Religious Studies and Theology

This project should be a fun and creative opportunity to share your knowledge of pop culture regarding questions of existence and knowledge. There is no one answer, no single “right” answer. Also, this is an opportunity to connect the dots.

Think about shows, movies, etc, in popular culture you are already familiar with to start this paper. Choose a film, an episode from a TV show, or a novel that you think presupposes some philosophical view on one of the topics that we’ve covered (i.e., including metaphysics (existence), epistemology (knowledge), ethics, justice, aesthetics, or religion. Think about questions like; Where did we come from? How do we know right from wrong? Who are we? Why are we here? How should we live?

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What does “a good life” mean? And why do bad things happen? You’re not answering all these questions, but your film/show/novel may revolve around one or two. Then do the following in a short 2-3 (double-spaced) page paper: (a) Explain the relevant philosophical question or topic and the particular view you think that your film/TV show/novel presupposes, and

(b) Explain why you think the film/TV show/novel presupposes this view. Then

(c) discuss one or two problems for this philosophical view: What objections might someone raise to this view? Finally, suppose that these objections are good ones and that a competing philosophical view regarding this topic is more plausible:

(d) Explain how the writers could change the plot of the film/TV show/novel so that it is more compatible with this alternative philosophical view. (The only film EXCLUDED from this project is The Matrix Trilogy. You can choose any other film/show/novel to discuss in a philosophical way.)

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