So I'm Taking a Philosophy Class...

InformationGeek · May 27, 2011, 10:49:58 AM

... and its the most boring, dull, uninteresting experience I have ever had in my entire school career. The class goes for 3 hours and it feels like limbo in there. Time doesn't seem to pass, the teacher drones on and on, and one students keeps interrupting her so much that she wasn't even able to teach everyone what she wanted on the first day.

All the things we are suppose to read are the same thing. Lots of text about things we are already know, overly preaching, take too long to get to point, have no substance to them, sometimes very insulting, pertentious in some occasions, and like to repeat the same word over and over again. Mystery was brought up at least 10 times in a single paragraph.

I'm not the only one who is feeling this as well. A lot of the class as the same expression and thoughts that I have as well. It's only the older adults that are taking the class that seem interested and are the only ones asking questions (Only the guy that kept interupting the professor). I have the horrible feeling that this class is not going to end well for me.

Anyone who has taken a philosophy class before care to chime in and give any advice for me or real words of wisdom?

Rev. Powell · May 27, 2011, 12:36:46 PM

I started my undergrad as a philosophy major, ended as a philosophy minor. I can see how it wouldn't appeal to someone who's very pragmatic minded.

You didn't say what you were reading. It may be a badly written text. We always read primary sources, which were often very difficult.

* "text about things we are already know" - like what? The one thing you should take away from studying philosophy is that you don't really "know" half of what you take for granted that you know.

Have you heard the story about Socrates being proclaimed the wisest man in Athens? He denied it, saying he didn't know much of anything. Then he went around and questioned the citizens of Athens who claimed to be wise, and in the course of his discussions with them he discovered that they couldn't actually prove or defend the things that they believed themselves to know for certain. He finally concluded that he actually was the wisest man in Athens, because he was the only one smart enough to realize he didn't know anything.

I'm afraid I don't have any concrete advice for you. Some people get philosophical thinking, which is the habit of thinking very precisely about everything. Other people find it torture to think that way and don't see the point, since there are no practical applications.

Jack · May 27, 2011, 12:39:06 PM

My philosophy professor would speak a sentence, then write it out on the board. Speak another sentence, then write it out on the board. WTF? Why not just hand out copies of this at the beginning of class, let us spend 5 minutes reading it, and then lecture on the finer points of it? I think we had to buy about 3 books for that class, and probably read one chapter out of one of them. The class started with about 50 people, and after a week we were down to 20. Then when it was time for the first exam, 50 people showed up. Produced an extremely lopsided bell curve

I found the material kind of interesting. Lots of stuff about the premises of an argument leading logically to the conclusion, and a bunch of stuff about proving/disproving the existence of God. The historical stuff was kind of cool. Nice general knowledge stuff that you probably wouldn't pick up elsewhere.

LilCerberus · May 27, 2011, 02:42:00 PM

As Steve Martin once related:

"Geology, which is all facts, as soon as you get out of school, you forget it all because it's just numbers & things, but philosophy, you remember just enough to screw you up for the rest of your life."

From the album, "A Wild and Crazy Guy"

Mofo Rising · May 27, 2011, 03:07:02 PM

Time to ditch the philosophy and sign up for some science courses, which are applied natural philosophy.

Alright, I'm kidding there (only sort of).

Sounds like you got a dud teacher. Philosophy could be one of the most interesting courses you ever take, if you can take away some understanding of what all those eggheads were getting at. Unfortunately, bad teachers have a singular knack for not only removing all excitement from their lessons, but fostering enmity for life towards the subject in their students.

If you want to care about the material, you might try a internet search for whatever concept you're currently learning. You can probably find summaries of the topic which are much more entertaining than your dry text book, preferably in comic form. You could then use your new-found knowledge to rebut the guy who's always talking. Asking questions in a lecture is fine, but only jackasses monopolize the class's time.

As far as helpful words of wisdom, it's fun to grouse about a class with other students, but it's of limited usefulness. I always found it more fun and interesting to find the people who actually understood and got the material. Those people were the people I ended up seeing in class after class; the complainers just sort of disappeared.

Anyway, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Philosophy can be fun, even if your teacher is doing his best to kill it. Try the book Sophie's World, which is sort of a fiction-based intro to philosophy. There's a subtle strain of elitism I didn't care for, but overall it was a pretty entertaining book.

Ed, Ego and Superego · May 27, 2011, 03:07:53 PM

You have just proves the existentialist model:
"and its the most boring, dull, uninteresting experience I have ever had in my entire school career. The class goes for 3 hours and it feels like limbo in there. Time doesn't seem to pass, the teacher drones on and on, and one students keeps interrupting her so much that she wasn't even able to teach everyone what she wanted on the first day."

You know while you are in there time actually DOES slow down for the rest of the word. Formulate a proof and discuss by next Tuesday.

