DCU Home | Our Courses | Loop | Registry | Library | Search DCU

Registry

Module Specifications

Archived Version 2014 - 2015

Module Title Critical Thinking and Health
Module Code NS122
School School of Nursing and Human Sciences

Online Module Resources

Module Co-ordinatorDr Donal O'MathunaOffice NumberH234
NFQ level 8 Credit Rating 5
Pre-requisite None
Co-requisite None
Compatibles None
Incompatibles None
Description

This module presents a general introduction to philosophy and critical thinking. Various philosophical traditions are presented and explored by looking at how various authors have grappled with suffering. The Holocaust of WWII is used to examine both philosophical and personal ways of dealing with the existence of evil and suffering. Personal accounts about the Holocaust and its impact on people's views of suffering are examining through the narratives presented by Viktor Frankl and others in documentaries viewed during lecture time. The impact of different philosophical views on suffering are also examined in light of their impact on ethical issues at the end of life. These discussions are applied to current ethical debates about assisted suicide and euthanasia, in particular how these discussions have been influenced by the Holocaust.

Learning Outcomes

1. Identify several major philosophical traditions.
2. Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of philosophical views on suffering.
3. Identify how philosophical perspectives impact a person's position on ethical issues.
4. Explore the role of narrative in philosophy and ethics.
5. Formulate his or her own philosophical position on suffering.



Workload Full-time hours per semester
Type Hours Description
Lecture32Lecture, group discussion and audiovisual presentations
Independent Study93Reading and preparation of assessment
Total Workload: 125

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Philosophy
Overview of philosophy and its relevance for nursing and health care

Viktor Frankl s world
Suffering and its impact on meaning

The problem of suffering
How philosophy explores the meaning of suffering

God and evil
Various philosophical approaches to the problem of evil

Nazi medicine
How could doctors and nurses do what they did in Nazi Germany?

Greek philosophy
Is the unexamined life not worth living?

Existentialism
How can we live a meaningful authentic life?

Nietzsche
Is morality totally meaningless?

Naturalism
The impact of modern science on modern philosophy

Meaning and suicide
Ethics, meaning and end-of-life decisions

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment100% Examination Weight0%
Course Work Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
Reassessment Requirement
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories;
1 = A resit is available for all components of the module
2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module
3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
Unavailable
Indicative Reading List

  • Frankl, V. E.: 1974, Man s search for meaning, Hodder & Stoughton, London, 0340388315
  • Klemke, E. D.: 2000, The meaning of life, 2nd ed, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 019512703X
  • Diané Collinson and Kathryn Plant: 2006, Fifty major philosophers, 2nd ed, Routledge, London, 0415346088
  • Julian Baggini and Peter S. Fosl: 2003, The philosopher's toolkit, Blackwell, Malden, MA, 0631228748
  • Hugh Mercer Curtler: 2004, Ethical argument, 2nd ed, Oxford University Press, New York, 0195173163
  • A. P. Martinich: 2005, Philosophical Writing, 3rd ed, Blackwell, Malden, 1405131675
  • Lewis Vaughn: 2006, Writing philosophy, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 0195179560
  • Robert C. Solomon: 1981, Introducing the existentialists, Hackett Pub. Co., Indianapolis, Ind., 0915144476
  • Harold S. Kushner: 2002, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Pan, London, 0330490559
  • John Portmann: 2000, When bad things happen to other people, Routledge, New York, 0415923352
  • C. S. Lewis: 2001, A grief observed, HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco, 0060652381
  • Corrie ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill: 1972, The hiding place, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 0340160004
  • Bronwyn Rebekah McFarland-Icke: 1999, Nurses in Nazi Germany, Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 0691006652
  • Vivien Spitz: 2005, Doctors from Hell, Sentient Publications, Boulder, CO, 1591810329
  • Elie Wiesel; translated from the French by Stella Rodway: 1982, Night, Bantam Books, New York, 0553272535
  • Anne Frank: 2007, The Diary of a Young Girl, Penguin, London, 0141032006
  • Alexander Solzhenitsyn: 1974, One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich, Heinemann, London, 0435122002
  • Leo Tolstoy; translated by Aylmer Maude: 2005, A confession, Dover Publications, Mineola, NY, 0486438511
Other Resources

948, DVD, 2004, Anne Frank remembered, Culver City, CA, Sony Pictures, 949, DVD, 2003, Nellie: a life worth living, Poreland, OR, Penumbra,
Programme or List of Programmes
BHSBachelor of Science in Health & Society
Archives: