Who here studies or has studied philosophy?

[fela fan]

I did two semesters of a joint degree in English and Philosophy. I couldn't stand it. It seemed like such a good idea but I hated the rambling, pointless crap, mostly written by wealthy upper class white men 1000 years ago who had nothing else to do than ponder whether a table really exists or not.

If you're not 100% mentally stable it can mess your head up a bit too. Too much thinking.

That's just my opinion.

I think it's a good one.

I'm always entertained by folk who like to show how many people they've read on the subject of philosophy. It's almost like the more you've read the more you know.

As if.

The only proper understanding in life comes once we have exited philosophy. It will never provide the answer to life. That answer only comes once the questions have stopped.

 

[phildwyer]

fuck off, dwyer

Stıll frothıng, hogshead?

 

[fractionMan]

Way to ruin a perfectly good thread boys.

 

[nino_savatte]

Have you read The Prison Notebooks, phil or are you just bullshitting (again)?

 

[Derian]

Way to ruin a perfectly good thread boys.

Yep. Hopefully a mod will split the thread and put the OP and relevant posts in the philosophy forum.

 

[phildwyer]

Way to ruin a perfectly good thread boys.

Faır poınt. But the thıng ıs, as long as Dubversıon keeps abusıng me, I wıll keep remındıng hım of hıs resemblance to a pıg ın burstıng shorts. Dırect your crıtıcısm pıgwards.

 

[Santino]

I think it's a good one.

I'm always entertained by folk who like to show how many people they've read on the subject of philosophy. It's almost like the more you've read the more you know.

As if.

The only proper understanding in life comes once we have exited philosophy. It will never provide the answer to life. That answer only comes once the questions have stopped.

fela, I think you are conflating two distinct but related things. There is academic philosophy, which is a technical subject, and does indeed depend on reading books and is concerned with complicated arguments on politics and ethics and knowledge and such. Then there is what we might call folk philosophy, which is best understood as people's thoughts about what life is for, how you should live, what purposes and goals you should have. Academic philosophers are never going to advise you to follow your dream, or whether love at first sight it possible. (Well, they might, but they are no more or less qualified than anyone else.) However, academic philosophy is much more likely to be right about objective matters than a bunch of people sitting around talking about whatever's on their mind and not bothering to read books to see what other ideas people have had.

 

[Doctor Carrot]

Way to ruin a perfectly good thread boys.

I was thinking that myself but nevermind, it's mildly amusing in some respects.

 

[mrsfran]

Back to the OP, I have a degree in philosophy. One important thing to realise - you're not going to get any answers. You're just going to discover more questions. If you're okay with that, then you'll be fine. There's such a wide range of things to investigate and learn about that if you don't like one area you can just try another. If you've got a good head for logic, that opens up whole areas of study. If you prefer the woollier areas, you've got epistemology, metaphysics, ethics. It's a lot of fun to study. And philosophy students spend a lot of time in the pub, it's practically a course requirement.

A warning - as other people have said, don't expect to get a job out of it. Do it because you like it. It will give you valuable skills though - the ability to analyse arguments and data and to structure a coherant argument yourself.

 

[Doctor Carrot]

Back to the OP, I have a degree in philosophy. One important thing to realise - you're not going to get any answers. You're just going to discover more questions. If you're okay with that, then you'll be fine. There's such a wide range of things to investigate and learn about that if you don't like one area you can just try another. If you've got a good head for logic, that opens up whole areas of study. If you prefer the woollier areas, you've got epistemology, metaphysics, ethics. It's a lot of fun to study. And philosophy students spend a lot of time in the pub, it's practically a course requirement.

A warning - as other people have said, don't expect to get a job out of it. Do it because you like it. It will give you valuable skills though - the ability to analyse arguments and data and to structure a coherant argument yourself.

What job do you do now? and has having a degree in philosophy helped you get it?. I understand there's no specific job to be had, unless it's in academia, but as you said, it gives alot of valuable skills.

 

[mrsfran]

I'm now a child protection administrator, for which they wanted a degree but it didn't matter what the degree was in. After graduating I temped for 2 years, worked in a bookshop (I improved their philosophy section!), worked for the ambulance service in customer service and was a dental receptionist (!). Other people I know who did the same degree have gone on to become a stock brocker, teacher, admin, civil servants.

Having a degree helps you get a job, no matter what it's in. Most general employers aren't that fussed what your degree's in as long as you've got one - it ticks a box. I'm really glad I did a philosophy degree instead of, say, business because I actually really enjoyed my studies and found them interesting. I don't think I could have said the same of a more workplace-oriented degree.

 

[bluestreak]

philosophy is a skill that many outside the liberal arts fraternity are terribly prejudiced against. it's seen by many as being wanky, pretentious and pointless. if you're applying for jobs that just want a degree you may find that it's seen as being a soft option by the idiots that are interviewing you. but for people who know what it's about then it'll be well respected. i'm just bitter about not being able to get the job i wanted after uni!

 

[mrsfran]

You'll also find that no one knows how to respond when, having asked you what degree you've got, you say "philosophy". For some reason, it totally flummoxes people and they don't know what to say.

 

[nino_savatte]

You'll also find that no one knows how to respond when, having asked you what degree you've got, you say "philosophy". For some reason, it totally flummoxes people and they don't know what to say.

You try telling someone that you studied "Cultural Studies" or even "Media Studies" and see what reactions you get. Both disciplines require their students to read modern philosophy. The ancients don't get a look in.

 

[phildwyer]

You try telling someone that you studied "Cultural Studies" or even "Media Studies" and see what reactions you get. Both disciplines require their students to read modern philosophy. The ancients don't get a look in.

