THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

Information in the Degree Programme Tables may still be subject to change in response to Covid-19

University Homepage
DRPS Homepage
DRPS Search
DRPS Contact
DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Divinity : Theology and Ethics

Undergraduate Course: Christian Ethics 3/4 (THET10007)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Divinity CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThe course is designed to enable students to acquire skills in Christian moral reasoning, and successfully to mobilise such skills in relation to contemporary moral controversies such as the patenting of life or the moral status of animals.
Course description Academic Description:
Students will study key texts and themes in Christian theological ethics. The course is based on reading classic and contemporary texts in theological ethics from primarily Protestant sources in North America and the UK, with a smaller number of Catholic and Continental European readings. The context for the course is the two thousand years of Christian moral teaching whose sources include the Old Testament, the life and teachings of Christ, the writings of St Paul, the fathers of the church, Thomas Aquinas, and the Reformers. Moses, the Hebrew Prophets, Aristotle and Plato were also major influences on the tradition of Christian ethics as were Enlightenment philosophers such as Mill and Kant. The influence of these sources on contemporary thinkers is a major orienting frame for the course. So too is the context of modernity which has seen the gradual secularisation of ethics in European societies and the rise of a range of new ethical dilemmas, such as those posed by modern technologies and the ecological crisis.

Syllabus/Outline Content:
The course is organised around key thinkers in and approaches in theological ethics. Key approaches in Christian Ethics include personalism (deontology), command ethics, virtue ethics, communitarianism, emotivism, and consequentialism. Set texts and additional reading to be studied in the course will be selected from key shapers of the tradition of theological ethics including: Thomas Aquinas, Augustine of Hippo, Karl Barth, Hans urs Von Balthasar, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Stanley Hauerwas, Martin Luther, Alasdair MacIntyre, John Milbank, Reinhold Niebuhr, Oliver O¿Donovan and John Howard Yoder.

Student Learning Experience Information:
The course is taught through the following: private study of set texts and secondary reading; writing about and discussion of set texts online at the course web site on Learn accessible via MyEd; lectures introducing set texts and interactive seminars studying set texts in detail and offering a forum for ethical debate; essay writing on set texts and themes arising from them. Essay topics for each week are given below. For the mid-semester essay all students are advised to write to one of the set topics. For the final paper students may write on another topic below. Or they may compose their own title to a topic or angle they particularly wish to pursue but they must clear the topic and title with the course lecturer via email. All forms of written assessed work should be submitted to Learn rather than in hard copy. Blog posts will serve as a starting point for discussion in the interactive seminar. For each week (except week 1), a small group will volunteer to start off discussion of set texts in the second half of the seminar by providing some opening comments and a suitable question or discussion starter. There is no formal assessment of presentation or oral skills but nonetheless these skills are developed through facilitating and engagement in debate in the seminar.

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting students should have at least 3 Divinity/Religious Studies courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate a critical conceptual understanding of the sources of theological ethics.
  2. Articulate and critically compare key alternative approaches to Christian ethics among contemporary theologians.
  3. Apply Christian ethical approaches to contemporary moral dilemmas.
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills - Empathy and imaginative insight, with a tolerance of diverse positions
- Capacity for reflexive learning
- Commitment to lifelong learning
- Ability to attend to others and respect others' views
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr James Eglinton
Tel: (0131 6)50 8975
Email: jeglint2@exseed.ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMr Jamie Smith
Tel: (0131 6)50 8913
Email: Jamie.L.Smith@ed.ac.uk
Navigation
Help & Information
Home
Introduction
Glossary
Search DPTs and Courses
Regulations
Regulations
Degree Programmes
Introduction
Browse DPTs
Courses
Introduction
Humanities and Social Science
Science and Engineering
Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Other Information
Combined Course Timetable
Prospectuses
Important Information