Ethics and Religion

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

From the beginning of the Abrahamic faiths and of Greek philosophy, religion and morality have been closely intertwined. In this class, we explore to what extent a secular ethical theory is possible. Readings range from antiquity to modernity, including Plato, Kant, Maimonides, Heidegger, and Simone Weil. These authors will help us answering questions, such as, ‘Do I need God’s assistance to become a good person?’, ‘Does the normative power of the moral law require God’s existence?’ ‘Does God need to reveal the moral law in order for me to know it?’