Philosophy  Program Goals
 

I. Mission statement
 
  The Philosophy Department sees as its mission, first of all, to serve the general education of PSU students by promoting an awareness of the importance and central place of philosophy in a liberal arts education. This means not only imparting some familiarity with the history and great problems of philosophy, but also a recognition of the relevance of philosophy in our everyday lives, public and private. Secondly, the Department recognizes its duty to serve the PSU students who choose philosophy as their major field of study.
  
II. Educational Goals 

A. General education courses in philosophy aim to provide:

 1.  understanding of (some) history of philosophy including its impact on ideas in religion, ethics, politics and science.
 2.  understanding of (some of) the main problems of philosophy, including the existence of God, freedom of the will, the nature of reality and knowledge, and the quest for the good life.
 3. an increase in critical thinking skills as applied to both traditional philosophical problems and contemporary social issues.
 4. awareness of the relevance and applicability of philosophical ideas and reflection to the social and political issues of our time.

B. The major in philosophy aims to provide:

 1. a fundamental understanding of, and appreciation for, the history of philosophy and the main ideas and thinkers who constitute it.
 2. an enhanced capacity to think critically and ³philosophically² about traditional philosophical problems as well as contemporary social-political issues. This skill should be reflected in both the students¹ written work as well as in group discussion.
 3. a view of philosophy which promotes its application to human problems on both the individual level (e.g. ³search for meaning² problems) and the social level (e.g. social-ethical problems), and which allows the student to see that philosophy is ³relevant² to both one¹s life and to contemporary social problems.
 4. preparation for any fields that can benefit from the mental training imparted by the study of philosophy, including study in such areas as law, teaching and many other professions.

 The PSU Department of Philosophy will propose a plan to assess our program¹s effectiveness in the weeks ahead. While we believe that we can produce a plan that will be useful, we are mindful of philosophy¹s unique subject matter and nature which make attempts to quantify and measure educational achievement somewhat problematic. The American Philosophical Association has given this subject special thought, and we note their words of caution in a recent publication (Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association, 1996, Vol. 69, No. 2, pp. 94-95):
 The APA is concerned that requirements placed upon departments of philosophy and upon individual instructors to implement OA [outcomes assessment] in its more radically conceived recent guises .. may be neither well warranted nor pedagogically wise. We observe that little work would appear to have been done to assess the value of OA itself in improving teaching and learning. It is moreover pointless to prepare extensive assessment programs in the absence of evidence that the means of assessment already iin place can be improved upon with tangible educational benefits great enough to justify the costs and other disadvantages.
 ...The APA urges administrators and public officials to be judicious  and reasonable in applying the concept , however; to recognize practical application; to consider whether the means of assessment already in place at an institution can actually be improved upon; and to give due regard to the important fact that some of the most important sorts of education cannot be captured by Outcomes Assessment, and indeed, may be endangered by it.