Thursday, February 24, 2011

Diploma mill

March Course

This March (March 1 to 31) I will be visiting lecturer at CFI's online campus, co-teaching their one-month introductory course in thephilosophy of naturalism, this year taught by Dr. John Shook (author of The God Debates) and myself. Anyone can attend and receive a certificate of completion (though only students at UB receive college credit). It is all online and all flextime (you can work at any time of day or week).

Course description: "Introduces the philosophy of naturalism by explaining its core ideas, examining what it is good for, and illustrating why it is a better view of reality than supernatural, mystical, or idealistic worldviews. Course topics include: (1) reasoning and the scientific method, (2) science's understanding of the universe and human beings, (3) how naturalism answers questions about morality, beauty, meaning, and society, and (4) making use of naturalism to better understand yourself and the world." 

Students will be able to interact with both of us on a near-daily basis in professional-quality forum discussions of lectures and reading materials (or you can just listen in, although participation is required for a completion certificate). There are required readings but no grades, tests, or papers (we assess your level of participation and comprehension from your interactions with us each week). My book Sense and Goodness without God is the required course text. Tuition is $60 ($50 for Friends of the Center, and only $10 for college students). To learn more, or register, visit the CFI course page:Naturalism (SEC 224).



http://richardcarrier.blogspot.com/2011/02/march-course.html

Hmm. Forgive me for asking, but isn't this a diploma mill? And here I thought infidels touted academic credentials, peer review, and all that good stuff.

Don't infidels typically associate diploma mills with them thar backwoods fundies?

3 comments:

  1. I get the impression that for Carrier, it's either this or a stint at Denny's. Hell, it may well be both.

    I don't know if it's a "diploma mill", but it's kind of quaint all the same.

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  2. The University at Buffalo is a diploma mill? I'm sure that's news to them. To even get any credit for the course you have to be a student there. Otherwise it's just a little certificate that says you attended the class. How is that a diploma mill?

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  3. Daaaww....I can get a PhD in Village Atheism for $60!?!?! Sweet!

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