Infinity and Divinity: The Limitless Across Mathematics, Philosophy, Science, and Religion
RELI 243
Spring 2027
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01
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What does it mean to speak of the infinite? Mathematicians, scientists, philosophers, and religious thinkers have each grappled with this question, and their answers turn out to be surprisingly entangled. This course examines how different cultures and intellectual frameworks have imagined, mapped, and made sense of what exceeds all boundaries. Along the way we ask: Is the infinite a feature of reality or just a construction of human thought? Can it be known, or only approached by negation? Can scientific and religious accounts of the limitless illuminate one another, or do they ultimately talk past each other? Additionally, we explore the limits of reason itself, raising questions that are now urgent in the age of artificial intelligence: Is the human mind a kind of machine? Can a system ever fully know itself? Is there something in understanding, or in the "soul," that no finite sequence of computation can capture? Students will write short responses and essays and complete brief exercises working through key ideas. The course is designed for students across the humanities and sciences; no prior background in mathematics, physics, philosophy, or religious studies is required. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS RELI |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (Religion Minor)(Religion) |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
A. W. Moore, THE INFINITE, 3rd ed. (Routledge, 2019), selected chapters
Rudy Rucker, INFINITY AND THE MIND: THE SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE INFINITE (Princeton University Press, Princeton Science Library, 1982), selected chapters
ohn D. Barrow, THE INFINITE BOOK: A SHORT GUIDE TO THE BOUNDLESS, TIMELESS AND ENDLESS (Pantheon, 2005)
Blaise Pascal, PENSÉES, selections
Baruch Spinoza, ETHICS, Part I, selections
Immanuel Kant, CRITIQUE OF PURE REASON, trans. Paul Guyer and Allen W. Wood (Cambridge University Press, 1998), First and Second Antinomies (A426¿443/B454¿471)
David Foster Wallace, EVERYTHING AND MORE: A COMPACT HISTORY OF INFINITY (Norton, 2003), selections
Amir D. Aczel, THE MYSTERY OF THE ALEPH: MATHEMATICS, THE KABBALAH, AND THE SEARCH FOR INFINITY (Four Walls Eight Windows, 2000)
Ernest Nagel and James R. Newman, GODEL¿S PROOF, rev. ed., ed. Douglas R. Hofstadter (New York University Press, 2001)
Brian Greene, THE HIDDEN REALITY: PARALLEL UNIVERSES AND THE DEEP LAWS OF THE COSMOS (Knopf, 2011), chs. 2¿3, 9, and 10
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Examinations and Assignments:
No final exam. Weekly reading responses (20%), participation (15%), three short concept exercises (15%), a midterm comparative essay (20%), and a final research paper (30%). |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course satisfies the "additional course" requirement for the Religion major and minor. |
| Instructor(s): Berger,Jesse Times: ..T.R.. 01:20PM-02:40PM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 20 | | SR major: 4 | JR major: 4 | | |
| | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 3 | JR non-major: 3 | SO: 3 | FR: 3 |
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