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comment by ILikePizza555
ILikePizza555  ·  3187 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Dear Hubski, what do you want to learn?

Something not STEM. I've bought into the whole STEM circlejerk for a while now, and even went so far to condemn anything not STEM. My opinion changed when I took World History, and I really enjoyed it.

I've always been curious about philosophy, but I never actually took the time to try and pick it up. I think that's just a matter of "I don't know what to expect."

I'd also like to get into art. I've tried writing or drawing before, but I almost always end up throwing my pen or pencil down in frustration because it's not perfect or because it reads awkwardly. I've always gotten a As and Bs in English, but that's mainly analytical writing and it always feels like I'm just pulling things out my ass.

Finally, functional programming. Since that's the new trend nowadays in the programming community.





aeromill  ·  3187 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'd love to help you out with philosophy. What topics would you like to learn about?

rob05c  ·  3186 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'd really like to learn more about Eastern philosophy. Any recommendations?

aeromill  ·  3186 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'm afraid that Earn Philosophy is my weak point but I can suggest a few articles to get you started:

Daoism

Confucius

Laozi

Zen Budhism

Hindu Philosophy

Again, this isn't my strong suit, but these should help you getting started. Just probe different topics as you come across them and eventually you'll find your way. Good luck!

ILikePizza555  ·  3187 days ago  ·  link  ·  

A quick overview of everything or the most important/prominent stuff. Like I said, I don't know anything about it. All the more reason to try it out, I guess.

aeromill  ·  3187 days ago  ·  link  ·  

If you want an overview of literally everything then read "The History of Western Philosophy". It's one of the very few things that philosophers actually have a consensus in saying that it is the definitive work in its field.

If you want to just get an overview of different topics in philosophy then the Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy are your best friends. To get started on the big topics in each field check out these articles depending on your interest:

Ethics (What is a good action?)

Moral Realism - "Is there a universal good? Are morals relative?"

Virtue Ethics - "Virtue as the Good"

Deontology - "Intentions for the sake of duty as the good"

Consequentialism - "The consequence maximizing utility as the good"

Nihilism - "There's no point to life so nothing is good"

Existentialism - "Embracing the meaninglessness of life"

Aesthetics (What is beauty?)

Beauty - "Is beauty objective or subjective?"

Logic (A system of rules to seek objective truth without necessarily needing perception):

Classical Logic - "Deductive reasoning. If A then B; if B then C. A, therefore C."

Inductive Reasoning - "A has followed B many times in the past. If A, then B is likely."

The Problems of Induction - "What's wrong with it"

Epistemology (What is knowledge?):

A Priori and A Posteriori - "Knowledge independent of perception vs. dependent on perception."

Rationalism vs. Empiricism - "Knowledge through logic (e.g. math) vs. knowledge through evidence (e.g. science)."

Metaphysics (The study of the non-physical)

Grounding - "Objects relations to other objects"

Physicalism - "Everything is physical"

Let me know if you have any questions. I'll help you out as best as I can with what I know.

user-inactivated  ·  3184 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Holy smokes. Thank you! That's something I've been out for for quite a while and was too lazy to pick up on my own. With the set of resources linked to, it should become easier.

aeromill  ·  3184 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Just wanted to be of some help! Let me know if you have any questions and I'll answer them to the best of my knowledge.

user-inactivated  ·  3184 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I don't have any at the moment. Would you mind if I PM you if any appears?

aeromill  ·  3183 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Sure, I wouldn't mind at all.

user-inactivated  ·  3183 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Thank you!

veen  ·  3187 days ago  ·  link  ·  

What I wish more people would realize (or internalize) is that STEM sciences are heavily influenced by reductionism. Which works fine if you're working within STEM topics, but it is an approach that completely falls apart once you venture into other fields, as you run into the limits of reductionism really quickly. If you find this at all interesting, you might want to look into epistemology.