LOGIC & CRITICAL

THINKING IN
NURSING
NUR 8104

GINA A. OPINIANO, PhD

Department of Philosophy
Faculty of Arts and Letters
 RATIONALE
This course introduces the student nurse
to the science and art of argumentation
using the rules of Logical Thinking and
the standards of Critical Thinking. The
course aims to train the student nurse to
analyze, construct, critique, and defend
arguments found in everyday scenarios
and professional experience.
As a corollary, the course also aims to train
student nurses to use the different critical
thinking processes in order to make sound
judgment and decisions based on the rules of
reasoning. The course uses a mixture of
independent study, collaborative work, and
Blended Learning in its delivery.
 FOCUS
Utilization of logical
reasoning and other critical
thinking skills in decision-
making scenarios.
 OUTCOMES
 You will learn the accepted standards of
Critical Thinking and begin apply such
standards in different personal or professional
scenarios.
 You will learn how to detect, analyze,
construct, critique, and defend arguments
using the rules of Logical Thinking.
 You will learn the different elements of the
decision-making process.
 OUTCOMES
 You will learn how to apply the different
intellectual tools based on the standards of
Critical Thinking and the rules of Logical
Thinking in order to improve your decision-
making skills.
 You will learn how to efficiently construct,
refute and defend an argument using rules
and standards in order to effectively persuade
others to accept a certain position.
TRACING THE SOURCES…

PHILOSOPHY
PHILOSOPHY: etymology
PHILO (Greek) SOPHIA (Greek)
– Love – Wisdom

LOVE OF WISDOM
The Ancient Greeks‟ 6
Words for Love
(And Knowing Them Can
Change Your Life)
 KINDS OF LOVE
 Eros
Named after the Greek god of fertility
Sexual Passion (and desire)
„dangerous, fiery, and irrational form of love
that could take old of you and possess you..”
 KINDS OF LOVE
 PHILIA
Love that Greeks valued far more than the
base sexuality of eros
Deep Friendship
Concerned the deep comradely friendship that
developed between brothers in arms who had
fought side by side on the battlefield
About showing loyalty to your friends,
sacrificing for them, as well as sharing your
emotions with them
 KINDS OF LOVE
STORGE
Is another kind of philia
Embodied the love between parents and
their children
 KINDS OF LOVE
PHILIA
friendship
How much of this comradely philia do we
have in our lives?
“friends” on Facebook or “followers on
Twitter---achievement that would have
hardly impressed the Greeks.
 KINDS OF LOVE
LUDUS (L.)
Playful love
That which concerns the playful affection
between children or casual lovers (Ovid,
Roman Poet)
“flirting and teasing in the early stages of
relationship..”
Social norms may frown on this kind of adult
frivolity, but a little more ludus might just be
what we need to spice up our love lives.
 KINDS OF LOVE
PRAGMA
Described as a mature, realistic love that is
commonly found amongst long-established
couples
Longstanding love
It is about making compromises to help the
relationship work over time, and showing
patience and tolerance
“falling in love” vs. “stand in love” (Erich
Fromm)
 KINDS OF LOVE
PRAGMA
IT is precisely about standing in
love---making an effort to give love
rather than just receive it.
Bring serious dose of pragma in
relationships.
 KINDS OF LOVE
PHILAUTIA
 self-love
2 types
Narcissism-becoming self-obsessed, or focused on
personal fame and fortune
Healthier self-love enhances wider capacity to
love (self-compassion by Buddhists)
Aristotle “All Friendly feelings for others are an
extension of a mans feelings for himself.”
 KINDS OF LOVE
AGAPE
 selfless love
Love extended to all people, whether family
members or distant strangers
Later translation in Latin-CARITAS, which is the
origin of the work CHARITY
Gift love, the highest form of Christian love
Metta or universal loving kindness in Thervada
Buddhism
 LESSON FROM THE GREEKS
To nurture the varieties of love and
tap into its many sources. Don‘t just
seek eros, but cultivate philia by
spending more time with old friends,
or develop ludus by dancing the
night away.
 LESSON FROM THE GREEKS
Moreover, we should abandon our
obsession with perfection.
Don’t expect your partner to offer
you all the varieties of love, all of
the time (with the danger that you
may toss aside a partner who fails
to live up to your desires).
 LESSON FROM THE GREEKS

Recognize that a relationship may

begin with plenty of eros and
ludus, then evolve toward
embodying more pragma or
agape. 
 PHILOSOPHY AS LOVE
1. Philia (or deep friendship)
-Storge
2. Philautia (or love of the self)
3. Pragma (or long standing love)
4. Ludus (or playful love)
5. Eros (or sexual love)
6. Agape (or love for everyone)
PHILOSOPHY AS WISDOM
 Wisdom vs. Knowledge
 Reflective thinking vs. Reflexive
thinking
 Concepts of sophia
PHILOSOPHY: etymology
PHILO (Greek) SOPHIA (Greek)
– Love – Wisdom

LOVE OF WISDOM
Philosophos: lover of wisdom
 Pythagoras  REAL LIFE
 Ampitheater Lovers of fame
Lovers of gain
 Groups of people
Lovers of WISDOM
– Lovers of fame
– Lovers of gain
– Lovers of spectacle • To understand what life
is really all about
PHILOSOPHY

The science that, by

natural light of reason
studies the first causes or
highest principles of all
things.
Science: systematic

Natural Light of Reason

 Study of all things. A philosopher does not

limit himself/herself to a particular object of inquiry.