Personally I have no truck with philosophy, sure ethics and such should be contemplated, but stop trying to quanitfy the unquantifyable and droning on about it. I consider it a personality flaw on my part. Just like I don't "get" non-representational art or classical music.

However, if you would like a philosphohy course in a nutshell, find the book Sophie's World by Josteen Gaarder. Its a fun jaunt through all the schools.
-Ed

indianasmith · May 27, 2011, 04:18:28 PM

This story is from a Christian educator, J.P. Moreland, whom I once heard describe his first day in philosophy class:

The professor came in, and did the usual introductory stuff for the first 10 minutes or so, then got to the meat of the matter with this sentence: "In order to understand philosophy, you must understand one simple premise: All truth is relative. There is no such thing as absolute truth in this world, or anywhere else."

Moreland, of course, did not believe that, and while he didn't want to flunk the class or come across as a know it all, he also did not feel that he could, in good conscience, let that remark pass without comment. But he had no idea what to say! He prayed a quick prayer, and a flash of inspiration came to him. He then responded: "Excuse me, sir, but I believe your premise is flawed, and I can prove that it is!"

The philosophy professor raised an eyebrow and said: "Nothing can be truly proved or disproved in philosophy, sir, but I am curious to hear your comment."

Moreland replied: "You just said that there is no such thing as absolute truth. I would ask you - is that statement absolutely true? If it is, then there is an absolute truth, and you just articulated it. If it is not, then there is an absolute truth - you just don't know what it is!"

He said that the exchange led the whole class to a huge discussion on the nature of truth, and post-modernism versus the classical theistic view of the universe.

Not that any of that is any help, but I thought I'd share anyway.

lester1/2jr · May 27, 2011, 04:33:44 PM

I prefer economics. It's the same sort of thinking but can be applied to something that's going on all the time: the marketplace.

LilCerberus · May 27, 2011, 04:45:37 PM

"Never Let School Interfere With Your Eduction." - Mark Twain

RCMerchant · May 27, 2011, 05:19:04 PM

Heres's some philosophy....
"Find em,finger em,f**k,forget em."
Or
"Everyone needs to believe in something-I believe I'll have another drink."
Seriously though-I never went to collage. I think I would enjoy a philosphy class-just so I could challange it. I think it would be mentally stimulating.
Of course I never finished High School. I hadda quit and hitchike to NY...I got my diploma years later with night school. Not like its worth a dam. Too stiff to wipe my ass with. But sometimes I wish I coulda went to collage. I coulda been somebody.
I coulda been a contender.

Flangepart · May 27, 2011, 05:45:23 PM

Look up the book PLATO AND A PLYTAPUS WALK INTO A BAR: The history of Philosophy in jokes.
You will NOT be bored!
Like...

Two cows are standing in a pasture. On cow says to the other, "So, what do ya think about this mad cow disease?"
Other cow says "What do I care, I'm a helicopter!"

bob · May 27, 2011, 05:47:30 PM

I took a philosophy class in college. It bored me to death, except for when the professor went off on targents for 20 minutes at a time on stuff unrelated to the topic, at least twice during class. I would've dumped the class except I needed it for general education requirement..

Hang in there and grind it out.

Ed, Ego and Superego · May 27, 2011, 05:52:12 PM

Quote from: Flangepart on May 27, 2011, 05:45:23 PM
Look up the book PLATO AND A PLYTAPUS WALK INTO A BAR: The history of Philosophy in jokes.
You will NOT be bored!
Like...

Two cows are standing in a pasture. On cow says to the other, "So, what do ya think about this mad cow disease?"
Other cow says "What do I care, I'm a helicopter!"

Thats a great book!

RCMerchant · May 27, 2011, 05:54:43 PM

I've noticed I am more than likely the most undereducated person on this board. I'm surrounded by folks who went to collage-go to collage-lawyers,dam scientists. Sometimes I get an inferioty complex talking to you guys.
I wish I was smarter. I KNOW about movies...but otherwise I'm a hick.

Derf · May 27, 2011, 06:15:37 PM

Quote from: RCMerchant on May 27, 2011, 05:54:43 PM
I've noticed I am more than likely the most undereducated person on this board. I'm surrounded by folks who went to collage-go to collage-lawyers,dam scientists. Sometimes I get an inferioty complex talking to you guys.
I wish I was smarter. I KNOW about movies...but otherwise I'm a hick.

RC, education does not make a person smart. Education provides information and techniques to get more information. What a person does with those techniques and information determine how smart he is. I'd rather discuss almost any subject with an uneducated smart person than with an educated person who just took a lot of information and never figured out what to do with it. In other words, I'd much rather sit and talk philosophy with you than with someone who could only sit and quote what this philosopher or that philosopher said. Philosophy used to be about pondering the unsolvable mysteries of life. Now it seems to be just regurgitating what someone else said about them (all information, no processing of that information).