Reason, Faith, and Relativism

Catalog description

Intelligent, sincere, and equally well-informed people often strongly disagree. This seems especially true when it comes to religious beliefs. In that context, people will often appeal to "faith," which some construe as belief without good reason. It is therefore important to ask what counts as good reason for holding a belief, and whether all beliefs are subject to the same standard. If two individuals hold contradictory beliefs, then certainly one of them is wrong, but might both be justified in holding those beliefs? If so, does this imply that truth is relative? This course deals with the general topic of rational belief formation in a world that is religiously, ideologically, and culturally diverse.