Evaluating Potential DL Philsophy Progams

[AnglicanForMary]

Hopefully this is going to the right forum/sub-forum. If not, please excuse my invincible ignorance as I did not know where else to post it, and please move it where it should go… Thanks in advance.

For various reasons in my faith journey and educational needs, and current life circumstances, I have decided to pursue a distance learning Masters in Philosophy. However, my understanding of the dominant mode of philosophy in higher learning: “analytic philosophy” is that it tends to be overtly secular and lacking a good religious foundation (not much synthesis or building up going on in academic philosophy) and I’ve decided I’d like a good Thomistic underpinning and understanding of Philosophy (I see nothing wrong with being an Anglican and a Thomist), whence my query to this forum. I have all but decided on enrolling in the Distance Learning program Master of Arts in Philosophy at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, CT, but don’t want to go into it blindly (and all the “commercial” college review sites seem to be copying off the same basic review)

So. I am looking for anyone’s experience with Holy Apostles, good or bad, or other recommendations. (I’m also considering their M.A. Theology as well as Catholic Distance University’s DL M.A. Theology, but that’s probably not appropriate for the Philosophy Forum, for some strange reason Of course, if anyone has an alternate recommendation, I’ll be sure to check it out (HA just happens to be the one that crops up the most during my searches, and -so far- the only non-secular, non-evangelical (which of course has its own slant on philosophy, as with so much else) college/university with an accreditation for their DL program (other than APU, but I’m a little leery of them in regards to philosophy)

I should probably add that my research interests lie in epistemology (epistemology of revelation) philosophy of science (what makes up the scientific epistemology) “faith-reason” dichotomy, and the whole science-philosophy-religion interaction as complimentary ways of knowing about the world, particularly focusing on the scientific/philosophical issues regarding consciousness and the “seat of the soul” and the “mind-body” problem, with probably a not-so-tangential look at evolutionary theory in the mix.

 

[Shike]

I can’t answer your question. But I hope this post will bump you up so someone else can.

For myself I majored in philosophy at a secular university. It did not focus much on the history of philosophy. I realized that their history of philosophy requirements had steadily shrunk and that they omitted entirely the history of medieval philosophy for at least the last 15 years. I don’t care if one dislikes medieval philosophy, but it is essential to understand modern and post-modern philosophy. Also, most of my courses were so specific and specialized as to be unhelpful in my learning. Take my class on Goedel’s Incompleteness Theorem–interesting, yes, but not much to take away in general.

What has really been worth while is pursuing my own studies in philosophy not only in school but out. I have found exciting things in the area of Natural Theology (or philosophy that is in some way about God). Hence, I am first and foremost a pursuer of the truth, but I have found that the truth soundly grows from Aristotelian metaphysics to Thomistic demonstrations for the existence of God. I have been at this a while and am still looking for a good argument against Aquinas 5 ways (when fully worked out).

I really like introductions and beginner’s guides. A really great one is Edward Feser’s The Last Superstition. It’s a good intro to important Aristotelian metaphysical ideas and the major twist between ancient and modern philosophy. His book on Aquinas is also exceptionally useful in pointing out a myriad of misunderstandings about Aquinas’ 5 ways.
I’ve read the first couple hundred pages of the Summa Theologiae as found in Pegis’ Basic Writings of the Summa; I learned a lot.
And a really big influence has been Frederick Copleston’s History of Philosophy. No better place to start than with the presocratics… but keep going!

I can only hope (and pray) that you will start to see the beautiful and unassailable pillar that rises out of Aristotelian metaphysics. I don’t know if I can overdue my praise of some of his philosophy.

Good luck.