To appreciate the good we must experience bad...?

[neoolong]

Hmm, I managed to write a little rant about nihilism coming from not getting laid. I think it holds up rather well actually.

[Queeb Salaron]

Our IBO Diploma Programme's Theory of Knowledge teacher is a sophistric fool who happens to be a devout Catholic with a PhD.

Hmm... I doubt his Catholicism is relevant at all... But ok.

He makes the kids watch moon conspiracy shit, makes them read Sartre, and no one is sure if he believes any of it--he plays head games and fucks with the kids and tells them how stupid they are and then is suprised when class morale among some of the smartest kids in the county is at shit levels and the entire class, save for one person, skips.

Eh, I hate teachers like that. I had one teacher who related everything we read in literature to Satanism. (We had a field day with The Canterbury Tales... He got fired shortly thereafter for "lude and unprofessional remarks; life resumed its monotony.) But to listen to the man, you'd think he was a Satanic missionary. Which is also an interesting concept.

Poor girlfriend mine.

Indeed. My condolences.

No offense, but I think philosophy in general is sophistric bullshit that never gets anything done or produce any real meaningful conclusions. It elitest psychobabble. And Sartre was a Communist dipshit anyway.

I happen to like communist dipshits.

But all things being equal, I see where you're coming from. I personally disagree, however; I think that philosophy is a chance for humanity to gain some kind of introspection that we wouldn't otherwise get. But that's just my take on it. To each his own.

[Illuminatus Primus]

Our IBO Diploma Programme's Theory of Knowledge teacher is a sophistric fool who happens to be a devout Catholic with a PhD.

Hmm... I doubt his Catholicism is relevant at all... But ok.

It is from someone who claims that all his students are morons who swollow BS hook line and sinker.

The Catholic Church is the God of Doublethink.

I personally disagree, however; I think that philosophy is a chance for humanity to gain some kind of introspection that we wouldn't otherwise get. But that's just my take on it. To each his own.

Maybe its just my perspective with irrational idiots who think they've found nirvana and enlightenment in some psychobabble they read somewhere and everyone else is a heathen fool beneath their contempt. Like I said before, sophistric morons.

Hmm, I managed to write a little rant about nihilism coming from not getting laid. I think it holds up rather well actually.

So true. Nihilism has been the last thing on my mind since trading in the V card for official status among the Gods of Sexuality as Sexually Active Male. I can tell you the last thing on my mind when I was in the shower with my girl Friday was the pointlessness of society and all its constructs. The existance of pussy was quite uber-relevent at the time, methinks.

[Queeb Salaron]

It is from someone who claims that all his students are morons who swollow BS hook line and sinker.

The Catholic Church is the God of Doublethink.

Seems to me to be an unsubstantiated link between Catholicism and the imposition of bullshit philosophy. I mean, unless the guy is shoving Aquinas in your gf's face, I'd stay away from that connection. It breeds stereotyping (something that it seems you've already submitted to) and, frankly, bigotry. Better check yourself.

Maybe its just my perspective with irrational idiots who think they've found nirvana and enlightenment in some psychobabble they read somewhere and everyone else is a heathen fool beneath their contempt. Like I said before, sophistric morons.

This is certainly true. People read one book and think they know everything. I knew a kid who read Rousseau's Social Contract, and thought he knew all there was about society and its workings. And then I slapped him with my dick and he got his senses back. That seems to be the solution to a lot of my problems. Hey, if it works...

So true. Nihilism has been the last thing on my mind since trading in the V card for official status among the Gods of Sexuality as Sexually Active Male. I can tell you the last thing on my mind when I was in the shower with my girl Friday was the pointlessness of society and all its constructs. The existance of pussy was quite uber-relevent at the time, methinks.

::Nods:: Ah yes. Makes you wonder if nihilists ever got laid.

[Darth Wong]

But all things being equal, I see where you're coming from. I personally disagree, however; I think that philosophy is a chance for humanity to gain some kind of introspection that we wouldn't otherwise get. But that's just my take on it. To each his own.

As an addition on top of an education solidly grounded in the objective and rational requirements of mathematics and the sciences, philosophy could potentially be useful. However, the problem is that the people who take it in university generally take it instead of a grounding in mathematics and the sciences. As a result, philosophy majors tend to be adept only at spouting shit.

