Please comment on at least several if not all of these questions -- use separate posts if you like.
What have you learned in this course that surprised you?
Would you take another course in philosophy if money/time weren't major barriers?
Do you have an understanding of the philosophical dimensions of the study and critique of human nature and death & dying?
Have you developed an appreciation for the relevance of metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical questions in our daily lives?
Have you improved in your skills of analysis and critique, as well as in written and oral communication due to this course?
What have you learned in this course that surprised you?
Would you take another course in philosophy if money/time weren't major barriers?
Do you have an understanding of the philosophical dimensions of the study and critique of human nature and death & dying?
Have you developed an appreciation for the relevance of metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical questions in our daily lives?
Have you improved in your skills of analysis and critique, as well as in written and oral communication due to this course?
What I have learned in this course that surprised me is how much death plays a role in life. There was never a dull moment in any of the discussion that we have had. This course has encouraged me to talk with my family about death, which is not something easy to do, but I really enjoy it. I love philosophy and would love to take another course if money and time weren’t major barriers. Because of this course, I have an understanding of the philosophical dimension of the study and critique human nature and death & dying. I have developed an appreciation for the relevance of metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical questions in my daily life. This course has helped me improve my skills of analysis and critique, as well as in written and oral communication. This has been an excellent course and I will miss the discussion that we have had in class and on the blog.
ReplyDeleteThis course has also encouraged me to talk about death with my family, i know that if anything had every happened to me i would want my brother and sister to make the decisions for me. I don't know if you have taken both of your philosophy classes yet but Dr. Cate's Biomedical ethics class is one of my favorite courses I have taken.
DeleteWhat surprised me the in this course was how much more I started to think about my beliefs on life and death & dying. I would definitely take another philosophy course if money and time were not a major barrier because it helped me think deeper than the facts and also to better understand other people's views. I don't know if I have a full understanding of the philosophical dimensions of the study and critique of human nature and death & dying, but I do know that I have a better understanding than when I started the class. I have developed an appreciation for the relevance of metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical questions in our daily lives because it allows me as a human to think about things that I normally wouldn't. I think the blogging and class discussion has improved my skills of analysis and critique, as well as in written and oral communication because I am constantly thinking about responses and how to respond to what others are saying. I will miss our class and Theresa saying that death is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWhat surprised me was how comfortable I have become speaking and thinking about death. I would love to take more philosophy classes. I'm glad I go to a liberal arts school where I have to take it, because I'm not sure I would have if I didn't have to, but I'm so glad I did! It has really helped me to think deeper about things I don't like to think about, like death and not taking things for granted. I hope I get to take Medical Ethics before I graduate. Studying the different philosophies of human nature has really opened my eyes and given me a greater appreciation for different viewpoints and different cultures. Taking this class has made me more introspective and reflective. I think more about events, like those that happened in Paris, more deeply. I think more about how to "live well" in the present moment, and I am much more appreciative of the life I have and I know not to take it for granted.
ReplyDeleteTypically I am a very quiet student, as you probably saw at the beginning of the semester, but as the semester went on i got more and more comfortable with everyone and came more out of my shell. I definitely recommend her Medical ethics course, it has definitely been one of my favorites.
DeleteIn this course I have learned a lot about different religions expecially Judaism. I was really bummed about being stuck in traffic for hours and didn't make it to the service, but I will have to attempt it another time. Their belief in death and how they mourn was quite interesting. Also the whole debate on when you are actually considered dead really brought a whole array of thought to my mind and really made me sit and think not just about death but about life.
ReplyDeleteI would love to take another philosophy course, I love how it challenged my beliefs and expanded ideas and concepts of reality. I do have a better understanding of the philosophical dimension human nature in death and dying but I believe true experience with this avenue I lack. I completely have an appreciation for the relevance of ethical questions in our daily lives these are so needed and I don't feel these are questioned enough because of our fear of death and losing loved ones. My skills of analysis and critique communication have improved slightly but I believe I would need a lot more help in this area only because of my lack of vocabulary that I have. Being raised by an Appalachian father and had many benefits in appreciation of everything but vocabulary was not one of them. Loved this class thank you all for letting me see other points of view and for letting me express my own...Dr. Cate you rock!!!
I was really interested in Judaism also! I would have gone to the service if I wouldn't have worked. I thought their death and grieving process was so meaningful, planned, and different to my ways. If I could just have their funeral service, I probably would!
