RN to BSN Program
Course Offerings
PHIL 120: Analysis of Reasoning [1 sem. hr.]
This practical course teaches a systematic procedure for analysis and elementary evaluation of reasoning. It emphasizes direct application to realistic cases.
PHIL 200: Introduction to Philosophy and Values [3 sem. hrs.]
This course examines basic philosophical positions in the areas of ethics, value theory, social and political philosophy, free will and determinism, epistemology, philosophy of religion, and philosophy of mind.
This course is approved for General Education - Core 6.
PHIL 204: Introduction to Women's Studies [3 sem. hrs.]
This interdisciplinary course introduces students to the theories and research pertaining to women's experiences and women's status in contemporary society.
This course is approved for General Education - Core 5.
PHIL 205: Critical Thinking [3 sem. hrs.]
Reasoning is a cognitive process by which persons extend their knowledge, explain truths, and persuade others. This course teaches how to recognize, analyze, and evaluate reasoning. It also examines patterns of good reasoning and common errors in reasoning.
This course is approved for General Education - Distribution 1.
PHIL 240: Introduction to Contemporary Moral Issues [3 sem. hrs.]
This course teaches the process and principles of ethical decision-making. It surveys traditional moral theory, and selected case studies involving contemporary moral issues. Students evaluate arguments on the case studies and learn to apply different ethical systems to understand how these systems determine right and wrong in particular cases.
This course is approved for General Education - Core 6.
PHIL 260: Business Ethics [3 sem. hrs.]
A study of philosophical theories in relation to ethical issues which arise in business and non-profit administration. Examples of issues might include conflicts of interest and duties; loyalty to organization, to employees and owners or funding sources, private ownership, personal morality and the public interest. Case studies will be used to illustrate the application of ethical theories such as those of Kant or Mill.
PHIL 265: Death and Dying [3 sem. hrs.]
This course introduces some basic themes such as the stages of grief, suicide, euthanasia, existence of life after death, and strategies for handling the anxiety associated with death. It includes both traditional and contemporary texts related to the philosophical study of death.
PHIL 300: Ancient Philosophy [3 sem. hrs.]
This course introduces students to the philosophical thought of Ancient Greece. Beginning with the pre-Socratics (Thales, et al.), the main themes of Greek physics, metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and politics are reviewed in their historical development. The course ends with the philosophy of Aristotle.
This course is approved for General Education - Distribution 1.
PHIL 301: Medieval Philosophy [3 sem. hrs.]
This course deals with the development of philosophical thought from early Christian times to the rise of Modern Philosophy with Descartes. Emphasis is placed on Christian thinkers and especially the Golden Age of Scholasticism.
PHIL 306-309: Philosophy in Popular Culture [3-6 sem. hrs.]
This course explores philosophical issues and themes raised in popular culture, especially through popular literature and films. Topics covered could be: war and peace issues, the ethics of duty versus the ethics of consequences, self-deception and the value of being honest, feminism, personal freedom versus community security, ethics and technology, time travel, the existence of different realities, personal identity and life-after-death.
PHIL 310: Eastern Philosophy [3 sem. hrs.]
This course introduces Eastern thought through a study of its major structures in their historical setting, aimed at an understanding of its characteristic vision. It examines traditional perspectives such as Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto and Zen.
This course is approved for General Education - Distribution 1.
PHIL 311: World Religions [3 sem. hrs.]
This course introduces the student to the great and living religions of the world: Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Those perennial insights are stressed that make these religions relevant and meaningful to contemporary persons.
This course is approved for General Education - Distribution 1.
PHIL 312: Black/White: Appearance and Reality [3 sem. hrs.]
Emphasis in this course is on discovering the meaning of racial injustice for the victims, for those who participate in it, and for society as a whole and on the relation of racism to other forms of oppression. The search for solutions may be traced in the writings of several Third World thinkers as well as American authors.
This course is approved for General Education - Distribution 1.
PHIL 318: Marxism [3 sem. hrs.]
Careful examination is made of the Marxist philosophy of nature, man, history, the state and revolution. Emphasis is on reading the basic writings of Marx and Engels. Some attention is given to the origins and genesis of Marxism, to its practice, and to contemporary Marxist theorists.
This course is approved for General Education - Distribution 1.
PHIL 319: Existentialism [3 sem. hrs.]
