96 CONCEPTIONS OF ULTIMATE REALITY3 What are the basic tenets of Hindu monotheism?
4 Discuss what can be said for, and what can be said against, this claim:
Since Hindu monotheism makes no claim about historical persons or
events religiously essential, it is as much like Greek monotheism as it
is like Semitic monotheism.
5 What is a modal proposition? Why must a modal proposition be a
necessary truth if it is true, and a necessary falsehood if it is false?
6 Explain the following claim: there are two versions of monotheism,
and two versions of atheism, and at least one version of each is
necessarily false.
Annotated reading
Cohn-Sherbok, Daniel (1996) Medieval Jewish Philosophy, Surrey: Curzon. Brief,
good discussion of perhaps the most flourishing period of Jewish philosophy.
Davidson, Herbert (1987) Proofs for Eternity, Creation, and the Existence of God
in Medieval Islamic and Jewish Philosophy, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Detailed discussion of Jewish and Islamic medieval philosophers on arguments
concerning the dependence and duration of the created world and arguments for
God’s existence, with some reference to Christian philosophers.
Davidson, Herbert (1992) Alfarabi, Avicenna, and Averroes on Intellect, Oxford:
Oxford University Press. Fine discussion of theories of the mind held by three
leading Islamic philosophers.
Kellner, Menachem (1986) Dogma in Medieval Jewish Thought, Oxford: Oxford
University Press. Good discussion of the systems of Jewish thought that are more
doctrinally oriented than others.
Kroner, Richard (1956) Speculation in Pre-Christian Philosophy, Philadelphia:
Westminster Press. This book, and the next two, discuss the development of
Christian thought in interaction with ancient, medieval, and modern philosophy.
Kroner, Richard (1959) Speculation and Revelation in the Age of Christian
Philosophy, Philadelphia: Westminster Press. See previous reference.
Kroner, Richard (1961) Speculation and Revelation in Modern Philosophy,
Philadelphia: Westminster Press. See Kroner (1956) comment.
Leaman, Oliver (1985) An Introduction to Medieval Islamic Philosophy,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Fairly brief, good discussion of perhaps
the most flourishing period of Islamic philosophy.
Lipner, Julius (1986) The Face of Truth, Albany: SUNY Press. Fine explanation of
the thought of the Hundu theologian–philosopher Ramanuja.
Lott, Eric (1976) God and the Universe in the Vedantic Theology of Ramanuja,
Madras: Ramanuja Research Society. Another fine discussion of Ramanuja.
Lott, Eric (1980) Vedantic Approaches to God, London: Macmillan. Excellent
discussion of the three major figures of Hindu Vedantic thought: Shankara,
Ramanuja, Madhva.
McGrath, Alister (1994) Christian Theology, Oxford: Blackwell. Good historical
discussion of the types and themes and Christian thought.