Ubridge is designed to deliver self-paced, gap learning courses, for ambitious students entering university.
See courses currently available below. New courses added regularly. Bespoke course development on demand.
Philosophy
Ancient Greek Philosophy
Plato • Understanding of Reality • Theory of the Forms • The Cave • The Divided Line
Aristotle • Understanding of Reality • The Four Causes • The Prime Mover
Life Death and Beyond
• Dualism • Monism • Arguments for the Soul; Plato, Descartes • Aristotle and Aquinas • Body Soul relationship • Materialism/Naturalism/Physicalism • Near Death Experiences • Life After Death • Different Christian views about the afterlife (Resurrection, Judgement, Heaven, Hell, Salvation, Purgatory, Election, Predestination, Universalism)
• Visions • Corporate experiences • Conversion experiences • William James • Richard Swinburne • Psychological, Physiological and Scientific Objections • Philosophical Objections
The Problem of Evil and Suffering
• The logical problem of evil • The evidential problem of evil • The Theodicy of St Augustine • John Hick’s Irenaean Theodicy
The Nature of God
• Monotheism • Different models of God (Biblical, Classical, Process) • The divine attributes: creator, omnipotence, omniscience, omnibenevolent etc. • God as personal vs God as transcendent • The Trinity – God revealed in Jesus
Guest speaker: Professor Keith Ward
Religious Language Classical
• Aquinas’ Analogical understandings (attribution & proportion) • Via Negativa • The Apophatic Tradition • Symbol and metaphor
Religious Language 20th Century Influences
• Wittgenstein ‘Language Games’ • A J Ayer: The Verification Principle • Anthony Flew: The Falsification Principle • R M Hare: Blick • John Hick’s responses
Miracles
• Different understandings of ‘miracle’ • Aquinas • David Hume and Maurice Wiles
Normative Ethics
Natural Law
• Primary and Secondary precepts • Prudence • The Principle of Double effect
Guest speaker: Dr. Andrew Pinsent
Situation Ethics
• Four Working Principles / Assumptions • Six Propositions • Conscience • Faith • Agape
Kantian Ethics
• The enlightenment
• Categorical Imperative (3 forms)
• Duty
Utilitarianism
• Jeremy Bentham’s principle of Utility
• Hedonic Calculus
• The greater good.
• John Stuart Mill Act vs Rule Utilitarianism
• Peter Singer & Preference Utilitarianism
• Comparison of Bentham and Kant
Virtue Theory
• Eudaimonia – flourishing and happiness • The Function Argument • Reasoning well • How to be virtuous
Applied Ethics
Euthanasia
• Definitions • The Law in the United Kingdom • Sanctity of Life • Autonomy • Application of Ethical Theories
Business Ethics
• Adam Smith – Invisible Hand
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Globalisation, whistle-blowing
• Application of Ethical Theories
Sexual Ethics
• Pre-marital and extramarital sex, homosexuality
• Developing views in secular society on sexual ethics
• Application of ethical theories
• Different Christian views
Animal Ethics
• The moral status of animals • Sentience, ability to suffer • Use of animals in farming and for science and medicine • Blood sports • Application of ethical theories • Different Christian views
Capital Punishment
• John Stuart Mill • Abolitionism • The issues – is it murder? • Christian views
Environmental Ethics
• Gaia Hypothesis • Deep and shallow ecology; intrinsic & instrumental value • Application of ethical theories • Different Christian views including dominion, stewardship, Principle of Plenitude & eco-theology
War ethics
• Development of Just War theory including Ius ad bellum & Ius in bello
• International Law
• Nuclear weapons
• Chemical weapons
• Biological weapons
• Application of ethical theories
• Different Christian views including pacifism, sanctity of life, and principle of double effect
Ethics
Conscience
• Definitions • Christian views • Non-religious views
Meta Ethics
• Divine Command Theory
• Naturalism e.g. Utilitarianism
• Non-naturalism, Intuitionism
Divine Command Theory
• Justification by faith / works • Predestination • Sanctity of life • Application to ethics of war (see unit on war) • Application to environmental ethics (see unit on environmental ethics)
Freewill and Moral Responsibility
• Free will definitions • Libertarianism • Hard determinism • Compatibilism • Theological Determinism • Application to reward and punishment
Dialogues
The dialogue between Philosophy and Christianity
The dialogue between Ethics and Christianity
Developments in Christian Thought
Sources of Wisdom and Authority
• Natural and revealed theology • Church Authority • Authority of Conscience • Authority of Bible • Human Reason • The person of Jesus
• Religious Experience • Tradition • Fideism & Natural Theology – John Polkinghorne
Guest speaker: Professor Tom Greggs
Augustine and Human Nature
• Human nature as fallen • Original Sin • Freewill and Predestination • Grace
Sources and Expressions of Religious Identity
• Baptism • Holy communion (mass) • The mission of the Church
Gender and Sexuality
• Historical and social factors which have influenced Christian thinking • Debates about female ordination • A Comparison of Daphne Hampson and Rosemary Ruether’s approaches • Different Christian views about celibacy, marriage, homosexuality and transgender issues • Mary Daly
Guest speaker: Professor Daphne Hampson
Christianity and Science
• Atheism and the narrative of warfare
• Stephen Gould – Non-overlapping Magisteria
• Alister McGrath – Theory of Complementarity
• God of gaps
• Darwinian and Neo Darwinian evolution
• The Big Bang
• John Polkinghorne
• Different Christian responses to the issues raised by genetic engineering
Secularisation
• Secularisation – theory or ideology? • Secularisation as ideology – liberal, political, critical. • Militant Atheism • Individualisation of religion to the personal sphere • Christianity and public life • Post secularism and religious resurgence. Fresh expressions. The Scriptural Reasoning movement. • Roman Catholic response to secularisation – Vatican 2 • Christian Responses to wealth • Marx & Liberation Theology – A preferential option for the poor; orthodoxy and orthopraxis
Pluralism
• Migration, multiculturalism & religious diversity. Interfaith dialogue • John Hick’s Pluralistic hypothesis, (exclusivism, inclusivism, pluralism). • Tolerance • Diversity within Christianity & different views including ecumenism.