The truly funny thing is that logic is a form of philosophy and the appeal to authority is a recognized fallacy, yet 1st year philosophy courses teach you to prove things by quoting long-dead philosophers. A typical 1st year philosophy paper reads like a social gadfly's name-dropping: battling quotes from all manner of philosophers and an attempt to decide which philosopher's argument he finds most compelling.

[Frank Hipper]

I listen a girl all the time whine how she doesn't understand how people can't appreciate the "important" things like thinking about Sartre and existentialism. And talking about the "meaning of existance" and "why we're here" and "why we exist."

From this person, I get bitching because I say that science will provide the most truthful answers, as it at least answers to an authority of verifiable testing and empirical analysis. Being a naturalist makes me "shallow and superficial."

A) Stop listening to this person.

B)Sartre, "meaning of existance" and "why we exist" etc. are NOT important. HOW I exist means much more than WHY I exist.

C)Anyone that claims that being a naturalist is "shallow and superficial" has their head so fucked up it's not funny. Today is a good day for reality, criticising someone for realising that merely shows that they have their heads in the clouds, and are intellectual bigots with a borderline fundie thought process.

[Admiral Valdemar]

But all things being equal, I see where you're coming from. I personally disagree, however; I think that philosophy is a chance for humanity to gain some kind of introspection that we wouldn't otherwise get. But that's just my take on it. To each his own.

As an addition on top of an education solidly grounded in the objective and rational requirements of mathematics and the sciences, philosophy could potentially be useful. However, the problem is that the people who take it in university generally take it instead of a grounding in mathematics and the sciences. As a result, philosophy majors tend to be adept only at spouting shit.

The truly funny thing is that logic is a form of philosophy and the appeal to authority is a recognized fallacy, yet 1st year philosophy courses teach you to prove things by quoting long-dead philosophers. A typical 1st year philosophy paper reads like a social gadfly's name-dropping: battling quotes from all manner of philosophers and an attempt to decide which philosopher's argument he finds most compelling.

Indeed, I always saw philosophy as the exercising of a keen mind for debate about what others thought in the past and what people may think in the future. Not as a form of actual scientific argument, more like a foreplay before you really get into the nitty-gritty.

But they never do, they basically argue over the human aspect of most everything and not the actual topic using rational thinking and proper logic.

The simple (or not so in this case) question of why we exist is easily answered in science: we exist to progress the species and carry on our genes and to a lesser extent memes gathered. Ask a post-grad philosophy major and you can expect a dissertation on religious beliefs, social problems, Universal harmony and oh so much crap I can't even think about.

[Queeb Salaron]

As an addition on top of an education solidly grounded in the objective and rational requirements of mathematics and the sciences, philosophy could potentially be useful. However, the problem is that the people who take it in university generally take it instead of a grounding in mathematics and the sciences. As a result, philosophy majors tend to be adept only at spouting shit.

While I see your point, I'm personally of the opinion that a grounding in math and science doesn't work for everyone. Hell, if I were to take math and science courses for the rest of my life, I'd either fail out of school or else go certifiably insane. Yes, philosophy courses often replace important courses in a student's curriculum, but we must be clear that by "important" we mean neither JUST math/science OR English/arts courses, but rather a healthy combination of the two. Though that's probably just a worthless nitpick, I've seen that a bit on this board. People usually relate "good" classes with math/science classes, with a few notable exceptions.

The truly funny thing is that logic is a form of philosophy and the appeal to authority is a recognized fallacy, yet 1st year philosophy courses teach you to prove things by quoting long-dead philosophers. A typical 1st year philosophy paper reads like a social gadfly's name-dropping: battling quotes from all manner of philosophers and an attempt to decide which philosopher's argument he finds most compelling.

Hmm... I hadn't really ever thought of that. That is most interesting. And you're absolutely right. But the thing with 1st year philosophy is that there's really no basis on which the students can formulate their own opinions or views, so all that they CAN do is quote long-dead pontificators. Also, the majority of people taking 1st-year philosophy are underclassmen in dire need of repairing the mechanics of academic papers. Citing sources is sometimes a good way to do this. Besides, from a debate point of view, writing papers that back up your claims with evidence (even if it IS an appeal to authority) is a good way to build up a base. Of course, these papers wouldn't be worth their weight in shit in a REAL academic environment, but at least it's practice.