Information for J.P. Moreland Courses

THE INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL LIFE OF THE CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHER: J.P. usually teaches this as a Spring elective for graduate students in philosophy at Talbot School of Theology. The purpose of this course is to help the student make progress in developing a solid and integrated intellectual/spiritual life appropriate to a calling as a Christian philosopher. Some of the objectives that J.P. has for the class include the ability to demonstrate growth in understanding and progress in living consistently with

  • the worldview struggle that currently constitutes the flow of ideas in Western culture.
  • integrative thinking as a Christian and a view of Christianity as a knowledge tradition and not a mere belief tradition.
  • the development of the different aspects of a human person under the Lordship of Jesus with special emphasis on a tender, inner heart and character.
  • the nature of classic happiness and the means by which it is secured.
  • the nature, practice and perils of petitionary prayer, including praying for the sick.
  • the role of spiritual warfare and the demonic in culture and individual life.
  • learning how to  hear from God in a personal way.

J.P. will use some of his own books in this class, including the following:

A copy of a recent syllabus is available here.

METAPHYSICS 2: Advanced Studies in the Ontology of Human Persons. J.P. usually teaches this as a Fall elective for graduate students in philosophy at Talbot School of Theology. The purpose of the course is to expose the student to a detailed exploration of the various ways that human persons are currently ontologically analyzed, to compare those analyses to the classic ontology of human persons provided by Aristotle and Aquinas, and to locate the current analyses against the backdrop of the worldview of naturalism and Western theism. Some of the objectives for this course include the ability to

  • Explain the classic biblical view of the human person and identify the key issues in the current debate between Christian dualists and physicalists.
  • Identity the central metaphysical components of late Aristotelian analyses of living substances in general and human persons in particular.
  • Grasp these views and the crucial arguments for and against them:  animalism, material–constitution physicalism, the brain view, the 4D temporal parts position, the bundle theory, substance dualism of different sorts, and nihilism.
  • State how the Ship-of-Theseus puzzle illustrates problems of material constitution, and explain how Aquinas’ metaphysical solution to the puzzle compares with important contemporary solutions.
  • Explain the central problem involved in the debate about the nature of chemical change, viz., as accidental or substantial change, and how this problem relates to accepting the classic ontology of Aristotle and Aquinas regarding living substances.
  • Show how five prima facie irreducible, uneliminable aspects of human persons can be used as part of a cumulative case argument for the existence of the biblical God.

Some of J.P.'s work related to this course include the following

A copy of a recent syllabus is available here.

METAPHYSICS 1: J.P. usually teaches this class in the Fall for graduate students in philosophy at Talbot School of Theology. Some of the objectives that he has for the class are as follows:

  • To discuss the nature and importance of metaphysics and some differences among philosophers regarding methodology in metaphysics, including the relationship between science and metaphysics and the rejection of first philosophy.
  • To introduce the student to the role that philosophy of language has played in modern metaphysical discussions.
  • To examine the nature of being or existence.
  • To define and explore different ways of taking basic categories of ontology.
  • To investigate issues and options regarding substance, property, and relation.
  • To look at some specific issues in metaphysics, e.g., dualism, personal identity.
  • To introduce the student to issues in essentialism and possible worlds.

Learn a little more about how J.P. teaches Metaphysics 1 by clicking here, and to read more about his views in this area, consider the following items:

A copy of a recent syllabus is available here.

PHILOSOPHY OF MIND/SOUL: J.P. usually teaches this class in the Spring for graduate students in philosophy at Talbot School of Theology. The purpose of this course is to introduce the student to some of the major areas of debate in the philosophy of mind/soul, as well as the major positions and persons involved in the debate, and to help the student develop his or her own view about the mind/soul. Some of the objectives that he has for the class are as follows:

  • To examine some of the main arguments for and against property and substance dualism, as well as some of the options within dualism.
  • To examine and critique some of the main alternatives to dualism (e.g. different versions of the identity thesis, philosophical behaviorism, forms of functionalism, eliminative materialism).
  • To examine in brief fashion some of the issues involved in debates about personal identity, including issues regarding the simplicity of the self.
  • To expose the student to the practice of integration in the area of philosophical anthropology.

J.P. shares about his passion for this area (click here), and you can learn a more about J.P.'s views on various topics in philosophy of mind by considering the following items

A copy of a recent syllabus is available here.

J.P. usually teaches this class in the Fall to graduate students in philosophy at Talbot School of Theology. Some of the objectives that he has for the class are as follows: