Overview
It is common to describe the recent intellectual landscape as involving a major shift from Modernism to Postmodernism. This description is overly simplistic. In this course we will investigate four intellectual currents that make up the contemporary mind.
Featuring teaching from Dr. Greg Ganssle, Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, this course provides video lectures, quizzes, and reflection questions that will help you see the origins of our current intellectual climate more clearly.
Note: This version of the course is designed for individual study. If you would like to use this material in an in-person small group setting, please explore the Small Group Curriculum for this course.
Dr. Greg Ganssle has been thinking about the intersection of Christian faith and contemporary scholarship for over thirty years. He began as an undergraduate by skipping his classes and reading C.S. Lewis. After graduating from the University of Maryland in 1978, he worked in campus ministry on a variety of campuses. Hundreds of conversations with students from a wide variety of religious and philosophical perspectives drove him to a sustained self-study program. Eventually, it occurred to him that he was reading philosophy. Since he had escaped college without taking a philosophy course, he decided to begin with Philosophy 101 at the age of 25. Within weeks he was hooked. Continuing to juggle his full-time campus ministry responsibilities, he earned a Master of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Rhode Island in 1990. He then went full time and earned his doctorate in philosophy from Syracuse University in 1995, where his dissertation on God's relation to time won a Syracuse University Dissertation Award. In addition to publishing nearly three dozen articles, chapters and reviews, Greg has edited two books, God and Time: Four Views (IVP, 2001) and God and Time: Essays on the Divine Nature (Oxford, 2002 – with David M. Woodruff). Greg is also the author of Our Deepest Desires: How the Christian Story Fulfills Human Aspirations (IVP, 2017), Thinking about God: First Steps in Philosophy (IVP, 2004) and A Reasonable God: Engaging the New Face of Atheism (Baylor University Press, 2009). Greg was a part-time lecturer in the philosophy department at Yale for nine years and a senior fellow at the Rivendell Institute at Yale. Greg's research interests lie in contemporary philosophy of religion and history of philosophy. Greg has been married to Jeanie since 1985. They have three children, none of whom are philosophers. Although happily married, Greg has a secret crush on Jane Austen.
Talbot School of Theology is a theologically conservative, evangelical seminary in Southern California near Los Angeles. With over a 60-year heritage of biblical fidelity, the seminary couples solid evangelical scholarship with spiritual formation to prepare students for a lifetime of relevant, effective ministry. The seminary's master's degree programs and doctoral degree programs are led by a faculty of nationally renowned, widely-published and actively engaged ministry leaders.
Course FAQ
Each lesson is designed to take approximately 1-2 hours, depending on how deeply you engage the reflection questions. Since this is a self-paced course, the time it will take you to complete it will depend on the speed with which you want to progress through the course.
No. The course contains everything you need to successfully complete the course. There are resources recommended at the end of the course that you are free to purchase if you wish to pursue further study on the course topic.
Since this course is designed as a completely self-paced experience, you will not have any interaction with the professor during the course.
It is common to describe the recent intellectual landscape as involving a major shift from Modernism to Postmodernism. This description is overly simplistic. In this course we will investigate four intellectual currents that make up the contemporary mind.
Featuring teaching from Dr. Greg Ganssle, Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, this course provides video lectures, quizzes, and reflection questions that will help you see the origins of our current intellectual climate more clearly.
Note: This version of the course is designed for individual study. If you would like to use this material in an in-person small group setting, please explore the Small Group Curriculum for this course.
Dr. Greg Ganssle has been thinking about the intersection of Christian faith and contemporary scholarship for over thirty years. He began as an undergraduate by skipping his classes and reading C.S. Lewis. After graduating from the University of Maryland in 1978, he worked in campus ministry on a variety of campuses. Hundreds of conversations with students from a wide variety of religious and philosophical perspectives drove him to a sustained self-study program. Eventually, it occurred to him that he was reading philosophy. Since he had escaped college without taking a philosophy course, he decided to begin with Philosophy 101 at the age of 25. Within weeks he was hooked. Continuing to juggle his full-time campus ministry responsibilities, he earned a Master of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Rhode Island in 1990. He then went full time and earned his doctorate in philosophy from Syracuse University in 1995, where his dissertation on God's relation to time won a Syracuse University Dissertation Award. In addition to publishing nearly three dozen articles, chapters and reviews, Greg has edited two books, God and Time: Four Views (IVP, 2001) and God and Time: Essays on the Divine Nature (Oxford, 2002 – with David M. Woodruff). Greg is also the author of Our Deepest Desires: How the Christian Story Fulfills Human Aspirations (IVP, 2017), Thinking about God: First Steps in Philosophy (IVP, 2004) and A Reasonable God: Engaging the New Face of Atheism (Baylor University Press, 2009). Greg was a part-time lecturer in the philosophy department at Yale for nine years and a senior fellow at the Rivendell Institute at Yale. Greg's research interests lie in contemporary philosophy of religion and history of philosophy. Greg has been married to Jeanie since 1985. They have three children, none of whom are philosophers. Although happily married, Greg has a secret crush on Jane Austen.
Talbot School of Theology is a theologically conservative, evangelical seminary in Southern California near Los Angeles. With over a 60-year heritage of biblical fidelity, the seminary couples solid evangelical scholarship with spiritual formation to prepare students for a lifetime of relevant, effective ministry. The seminary's master's degree programs and doctoral degree programs are led by a faculty of nationally renowned, widely-published and actively engaged ministry leaders.
Syllabus
Setting the Stage Lesson 1 |
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In this lesson, we set the stage by giving an... Overview |
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Setting the Stage Part 1 Video |
Setting the Stage Part 2 Video |
Setting the Stage Part 3 Video |
Lesson 1 - Quiz Quiz |
Setting the Stage Reflection 1 Reflection |
Setting the Stage Reflection 2 Reflection |
Descartes and Mechanism Lesson 2 |
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In this session we will explore Descartes’... Overview |
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Descartes and Mechanism Part 1 Video |
Descartes and Mechanism Part 2 Video |
Lesson 2 - Quiz Quiz |
Descartes and Mechanism Reflection 1 Reflection |
Descartes and Mechanism Reflection 2 Reflection |
Hume and Empiricism Lesson 3 |
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David Hume is a classic empiricist. He thinks... Overview |
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Hume and Empiricism Part 1 Video |
Hume and Empiricism Part 2 Video |
Lesson 3 - Quiz Quiz |
Hume and Empiricism Reflection 1 Reflection |
Hume and Empiricism Reflection 2 Reflection |
Kant and Constructivism Lesson 4 |
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Kant argued that, in our knowledge, the mind... Overview |
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Kant and Constructivism Part 1 Video |
Kant and Constructivism Part 2 Video |
Lesson 4 - Quiz Quiz |
Kant and Constructivism Reflection 1 Reflection |
Kant and Constructivism Reflection 2 Reflection |
Nietzsche and Postmodernism Lesson 5 |
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Nietzsche argued that traditional morality,... Overview |
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Nietzsche and Postmodernism Part 1 Video |
Nietzsche and Postmodernism Part 2 Video |
Nietzsche and Postmodernism Part 3 Video |
Lesson 5 - Quiz Quiz |
Nietzsche and Postmodernism Reflection 1 Reflection |
Nietzsche and Postmodernism Reflection 2 Reflection |
The Gospel as Good News Lesson 6 |
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Each of the thinkers or movements we have... Overview |
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The Gospel as Good News Part 1 Video |
The Gospel as Good News Part 2 Video |
Lesson 6 - Quiz Quiz |
The Gospel as Good News Reflection 1 Reflection |
The Gospel as Good News Reflection 2 Reflection |
Summary: A Method for Engaging with Different Worldviews Resource |
Recommended Resources Resource |
Course Evaluation Resource |
Course FAQ
Each lesson is designed to take approximately 1-2 hours, depending on how deeply you engage the reflection questions. Since this is a self-paced course, the time it will take you to complete it will depend on the speed with which you want to progress through the course.
No. The course contains everything you need to successfully complete the course. There are resources recommended at the end of the course that you are free to purchase if you wish to pursue further study on the course topic.
Since this course is designed as a completely self-paced experience, you will not have any interaction with the professor during the course.