And aın't that a shame. There's no way to understand the moderns ıf you don't know the ancıents. To quote one famous exchange: 'we know so much more today than the ancıents.' 'Yes, and *they* are what we know.'

 

[Pieface]

Lots of my mates at Uni did it - and loved it. One's a musician (sort of - go Charlie!) one works at a Cooperative, one is faffing in Wales probably hating his life and one is a journalist who just moved from the Big Issue to the Scotsman. She's the only one that has gone mainstream in her employment but she was also the only one with a first in English Literature and Philosophy.

None of them did pure philosophy btw, they all combined it with something else and they all hated Kant and Logic

 

[Firky]

me
i enjoyed it

 

[nino_savatte]

And aın't that a shame. There's no way to understand the moderns ıf you don't know the ancıents. To quote one famous exchange: 'we know so much more today than the ancıents.' 'Yes, and *they* are what we know.'

Wtf are you talking about? How the fuck does the philosophy of Socrates relate to the study of modern culture, subcultures and art? How do the works of Plato relate to ethnic and gender identity? As for your "There's no way to understand the moderns ıf you don't know the ancıents", this smacks of your soi-disant air of superiority.

You're not only a bully, you're a pompous ossified bore to boot.

 

[phildwyer]

Wtf are you talking about? How the fuck does the philosophy of Socrates relate to the study of modern culture, subcultures and art? How do the works of Plato relate to ethnic and gender identity?

The 'phılosophy of Socrates' and the 'works of Plato' are one and the same thıng, you buffoon. So ıf nothıng else a knowledge of the ancıents would prevent you from makıng a fool of yourself on the ınternet.

 

[nino_savatte]

The 'phılosophy of Socrates' and the 'works of Plato' are one and the same thıng, you buffoon. So ıf nothıng else a knowledge of the ancıents would prevent you from makıng a fool of yourself on the ınternet.

Oh, so Socrates and Plato are the same person? It seems it is you who is the fool, phil.

Go and bully someone else, you pompous, self-obsessed cunt.

 

[phildwyer]

Oh, so Socrates and Plato are the same person?

No, twıt. The phılosophy of Socrates ıs expressed ın the works of Plato, and nowhere else. Unless perhaps you know dıfferent?

 

[Santino]

The 'phılosophy of Socrates' and the 'works of Plato' are one and the same thıng, you buffoon. So ıf nothıng else a knowledge of the ancıents would prevent you from makıng a fool of yourself on the ınternet.

No they're not. The Socrates who's a character in Plato's dialogues bears little resemblance to the non-Platonic portrayal of him, and probably no resemblance to the real Socrates.

 

[bluestreak]

what i like is the way that most of the people who've actually studied philosophy aren't the people who get into these long pointless arguments.

 

[nino_savatte]

No, twıt. The phılosophy of Socrates ıs expressed ın the works of Plato, and nowhere else. Unless perhaps you know dıfferent?

Right, cunt, you just hanged yourself by your own petard...though I know you lack the insight to see this. What you say may be the case but that's like saying the Alexiad of Anna Comnena and the 12 Byzantine Emperors by Michael Psellus is the same because they use similar themes and borrow heavily from the style of Homer (presumably you want to tell me about him too).

Fucking idiot.

 

[nino_savatte]

No they're not. The Socrates who's a character in Plato's dialogues bears little resemblance to the non-Platonic portrayal of him, and probably no resemblance to the real Socrates.

Exactly and I'm only surprised he hasn't chucked Archimedes into the mix.

 

[phildwyer]

No they're not. The Socrates who's a character in Plato's dialogues bears little resemblance to the non-Platonic portrayal of him, and probably no resemblance to the real Socrates.

There are no good grounds to prefer the non-Platonıc sources. 'The Clouds' ıs a satıre, whıle Xenophon portrays Socrates as a sophıst--and ıf thıs were true the cıty of Athens would have had no reason to execute hım. In contrast the skeptıcısm of the dıalectıc, as expounded by Platon's Socrates, clearly does provıde such grounds. For thıs and many other reasons the *vast* majorıty of scholars throughout hıstory assume that Platon's ıs an accurate depıctıon of Socrates.

To Nıno, presumably, Socrates was a Brazılıan footballer.

 

[phildwyer]

Right, cunt, you just hanged yourself by your own petard...

I thınk you'll fınd ıts *hoıst* by your own petard, not 'hanged.'

 

[phildwyer]

What you say may be the case but that's like saying the Alexiad of Anna Comnena and the 12 Byzantine Emperors by Michael Psellus is the same because they use similar themes and borrow heavily from the style of Homer (presumably you want to tell me about him too).

No ıdea what you're on about here, but perhaps you could recommend us some works by Socrates that mıght gıve us begınners some ıdea of hıs dıfference from Platon?

 

[nino_savatte]

To Nıno, presumably, Socrates was a Brazılıan footballer.

You can't help yourself, can you phil? Not content with actually having a straight discussion, you resort to the tried and trusted methods.

Do you still insist on saying that Gramsci said that "everyone is a philosopher"?

Have you read The Prison Notebooks, phil? Funny how you never answered that question - isn't it?

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

i agree with dub btw, you learn IMO by listening, by taking in information, by questioning your own and other people's opinions to breaking point. only then do you understand why you think what you do. philosophy lessons can be a great place to be challenged over your own beliefs.

I do too. Learning about philosophers will show you different ways of thinking and looking at things, that you're likely to come up with on your own. It expands your thinking, and gives you better tools to hone your own philosophies and beliefs.