language
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5. Society

Buddhism in the Far East - Zen, zazen and transmission
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Buddhism in the Far East - Pure Land, Amitabha and chanting
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Buddhism in the West - Migration, media and Buddhist images
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Buddhism in the West - Batchelor, Knitter and Western adaptation
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6. Challenges

Engaged Buddhism and Activism - Thich Nhat Hanh and engaged practice
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Engaged Buddhism and Activism - Environment, justice, war and peace
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Buddhism and Gender - Women and the attainment of awakening
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Buddhism and Gender - Ordination, monastic rules and reform
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07 Hinduism — Developments in Hindu thought

1. Foundations

Development and Diversity - Indus origins and the Vedic period
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Development and Diversity - Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism
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Wisdom and authority - Shruti, smriti and sacred texts
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Wisdom and authority - Holy people, teachers and initiation
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2. Insight

Brahman and the Self - Describing Brahman
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Brahman and the Self - Atman, liberation and the required texts
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Samsara and Karma - Karma, rebirth and moral agency
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Samsara and Karma - Grace, surrender and liberation
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3. Living

The Concept of Dharma - Dharma, adharma and cosmic order
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The Concept of Dharma - Aims of life and ethical contexts
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Living in Accordance with Dharma - Varna, ashrama and duties
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Living in Accordance with Dharma - Virtues, detachment and liberation
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4. Development

Vedanta - Sankara and Advaita
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Vedanta - Ramanuja and Madhva
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Vedanta - Vivekananda, Neo-Vedanta and influence
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Hinduism as ‘Religion’ - Naming Hinduism and its diversity
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Hinduism as ‘Religion’ - Religion, philosophy and liberation
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5. Society

Hinduism and India - Holy geography and Hindutva
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Hinduism and India - Secular law, diversity and reform
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Hinduism and the West - Migration, practice and portrayal
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Hinduism and the West - Ramakrishna, Vivekananda and Gandhi
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6. Challenges

Hinduism, Equality and Discrimination - Dalits, caste and untouchability
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Hinduism, Equality and Discrimination - Stridharma and gender expectations
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Hinduism and Social Reform - Women’s movements and education
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Hinduism and Social Reform - Dalit movements and voices for change
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