DeleteI'm with Ceanna in saying I believe I'm most surprised by the role death plays in life. The way it's celebrated and mourned in different cultures, the opinions of what happens not just after death but leading up to it, the moral rights we as humans have in regards to it all, etc. I think everyone should take a Philosophical Death and Dying course at some point in their education because it not only makes you consider so much more beyond your own beliefs but it makes you think about -why- you believe what you do and talking about death oddly enough gives you another perspective on life as well. I just think so many people would benefit from a class like this. Yes, if time wasn't an issue I would consider taking another course like this. I really enjoyed the topics discussed and the experience I had writing the essays. My appreciation for the relevance of metaphysics and ethics in daily life has definitely grown and has been expanded. This class was definitely a bonus to the research and curiosity I've been wanting to explore for myself. It really helped being a part of a class where I could listen and have discussions with everyone on the topic and to be pushed to read and research in order to understand myself and others. Thanks guys!
ReplyDeleteWhat have you learned in this course that surprised you?
ReplyDeleteI think what surprised me most was how common death is around the world, but some of us don't see it. I was never one to really look at the news, but during this course I was seeking death related topics and sadly there were a lot to talk about.
Would you take another course in philosophy if money/time weren't major barriers?
Most definitely I would take another philosophy course if money/time weren't barriers. During this semester I feel as if I was able to question what I believe in, why I believe what I do, and also learn about other peoples opinions. I was intrigued to voice my opinion, hear about other peoples perspective, and maybe question/change my own ideas. I really enjoyed this course and I feel as if I am more aware of my own beliefs, along with the people around me.
Have you improved in your skills of analysis and critique, as well as in written and oral communication due to this course?
I do believe that I have improved my skills of analysis and critique. Through our in class discussions I learned to voice my opinion without being biased and judgmental. I could critique ideas without tearing down someone's beliefs. I also learned that I can be very vocal about opinions and where I stand, but I can also relate to other people's ideas. I feel as if all these skills allowed me to grow as a person throughout this semester.
As humans, I feel as if we all know that death will happen, but like you said we don't see it, probably because we don't want to accept that we do have die one day. If we keep giving ourselves the sense of living forever, then we don't have to accept the realization of death. this class made us dive into the concept of death and dying head on and for that I am grateful. Without this class I may have just kept going about my life and not thinking about what I want to happen to my body when I die. This class also helped my to discuss death with my family, so that their wishes are written down so they can be followed if something were to happen with them. The topic of this class may seem strange to people when they first hear it, but it was a great class that I would take again if I had more time
DeleteI think i learned most importantly that we should not dwell on the sadness of death, but to understand what we believe in about death, and to question our beliefs until we understand them better. I would totally take another course in philosophy because it really helps me question myself and understand more of what i believe in my life and my spirituality. I don't believe i have a full understand of the the different deminsions of philosophy. There is so much about philosophy that needs to be studied and even though we covered a lot of material i feel i could study for years and not fully understand the deminsions of philosophy. Death and dying has shown me a lot about concepts in philosophy and i believe questioning my own beliefs has been a huge step in my understanding of philosophy.I believe i have improved my analysis of daily living because instead of just believing whatever someone tells me anymore i want to question the beliefs and understand the reasoning behind my beliefs. I want research and and evidence to help me reason out my beliefs. I also believe their are things that can not be proven and we have to trust in our faith, but i question aspects of my faith even more after taking this class.
ReplyDeleteI have learned so much while taking this class. I have learned more about my life, who I am as a person, what I want to make of my time on earth and I've some to realize that the time i have left with my family can't be measured in years. It has to be measured in moments. We never know how much time we have left with people we love, we can just create moments with them. It surprised me to know that the different thoughts we come up with throughout our life, others have the same thoughts. Though our experiences can be different, we need to realize that we aren't alone.
ReplyDeleteI would always be willing to take classes in philosophy. I believe they help you to examen your morals and values and how to put them into your everyday life. We grow up thinking our thoughts, values and morals are right and then you go through life and experience new things and you start to question if your judgement is the best that there is. Philosophy classes have helped me better understand my judgements and values and I can better understand the thoughts of others and why what they believe can still also be correct.
• The first week of death and dying was an eye-opening experience when we dove into the concept of the meaning of the death. We wrote our first paper on this and I had agreed with one being dead when they lost higher brain function. But after we discussed it in class, it was interesting to hear the different views and how I agreed with them as well. What surprised me is that this course has changed my goals in my career of being a nurse. I really want to work with people in the end stage of dying and those in hospice. I love the fact that philosophy classes can really pick a persons brain. I enjoyed the class because we were able to question our own values and beliefs as well as hear different points of view. I plan on taking another philosophy class as an elective next fall. Although I didn’t always give my opinion in class, out of class I dove deeper into the material and talked to family members about it. The class allowed me to use my critical thinking and I want to take more classes like death and dying.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that i love about this course, was that when we discussed a topic i always had as et mind set, but as the disucssion would go on, i noticed how much my opinion would start being swayed by other peoples views. I know you're a nursing major and you would love her biomedical ethics course, i learned so much in that class and really opened my eyes to a lot of things in the medical field.
