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See; I knew you wanted to click that link. Anyways, my name Anthony or Tony. Call me either one of those; I have no preference. Usually it's my closer friends that call me Tony. So, I'm about to finish high school. Woo! More responsibility! Eh, I'm not complaining though; it's not like the economic issues are a result of my parents actions or anything. Nah, my parents are cool. This economic dilemma was coming no matter what. We only could've slowed it down. As I was saying, I'm about to finish high school and not once was there ever a class in philosophy. I've had to do my studies of it through encyclopedias and the internet. My teacher says high school usually doesn't have those types of courses because teenagers are going from concrete to abstract thinking during that time. I still think it's whack though. So yea, that's why I'm here. Bring on the knowledge and wisdom baybeh! :letme-at-em:

@Ichthus91,

Hello Tony. Welcome to the forum. =)

@Ichthus91,

Mucho Thanko! ^^

@Ichthus91,

Welcome to the forum.

@Ichthus91,

Hi Tony! We seem to live in opposite worlds. Call me optimistic, but the way my life is going, finishing high school will mean less responsibility.

And I'm not pulling a Chris McCandless or anything either. I'm gonna try to get a job and all that, it'll just be more relaxed than things are now, given my unique circumstances.

I've never had any philosophy classes in my school either. I started taking an online course from yale recently though. It's free video lectures. I'll have to edit this post to include a link later. The closest thing I've taken to philosophy is psychology. Yeah, it'd be nice to have that kind of option though.

But I think the main reason is not the transition from concrete to abstract thinking, but that mainstream society encourages lack of thinking altogether. The values of alot of people around me seem so superficial and shallow.

But maybe I'm the one being ignorant. Razz

Anyway, welcome to the forum. I shouldn't be one to welcome you since I just joined myself, but whatever.

@Ichthus91,

Welcome to the forum Tony! We are glad you decided to join us. It is too bad that philosophy is not offered in high school. Too many people lack basic critical thinking skills.

@Theaetetus,

Theaetetus wrote:

Too many people lack basic critical thinking skills.

What is your reasoning behind that statement? :Glasses:

@The Dude phil phil,

The_Dude wrote:

What is your reasoning behind that statement? :Glasses:

Experience with other people. In other words, I have empirical evidence from dealing with other people.

@Ichthus91,

Ichtus: Welcome, and I hope you enjoy your stay here. This is a place you can (I'd hope!) obtain that knowledge and wisdom. At least, I think, that's why we're all here Smile

Theaetetus: Maybe they don't completely lack the skills, they just don't have the passion to critically think. That is, they have the capability, but they just choose not to. From my experience (empirical evidence!), this is usually the case. I have some friends whom I consider quite intelligent, but never do they question things below the surface. If I even mention some of the topics presented here on this forum, these friends begin sharpening their knives for the castration process. But then I enter discussions with others whom I originally thought were incapable of critically thinking, and I wind up coming out of the discussion quite impressed after bringing up a topic that was "outside the box". I can see this varying person to person, but I think it wise to *probe* the person a bit and see if they're responsive to critical thought, instead of presumptiously assuming they're not (which I sometimes have the habit of doing).

@Theaetetus,

Theaetetus wrote:

Welcome to the forum Tony! We are glad you decided to join us. It is too bad that philosophy is not offered in high school. Too many people lack basic critical thinking skills.

If it was, my apocaliptic bet is that they would teach people about how old and dead people used to think instead of actually encouraging thinking Smile

(And is not that much of a bet, I had philosopy classes and they were mostly like that, and anyway a teacher cant do miracles: Its helpless if the parents thenselves think philosopy is waste of time)

Welcome. I actually didnt want to click it, or rather, the part of my mind that worries about making I look like someone who doesnt falls for sheep mentality keept screaming "no", and the part of my mind that worries about making I look like someone who doesnt cares for whenever he is being sheepy or not keept screaming "yes", but then the part of my mind that likes falling for tricks on purpose to see the inside kicked in Smile

Dont worry that much about not receiving formal education in philosopy, remember that all philosophic knowledge comes from rational thinking, so you can figure out yourself any bit you miss Smile

@The Dude phil phil,

The_Dude wrote:

Hi Tony! We seem to live in opposite worlds. Call me optimistic, but the way my life is going, finishing high school will mean less responsibility.

And I'm not pulling a Chris McCandless or anything either. I'm gonna try to get a job and all that, it'll just be more relaxed than things are now, given my unique circumstances.

I've never had any philosophy classes in my school either. I started taking an online course from yale recently though. It's free video lectures. I'll have to edit this post to include a link later. The closest thing I've taken to philosophy is psychology. Yeah, it'd be nice to have that kind of option though.

But I think the main reason is not the transition from concrete to abstract thinking, but that mainstream society encourages lack of thinking altogether. The values of alot of people around me seem so superficial and shallow.

But maybe I'm the one being ignorant.

Anyway, welcome to the forum. I shouldn't be one to welcome you since I just joined myself, but whatever.

Well I certainly wish my life would get less responsible. Of course, if you want a car, a house, a job, a family, ect... there are then more things to take care of. I'll be sure to check out those videos. Free = Wee! :a-ok: If the fact that society encourages lack of thinking is true, then; that really bothers me. It sounds like the education system is being better suited for indoctrination. Instead of being taught how to think; student are taught what to think. That to me is scary. I don't feel high school is really that important anyways. The only good from high school is the fact that you get a diploma. Of course, there are social skills that you develop when you go to school but why not straight to college? We would have more years of our lives saved too. I myself have change schools every year since jr.high because none of them were fitting enough. Though I've met some really great students and teachers... I feel that high school has been [for the most part] a bore and a 4 year waste. Does anyone else have ideas for a more effective and efficient education system? Oh, and thanks for welcoming me Very Happy

@Theaetetus,

Theaetetus wrote:

Welcome to the forum Tony! We are glad you decided to join us. It is too bad that philosophy is not offered in high school. Too many people lack basic critical thinking skills.

Haha... My school actually has a critical thinking class. I joined it and wasn't sure what to expect exactly but it sounded exciting. Apparently, "INTENSE" games of phase 10 all day is critical enough for most. Only me and 2 other students want to have a real critical thinking class. The other students (or more fitting, pupils [like they study]) don't even like me playing because I can remember what cards they discarded 7 turns ago. Thus, if they discard that card then I can safely assume they don't need that card. So, I always feed those cards to them, lol. Plus, I know the all the possibilities and the chances of me getting a phase a certain way. I also base the chances on what the other players could have in their hand. So in my head I can compare absolute chance and potential chance. Yea... I definately play that game way too much.

@Zetherin,

Zetherin wrote:

Ichtus: Welcome, and I hope you enjoy your stay here. This is a place you can (I'd hope!) obtain that knowledge and wisdom. At least, I think, that's why we're all here

Theaetetus: Maybe they don't completely lack the skills, they just don't have the passion to critically think. That is, they have the capability, but they just choose not to. From my experience (empirical evidence!), this is usually the case. I have some friends whom I consider quite intelligent, but never do they question things below the surface. If I even mention some of the topics presented here on this forum, these friends begin sharpening their knives for the castration process. But then I enter discussions with others whom I originally thought were incapable of critically thinking, and I wind up coming out of the discussion quite impressed after bringing up a topic that was "outside the box". I can see this varying person to person, but I think it wise to *probe* the person a bit and see if they're responsive to critical thought, instead of presumptiously assuming they're not (which I sometimes have the habit of doing).

Well I am sure you are right, but many students I go to school with lack critical thinking skills that are often learned in philosophy classes. Learning how to analyze arguments are key to any area of study.

@Ichthus91,

"a teacher cant do miracles"

Yes, a good teacher can. But of course the student has a part to play too.

@Jose phil,

Jose wrote:

"a teacher cant do miracles"

Yes, a good teacher can. But of course the student has a part to play too.

We dont bet on miracles then plotting the destiny of a nation or humanity though Smile

@Ichthus91,

No can is asking anyone to bet on anything.

The miracle that I refer isn't the event of "perceptible interruption of the laws of nature, such that can only be explained by divine intervention." (Wiki)

It refers to when a student that initially looks seemingly hopeless, changes for the better, to be more passionate in the quest for knowledge and life, all thanks to the hard work input by his/her teacher.

That is the miracle.

@Ichthus91,

I understand, but nowadays, as far as I can tell, we cant count that many teachers will be passionate.

@Ichthus91,

Well, we just have to count on the ones who are passionate.

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