Welcome! You sound just like me Nimmy, except for I haven't took or began to take any of those classes. Hope to see you around. =]

Welcome Nimmy! I am also a philosophy major, but I am in my advanced studies for my undergrad, although I am hardly an expert of philosophy. What are your favorite subjects within philosophy?

Well, thats difficult to say because I am just exploring what I can now. Next year I am taking two survey courses on history of western philosophy, but when I went to school I thought I wanted to be a language major. Obviously, things have changed quite a bit. I am taking a logic course now, and I find the material interesting and the history to be fascinating, but it lacks some of the energy and fight in debates, at least at this level. I am hoping to take courses in ethics soon, as well as political philosophy. We shall see where that leads I suppose.

Yourself? What have been your favorite courses?

Well, I study the ancient Greek language, so I am predisposed to ancient Greek philosophy. But other than that my favorite courses have been in human nature and ethics--specifically environmental ethics. My interest has been growing greatly in urban ecological ethics and the philosophy of geography. In fact, I am currently working on a paper that is comparing social ecological and urban Marxist approaches to environmental justice. I also greatly enjoyed my course on informal logic aka argumentation. To me it seems far more relevant that formal logic, because it helps with two key skills--reading and writing.

Interesting. I have never been quite that into the ecological stuff, but I definitely see the interest that could spark. I think I might be learning towards Politics and Ethics. I am going to take Latin or Greek in my last year of school, its tough to start earlier with my graduation schedule, but hey, something is better than nothing. And this way I have my historical overview before choosing the language. Any particular advantage, as objectively as possible, that you see of choosing one over the other?

Well, I'm looking forward to you learning and contributing also, Nimmy!

Welcome to the forums, and I hope you enjoy your stay.

The advantages are between learning Latin or Greek is rather relative. If you have no interest in ancient Greek philosophy, culture, or history, there is no point in learning ancient Greek (maybe to read the original Greek Bible text, but that was written after the language evolved a bit). Latin on the other hand is more versatile and has more purpose outside of philosophy. But within philosophy, if you do not have an interest in Medieval philosophy, Descartes, Spinoza, or a handful of others, there is not much reason to learn Latin. I can tell you from my experience with ancient Greek that it is an impossible language, and if we were speaking and writing the language, most people would have a hard time comprehending anything complex because of the steep learning curve. From my classmates and professor's experience I can tell you that Latin is far easier to learn. I am actually going to pick it up this summer, for fun and to eventually read Spinoza.

I think my draw to ecological philosophy and the philosophy of geography is due to my interest in ethics and politics--along with my strong interest in the environment. It gives me a way to apply what I have learned in my studies towards practical issues.