DeleteI agree that the different views people take on death was interesting to hear. I like how you are going to take things you learned from this class and apply them to what you want to do in the future. Philosophy does have a way to get you to critically think and its mostly by asking you to back up what you believe and I enjoy that because I enjoyed learning what made people believe about things in their life.
DeleteI think that this death and dying class has probably been different in many aspects compared to your previous classes, especially since the beginning we dealt with a tragic death of a student. I know that when i blogged last year that i wanted to take the death and dying course as my next philosophy class and i couldn't be happier with the decision i made. I feel like i have gotten more out of your classes than i would have with any other professor, i have learned so much and have definitely been prepared for my future in the medical field. I think that i have learned a lot more of how to analyze things from a philosophical view when writing your paper and even using the blog.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised how easy it is to actually talk about death and understanding how important it is. At first, I was hesitant about this class because I felt like it would be depressing and I wouldn’t learn much; but I was very wrong. Although talking about death is hard and sometimes even awkward at times, I learned how important it is to tell my family and friends what I would want to be done to me if I was ever in a fatal situation and could not make the decision for myself. I would definitely take another course in philosophy because it really makes you think on a deeper level and I like that. Although I don’t always like to state my opinion in front of others, I still learned a lot and agreed with people when they would share their opinions with the class. I liked how involved people would get and you could just see how passionate they are about something when they talked. Although writing papers in this class was sometimes challenging, I really enjoyed writing them in the long run. It would sometimes be very difficult to try to make a point over writing because sometimes the words just don’t come out like you want them to, but overall this class definitely made me a better writer and even a better communicator. This class has opened up my eyes a lot to things that happen every day and how important it is to acknowledge death and its meaning.
ReplyDeleteIn this class, I have learned many things that surprised me. Overall, the subject of the class surprised me. Before I took the class, the name kind of turned me off a little bit because I never liked to talk about or think about death. After taking this class, I am much more comfortable talking about death, but also more about life. I learned that is important to enjoy life and do certain things in life so that I am more prepared for death.
ReplyDeleteI would like to take another philosophy class because I think it forces me to have a more open mind and think of things in a different way. During class discussions and when writing my papers, I found myself constantly questioning my ideas and beliefs, and then having to support them. I think through writing papers and having class discussions, my skills of analysis and critique have improved. Sometimes talking about my beliefs in class makes me uncomfortable, but as the semester went on, I was more comfortable participating in class discussions. Class discussion, the papers, and the blog forced me to think more about my beliefs and communicate them concisely in a way that others understand.
I have developed an appreciation for the relevance of metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical questions in our daily lives because it allows you look at things from many different viewpoints that you might not have even considered before. After taking this class, I better understand the study of human nature and death and dying.
What have I learned in this class that has surprised me?
ReplyDeleteI think the biggest thing that has surprised me about this class was that it showed me how little I have actually thought about death in the past and how much more I need to think about it especially as someone going into the healthcare field where I want to work in Critical Care settings.
Would I take another?
If money and time werent a barrier i definitely would take another philosophy course, i foudn it incredibly interesting and I honestly learned a lot about myself from the course more than I thought I ever would. They for sure make you question your own beliefs in a good way and make you defend what you believe, and possibly open yourself up to new ideas.
Have I improved my skills in analysis and critique?
That is a definite yes. I used to be the type to have an idea in my head and I would argue it without fail till I got tired of arguing. Now I analyse what each person is trying to get across and say and why they are believing what they are. I try to understand and validate what they believe and if I cannot do so what so ever I still respect their opinion now and I do not discredit it completely because I know no matter what I am not always correct
I would take another philosophy class like this one since a lot things discussed in class are still relevant to this day. This is a nice change of gears than studying ancients Greek philosophy.
ReplyDeleteI think I learned a more philosophical view on death. It also gave me some insights about other religions views that I did not previously know.
ReplyDeleteI do appreciate that as a class were open to talking about death without the negative connotations that would mean a trip to the hospital pysch ward
I am surprised how much easier it seems to be able to talk about death. It is always hard for me to talk about death with my loved ones, but I find it comforting and reassuring that I can talk to my peers about a topic that so many of us avoid and find hard to face. I am also surprised at how strongly I feel about my beliefs with death and dying but also how open I am to others beliefs and ideas of certain things with death.