This course examines the main themes of contemporary existentialistic thought. Atheistic, agnostic, and theistic existentialists are treated. This course begins with Kierkegaard and Nietzsche and studies, among others, Heidegger, Jaspers, Sartre, Marcel, Camus, and Merleau-Ponty. The phenomenological method is also examined and evaluated.
PHIL 323: Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal [3 sem. hrs.]
This course is an introduction to the philosophy of science. The course uses the extremely interesting, yet scientifically improbable, claims made in best seller books, such as Chariots of the Gods and Bermuda Triangle, as well as ESP and related phenomena as examples to focus attention on important topics in the Philosophy of Science. Such topics as science vs. pseudoscience, skepticism vs. dogmatism, fallacies of experimental procedure and how to critically evaluate paranormal claims will be taken up. The student will have an opportunity to critically appraise such claims in a research project.
PHIL 326: Technology and Human Values [3 sem. hrs.]
This course familiarizes students with the philosophical and value implications of the technological texture of modern life. This course evaluates various philosophical positions with regard to technology and develops such concepts as the technological system, post industrial technologies, techno-scientific thinking and autonomous technology.
PHIL 327: Beginning Logic [3 sem. hrs.]
This non-symbolic logic course emphasizes Aristotelian (‘syllogistic') reasoning. It includes the translation of ordinary language sentences into Aristotelian form, the determination of validity through Venn diagrams, and traditional topics such as uses of language, varieties of definition, and varieties of fallacies.
This course is approved for General Education - Distribution 1.
PHIL 330: Nietzsche [3 sem. hrs.]
This course examines Nietzsche's philosophy, including his concepts of the last man, overman, eternal recurrence, and will to power.
Prerequisite: PHIL 200 or instructor's permission.
PHIL 340: Ethics [3 sem. hrs.]
This course, intended as a second course in values, examines the main theoretical issues of ethics and relates them to practical moral problems. It discusses the nature of values and the justification of normative principles through consideration of classical and contemporary moral philosophers. Prerequisite: a 200 level or above philosophy course or permission of the instructor.
This course is approved for General Education - Distribution 1.
PHIL 342: Images of Humanity [3 sem. hrs.]
Human beings understand themselves with the aid of models of paradigms of true humanness. The images which dominated the different periods of history are examined in the philosophical texts in which the images were created. Exposure to different understandings of the human condition provides a technique for making unconscious imagery conscious as well as a basis for critical examination of contemporary imagery.
This course is approved for General Education - Distribution 1.
PHIL 344: Social Philosophy [3 sem. hrs.]
This course investigates social philosophy, past and present, in relation to values and ideology. Specific issues include the moral justification for the existence of the state, its authority, the relation of the individual to the state, the scope and limits of political dissent, the principles of just revolution, individual property rights, income distribution and taxes.
This course is approved for General Education - Distribution 1.
PHIL 345: Philosophy of Art [3 sem. hrs.]
This course examines central and historical developments in the philosophical analysis of art. It examines theories of art and explores questions such as: the beautiful, creativity, the imagination, and the role of art in life.
PHIL 346: Environmental Ethics [3 sem. hrs.]
This course surveys the development of Ecophilosophy, a branch of philosophy which responds to the emerging understanding of the science of ecology and its implications for humanity. Topics discussed include the philosophical aspects of the Limits-to-Growth debate, the Land Ethic, Animal Rights, Gaia Hypothesis, Ecocentrism vs. Anthropocentrism, Ecofeminism, and Deep Ecology.
This course is approved for General Education - Distribution 1.
PHIL 350: Philosophy of Religion [3 sem. hrs.]
This course philosophically analyzes arguments for and against atheism, agnosticism, theism, and the immortality of the soul. The stance of faith contrast with that of rational argumentation. The classical proofs for God's existence and the immortality of the soul are studied and evaluated.
PHIL 360: Philosophy and Feminism [3 sem. hrs.]
This course critically examines traditional and contemporary concepts of the moral, social, and metaphysical status of women. It pays special attention to the strengths and weaknesses of feminist theories concerning the philosophical nature and significance of gender and related concepts.
Prerequisite: one prior philosophy course or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 361: Ethics and Health [3 sem. hrs.]