First Cause or Highest Principle

-that which something proceeds in any manner
 PRACTICAL USE OF
PHILOSOPHY
Skills acquired by studying philosophy
can be useful in all careers. The main
benefit, however, lies in learning to think
in an organized way about confusing and
controversial questions; to react to
criticism not with outrage or fear but with
a willingness to state the grounds for
one‘s views and to listen and learn from
the views of others.
What is your role in this class?
The success of this introductory course
depends greatly on the willingness of the
students to be mature, open-minded,
and willing to discuss their thoughts, ask
questions, and listen and learn from their
peers. This class will be of an interactive
environment in which students come to
class prepared to talk, challenging each
other‘s ideas and feeling comfortable
expressing their opinions.
“An unexamined life is
not worth living..”
Socrates/Plato
(mouthpiece of Socrates)

Philosophy is self-examination
(conceptual analysis).
 OTHERS
SELF GOD

Philosophy is the queen/mother of all

sciences.
BRANCHES OF
PHILOSOPHY
 LOGIC (logos)
 Logic studies right reasoning
and argumentation.
 Questions:
Do all claims have a truth value?
What is an argument?
What is a good and bad argument?
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
 EPISTEMOLOGY (episteme)
– The study of human knowledge and the
conditions that make knowledge possible.
– Nature, sources, limitations and validity of
knowledge
– THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
Epistemology (episteme)
 Epistemology investigates KNOWLEDGE.
 Questions:
What does it mean “to know”?
What can we know?
What is the difference between knowing and
believing?
How do you know that you know?
How much evidence does one need for a
belief to be considered knowledge?
 PERSIAN PROVERB
di niya alam na wala siyang alam

• ―He who knows not, and knows not that

he knows not, is a FOOL—shun him.
• He who knows not, and knows that he
knows not, is a CHILD—teach him. ignorance

• He who knows, and knows not that he

knows, is ASLEEP—wake him. alam niya pero di niya alam na alam niya

• He who knows, and knows that he knows,

is WISE—follow him.‖
Traditional Epistemology
KNOWLEDGE is
– Justified
– True
– Belief

JTB FORMULA
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
 SOCIO POLITICAL
PHILOSOPHY
Polis(state)
What type of government is
just?
On legal issues, political
system, types of
government
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
METAPHYSICS (meta)
– Concerned with the nature
of ultimate reality.
– SUB-BRANCHES:
1. Ontology (onto-being)
2. Cosmology (cosmos-universe);
explanation of origin, structure,
and processes governing the
universe
3. Theodicy (theo-god)-
philosophy of religion
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is the heart of philosophy.
 It investigates the existence of the
universe and of ALL things in it.
Questions:
How did the universe come into existence?
What is existence and non-existence?
What KINDS of things exists in the universe?
Does God exist? Do souls exist?
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
 ETHICS (ethos)- norms/mores
 Morality derives from the Latin moralis
meaning customs or manners.
– Explores the nature of moral virtues and
evaluates human actions.
– Right and Wrong
– Moral, Immoral, Amoral
Ethics
 Ethics studies what actions are morally
right and wrong.
 Questions:
Is there a right and wrong?
Is right and wrong the same for everyone?
What makes an action morally right and
wrong?
How can we know what is morally right or
wrong in any given situation?
BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
 AESTHETICS
– Philosophy of art
– Nature of beauty and criteria of artistic
judgment
– What makes an ‗art work‘ art?
 SIX BRANCHES OF
PHILOSOPHY
1. Epistemology (study of knowledge)
2. Metaphysics (study of the nature of reality)
3. Ethics (study of morality)
4. Aesthetics (study of values in art or beauty)
5. Logic (study of argument and reasoning)
6. Socio-political Philosophy (study of the state)
Other Branches
 Philosophy of History  Philosophy of Education
 Political Philosophy  Philosophy of
 Philosophy of Psychology Mathematics
 Philosophy of Race and  Philosophy of Law
Ethnicity  Philosophy of Language
 Philosophy of Science  Existentialism
 Philosophy of Mind  Phenomenology
 Philosophy of Religion  Pragmatism
LOGIC as a tool
for correct
thinking