Philosophy Project

Fall 2020 | Anselm Ramelow, OP

Provocative, informative and essential. In response to the recent growth of atheistic trends, Prof. Ramelow challenges professed theists to know what it is that they claim to believe and why. What, if anything, can truly be known about God? This course surveys arguments for and against the existence of God and examines their argumentative force, both within their historical contexts and in present-day discourse.

Spring 2021 | John Thomas Mellein, OP

Thomas Aquinas makes use of analogical language in the predicamental order of being, and also when speaking about God. This seminar-style course will examine Thomas's account of analogy, and its varied interpretations in the Thomistic tradition. In conjunction with our study of Thomas's texts, we will also read Cajetan's De nominum analogia, as well as some of the contemporary literature assessing both Thomas's position, and Cajetan's interpretation of it. We will consider some of the philosophical and theological applications of Thomas's doctrine of analogy.

Fall 2021 | Michael Dodds, OP

A seminar course exploring contemporary issues in the theology of divine action. Pursuing questions such as how we might understand divine providence, miracles, and prayer in this age of science, the course will consider how modern Newtonian science influenced our understanding of causality, how theories of contemporary science (such as quantum physics, chaos theory, and emergence) have opened the discussion of divine action, and how certain classical philosophical insights into the nature of causality (Aristotle and Aquinas) may be brought to bear on contemporary issues in the theology/science dialogue.

A background in science is not necessary. The course requires weekly reports with questions for discussion and a 15-20 page research paper.

Fall 2022 | Justin Gable, OP

In his provocative essay, Phenomenology and the Theological Turn, Dominique Janicaud famously declared that contemporary French phenomenology had abandoned phenomenology for theology. While his conclusions may be disputed, what is certain is that within the last half-century, phenomenologists in France have produced a variety of rich and fruitful writings reflecting on the nature and shape of religious experience.

This course will explore the work of these French phenomenologists, including Derrida, Marion, Henry, Chretien, Lacoste, Falque, and Romano. This course presumes some familiarity with the phenomenological tradition. Recommended prerequisite: Contemporary Philosophy (PH 2001) or an equivalent introduction to contemporary philosophy.

Spring 2023 | Justin Gable, OP

In The Gay Science, Nietzsche famously declared (through his literary invention, “the madman”) the death (murder!) of God. This declaration has often been closely linked to the presumptive end of metaphysics. How ought people of faith, believers, respond to such pronouncements? What forms of faith and religious life are possible in a secularized world?

This class will explore possible answers to these questions by looking at the writings of great religious thinkers of the last two centuries, including such literary and spiritual giants as St. John Henry Newman, Dostoyevsky, Kierkegaard, St. Therese of Lisieux, G.K. Chesterton, Gabriel Marcel, and Flannery O'Connor.

Fall 2023 | Michael Dodds, OP

Classical and contemporary questions regarding the nature of God and creation will be addressed through the retrieval of the tradition of Thomas Aquinas. Existence and attributes of God, divine compassion and human suffering, the possibility and nature of God-talk, divine action and contemporary science, cosmology and creation. [Lecture/discussion; paper] (MA/MTS/M.Div/Ph.D./ThD) (More advanced students may sign up for the course as a special reading course, with requirements adjusted for their level.)

Spring 2024 | Anselm Ramelow, OP

Miracles are a special way in which God makes himself manifest. They are a key topic in the philosophy of religion. Are miracles possible? And if yes, can we know that they have occurred? Answering these questions involves a range of philosophical and theological topics, such as: What is a law of nature? and: What is the nature of causality? It requires answering questions about probability, epistemology, metaphysics, and historiography. The freedom of God and petitionary prayer, the possibility of revelation and its relation to reason – all these will have to play a role. Numerous philosophers and theologians have contributed to the debate, especially since Hume. We will engage selected texts of this ongoing conversation.

Fall 2024 | James Kintz, PhD

In the Christian tradition, God is understood to be personal and loving, and such love involves a desire to engage humans in interpersonal relationship. Yet this theological commitment – one that is shared by other monotheistic traditions – carries with it important difficulties, one of which is the problem of divine hiddenness.

As this problem is often formulated, if God loves us and desires relationship with us, then it would seem to follow that he would make his existence known in such a way that no reasonable person could doubt it. After all, we cannot enter into a relationship with a being that we do not believe exists! Yet insofar as there are reasonable, intellectually honest folks who do not believe in God, this non-culpable non-belief seems to entail that a personal, loving God does not exist. Further, even if one sets aside this argument for atheism, the problem of divine hiddenness can be troubling for believers as well. Believers will often seek divine assistance in moments of need but receive no response – God is seemingly absent, or hidden, from such persons.