This course is designed not just for persons who plan to work in health-related fields, but for any student interested in understanding basic concepts and categories of ethics. After the general theories and principles of ethics are understood, applications are made to the health-related issues which are widely discussed in the mass media and given academic attention by scholars in philosophy, religious studies, law, and biology.
Prerequisite: PHIL 200.
PHIL 364: Sexual Love and Western Morality [3 sem. hrs.]
The course explores several theories about the nature and meaning of human sexuality which are then applied to the evaluation of sexual acts in both moral and non-moral terms. Several notions of love are examined in relation to the various lifestyles which could claim to be their practice.
This course is approved for General Education - Distribution 1.
PHIL 402: History of Modern Philosophy [3 sem. hrs.]
The major philosophers from Descartes (1600 through Kant (1800) are examined. Metaphysical and epistemological issues are emphasized.
This course is approved for General Education - Distribution 1.
PHIL 405: Contemporary Philosophy [3 sem. hrs.]
This course examines some of the most important works of some of the most influential philosophers since 1900.
This course is approved for General Education - Distribution 1.
PHIL 410: Metaphysics [3 sem. hrs.]
Metaphysics asks the question: "What exists?" This fundamental area of philosophy includes many of the most basic philosophical issues: the nature of the external world, the mind-body problem, the existence of free will, the existence of God, and the problem of universals. This course will cover one or more of these issues.
This course is approved for General Education - Distribution 1.
PHIL 411: Theory of Knowledge [3 sem. hrs.]
This course studies the sources, types, methods, structure, and validity of knowledge. It involves reading and discussion of classical, modern, and contemporary views of meaning, truth, and perception. This course is designed to give an acquaintance with and an appreciation of the scope and limits of knowledge.
This course is approved for General Education - Distribution 1.
PHIL 415: Current Problems in Philosophy [3 sem. hrs.]
This course will employ modern philosophical techniques such as linguistic analysis to investigate current philosophical problems. These problems may include, for example, current problems of knowledge, free will, God and the mind-body relation to answer such questions as: Can we have knowledge or are there grounds to doubt everything? Do we have free will or are all our actions determined? Are the mind and brain one and the same or different? Is there or is there not a God?
PHIL 419: Phenomenology [3 sem. hrs.]
Phenomenology is more than a mere descriptive method. It aims to perform a philosophical activity by seeking out the ultimate foundations of the totality of human experience. Existence is foundational and integrational and founds, as such, the edifice of knowledge and undercuts the subject-object cleavage of rationalism. The purpose of the course is to assess this contention of phenomenology.
PHIL 420: Logic [3 sem. hrs.]
This course in logic demonstrates how to distinguish between valid and invalid reasoning by use of symbols. It covers sentence logic and quantificational (predicate) logic.
This course is approved for General Education - Distribution 1.
PHIL 425: Philosophy of Science [3 sem. hrs.]
This course examines the philosophical problems common to the natural sciences, such as the nature of laws and theories, explanation, and verification, and the distinction between science and pseudoscience. It also discusses the character of scientific progress. The course helps students understand the general structure and methods of science, through an examination of the philosophical controversies which surround them.
This course is approved for General Education - Distribution 1.
PHIL 440: Philosophy of Human Action [3 sem. hrs.]
The course has two parts, the first devoted to looking at theories about the right way to describe and explain what people do, the second part to reexamine the nature of human labor, making use of the theoretical tools acquired in the first part of the course.
PHIL 490: Independent Study in Philosophy [1-6 sem. hrs.]
The Independent Study program aims to serve those students whose scholarly bent seems most clearly adapted to independent work. Students are permitted to solve problems and to earn credit for work performed outside the classroom requirement of any specific course in the curriculum.
PHIL 545: Medical Ethics [3 sem. hrs.]
After a survey of basic concepts and reigning theories in ethics, students are introduced to the major areas of ethical conflict in contemporary medical practice. Case materials are presented in class and students receive guidance in identifying the controversies and in providing rational support for their solutions.
Prerequisite: PHIL 200 or the permission of the instructor.
CHAIRPERSON:
D. Elliott Wreh-Wilson, Ph.D.
Centennial Hall 330
295 Meadville Street
Edinboro, PA 16444
Phone: 814-732-1122
Email: ewrehwilson@edinboro.edu
Department Office:
Centennial Hall 322
295 Meadville Street
Edinboro, PA 16444
Phone: 814-732-2490
Fax: 814-732-2865