ReplyDeleteI have always been interested in philosophy because I like the way it makes my mind work. I have been very intrigued with the various topics that we have discussed in this course and I know I would definitely enjoy further courses in philosophy if time and money weren’t an issue.
I do have a better understanding of the philosophical dimensions of human nature and death and dying. I really enjoyed the different beliefs, the many cultures and traditions that take place with death and dying. It opened my eyes and reminded me of how small of a world I live in.
I definitely appreciate the many questions that we don’t always face, but should often think about in our daily lives. We will never know when our time will come or a loved one, so I am very grateful to be more aware of the many questions I may have never thought of asking or thinking about before taking this class.
I think I have improved with my skills of analyzing and communicating in various ways. I am big on oral communication and without thinking, I participated more through listening and observing through my peers throughout this course. Often times I say too much when I speak and I miss the important things people have to say so I took a different approach in this class and instead I listened. I am very fond of the blog and getting to express our thoughts and opinions in this way instead of solely through oral communication. Sometimes I find it hard to put into words what I am trying to say and it losing its truth and meaning. I really enjoyed the blog because it let me escape and write about all of the things I didn’t get to say in class. My learning greatly improved throughout the course of this class and I am very grateful to have the blog as another way of communication to further my learning.
One thing that I learned in this course that has surprised me is that so many people don't have a talk with their families or loved ones about the way they wish to end their lives or the way they want certain treatments done to them if an accident or illness happens. It is surprising to me because after taking this class I have learned how important it is to have those conversations even though they may be scary or uncomfortable. It made me rethink about the way I want to live my life and what I would want to happen to me if anything went wrong, which was also surprising because I have never thought about those things personally before. I think overall, going into this course I was nervous about the topics we were going to talk about since I had a really bad fear of dying, but now it has helped out a bit with that fear.
ReplyDeleteI would most certainly want to talk another philosophy course because of how interesting and informational this one was. I am walking away from this course with more knowledge on death and what happens to people when they die, different treatments, and courses of action that are taken.
I believe after taking this course I have more of an appreciation towards the metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical questions in our daily lives because before this course I had never thought about those types of questions before. Now that I have, I have a better understanding on life and my wishes associated with my life as well as how I want to live out the life I have been given.
As for blogging, I think after this course I have improved my skills of analysis and reflection. I was able to really get into what others believed and look at it from their perspectives which was different and unique. I also feel as though I have branched out more due to writing on the blog and having discussions in class.
In this course, i have learned so many meanings of death and quality of life in regards to human nature. I found that i agree with higher-brain function loss as my meaning of death because of the importance of being able to think, feel, and develop memories in order to live a quality life.
ReplyDeleteI definitely would love to take more philosophy courses. I love that the class looks at situations in their entirety in every view and challenges my ways of thinking and my beliefs.
I do have an understanding of the philosophical dimensions of the study and critique of human nature and death & dying. I realize that it is important to understand that not everyone has the same meaning of human nature and death & dying and also the importance of looking at every view in order to come to my own conclusions on what matters to me.
This class has helped me to develop an appreciation for the relevance of metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical questions in my life. I believe that in order to be truly open-minded, you have to question your beliefs sometimes.
I have improved in my skills of analysis and critique, as well as in written and oral communication due to this course. As mentioned earlier, this class has helped me to analyze issues and situations in all perspectives. My oral communication has improved by the use of group discussions.
What have you learned in this course that surprised you?
ReplyDeleteI have learned that death is beautiful. Which I still firmly believe. But mostly I have learned that I have my own set of beliefs about death and about life and I need to make sure I am sticking to them in all aspects of life but especially in death.
Would you take another course in philosophy if money/time weren't major barriers?
ABSOLUTELY! I'm actually really mad I didn't major in theology and minor in philosophy because I LOVE this subject. I feel like I can say whatever I want as long as I can back it up. And we get to argue and state our own points of view witch is awesome
Do you have an understanding of the philosophical dimensions of the study and critique of human nature and death & dying?
Sure. I mean this whole class gave me a better understanding of human nature. More specifically how humans deal with subjects like death and dying.
Have you developed an appreciation for the relevance of metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical questions in our daily lives?
YES! I just want to learn more and more about them all the time. and I promise I am not just saying that. Like it really seems cool to me that 2 people can feel and act so differently in the same situation.
Have you improved in your skills of analysis and critique, as well as in written and oral communication due to this course?
I sure have! I never really struggled with actually talking but I really have grown in my ability to actually say something meaningful instead of just talking to hear myself talk... which I still do, just not in this class
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