Why would a God who is personal and loving remain hidden when those whom he purportedly loves, and who love him in return, seek him? Not only can this generate crises of faith for such believers, but it is deeply puzzling philosophically why God so often appears to be absent even to those who believe in him. This course will explore the problem of divine hiddenness from both atheistic and theistic frameworks, seeking clarity on the nature of the problem and considering possible solutions. While we will primarily examine contemporary philosophical work on this issue; we will also make use of films, literature, and historical texts in philosophy and theology as we delve into our experience of God’s apparent hiddenness.

Spring 2025 | Justin Gable, OP

In 2006, Richard Dawkins published The God Delusion. What was remarkable about this book was not its arguments, its use of science, or its militant (indeed, rather shrill) insistence on the superiority of atheism to any theistic position, but rather its enthusiastic reception and powerful impact on popular culture and thinking.

This course takes a close look at the “New Atheism,” the work of Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, and their allies, along with a broad sampling of the “Old Atheists,” such as Freud, Marx, Nietzsche and Sartre. Though avowed opponents of religion in general and Christianity in particular, these thinkers can be seen as unwitting allies to a thoughtful articulation and living out of the Christian faith (and other forms of belief).

Fall Semester | Anselm Ramelow, OP

Can God manifest himself in our subjective experience? And if so, how do we know that it is God? What do these experiences mean, if they seem to occur in different traditions? Are they of the same kind? How can we relate these experiences to the various faculties of the human soul? Can they be understood in the context of the cosmos and metaphysics? Some traditions put more emphasis on experiences than others, and even within traditions, some are more attuned to them than others (mystics and prophets). We will read texts across traditions: Greek and Neoplatonic philosophers, Aquinas and the Arabic tradition on prophecy, the Spanish Mystics, Protestant notions of faith, William James and analytical philosophers (Swinburne, Plantinga).

Spring 2026 | Justin Gable, OP

Contemporary postmodern philosophers such as Derrida, Foucault, Levinas, and Deleuze have rekindled an interest in negative theology by comparing their own philosophies of difference and deconstruction to the linguistic strategies of apophatic theologians. Negative theology, that approach to God which focuses on saying what God is not, itself has a rich and varied history.

This course will explore key figures in this theological tradition, including Plotinus, Proclus, St. Gregory of Nyssa, Pseudo-Dionysius, Maimonides, Aquinas, Meister Eckhart, and the author of the Cloud of Unknowing, as well as key themes such as God’s transcendence, divine mystery, analogical language, and the limitations of human knowledge. We will then turn to how this tradition has been appropriated and transformed by contemporary thinkers.

Fall 2026 | Anselm Ramelow, OP with Bryan Kromholtz, OP

Beauty seems to have lost its place not only in art but even in the reflections of the discipline of aesthetics. Could it be that one can only lose God and beauty together? To show reality as beautiful, to tell stories with a happy end, to allow beauty to show the goodness of things – all of this seems to imply that, at the bottom, the world is good and meaningful. It is a form of theodicy, and the modern world will have none of it. Rather than beauty, it will express its "truth" about the world, and it tends to be bleak.

What, by contrast, does it mean that art is beautiful, and that it is meaningful to imitate nature as God's creation? Can beauty actually save the world, or perhaps not? Is the crucifix an expression of beauty? We will explore these questions with the help of some of the classical texts of aesthetics and from more recent proposals in theological aesthetics, but also by exploring examples of art and beauty.

No, there are no prerequisites.

No. Once applicants indicate that they wish to participate in the project the Admissions Committee will evaluate eligibility for the usual degree program of MA Philosophy (either exam or thesis option) or the Concurrent MAPh/MATh degree option.

Yes. Anyone can participate in the project seminars. However, students who are writing a thesis on this topic will have priority in the event that the seminar course enrollment exceeds a manageable number.

Yes. All DSPT students are offered the opportunity to participate in the project seminars.

Yes. DSPT hosts the Dominican Colloquium in Berkeley, which brings together a wide array of graduate students, aspiring scholars and professional academics who wish to present and engage on themes related to the project. It also features keynote speakers; past speakers include Eleonore Stump, Lawrence Feingold, and Robert Sokolowski.