DU Group Suggestion: PHILOSOPHY GROUP

[alcibiades_mystery]

Hey all. I think a philosophy group would be really interesting and fruitful here on DU. The other day I started a thread on the reasoning behind the illegality of blackmail, and I was blown away by the careful thought and erudition of the responding posts. Leveraging the knowledge base of a place like DU for philosophical discussion, I think, would work really well, and help teach us all about the subject.

Just as a few initial suggestions:

1) The group would not focus on any particular philsophical school, but would range widely. It would be as interested in phenomenology as it would be in Plato, or poststructuralist philosophy, or speech-act theory.

2) It could be organized around either issues or texts. I could see part of it working as a kind of book-club: the group would decide to read the Nicomachean Ethics one month, or Spinoza's Ethics, or Martha Nussbaum, etc.

3) The discussion would be of issues and problems, but would also ask after the relevance of these issues and problems to contemporary political action. It would try to balance the two positions:

a) Ladies and gentlemen, I urge you ... to exercise a certain patience with respect to the relations of theory and practice. Such a request may be justified because in a situation like the present - one about which I do not entertain the slightest illusion ... - whether it will be possible ever again to achieve a valid form of practice may well depend on not demanding that every idea should immediately produce its own legitimating document explaining its own practical use. The situation may well demand instead that we resist the call of practicality with all our might in order ruthlessly to followthrough an idea and its logical implications so as to see where it may lead. - Theodor Adorno, Problems of Moral Philosophy

b) The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it. - Karl Marx, 11th Thesis on Feuerbach

4) The group would not require previous philosophical training or knowledge. I firmly believe that most of the great works of philosophy can be understood by elementary school children (and should be taight at that level), if only the teaching is well-crafted. With the collective knowledge and explanatory power of a place like DU, this would be no problem at all.

I think we're on our way to a mission statement already. I'd love to hear if anyone else is interested, and any further suggestions that would help us craft a cogent and complete statement for submission to Skinner.

[itzamirakul]

1. I think there is a philosophy group in the non-political forums...

at least I thought I saw one in there....

[alcibiades_mystery]

2. I don't see one (I see Religion and Theology)

Besides, the DU Groups are different from the forums, yes? Not sure if i'm getting this wrong.

[lala_rawraw]

3. I would love a group like that

Please support:)

[northamericancitizen]

4. I will support a philosophy forum or group.

I don't know yet the exact difference between the 2.

[Quixote1818]

19. Lets discuss the philosophical difference between a forum and a group

Well, maybe not. :beer:

[lala_rawraw]

45. Can we put that in an angst cookbook? n/t:)

[Anarcho-Socialist]

5. I would support it

:)

[newyawker99]

6. kick

:kick:

[truizm]

7. a philosophy forum would be great

[mdmc]

8. I am down.

Looks like we have a new group! :kick:

[Hardrada]

9. I am very down.

It must be existential ANGST !!!

[Quixote1818]

20. I am up and down and all around

:beer:

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. One more kick

Looks like we need a few more donor responses before we can submit to the admins. Here's hoping, and thanks to all those who've already responded. -a_m

[AlienGirl]

11. Uh-oh, watch out for all the people who argued against the last new group.

Last time a new group was proposed it became a giant flame-fest. :scared:

Tucker

P.S. I support the idea.

[Quixote1818]

16. What was the problem? nt

[AlienGirl]

44. Last time someone proposed a group...

The thread turned into a flame-fest.

Tucker

[Amfortas]

12. That's a wonderful idea !

[pdxblue]

13. Yeah!

let's do it!!!!

[Quixote1818]

14. I am interested in it only if it's rules are Existentialist rules

in other words, their are no rules. We just get together and discuss anything and everything and let it go in any direction it takes. I hate rules.

[northamericancitizen]

17. I agree with you Quixote. It has to be free flowing. nt

[Amfortas]

18. me too

no rules !

[idlisambar]

15. Great idea

I would like to have a group like that. :thumbsup:

[Swamp Rat]

21. I'm for it. n/t

:kick:

[alcibiades_mystery]

22. We have EIGHT donor supporters and need TWO more

to apply for group status. Even if you plan on just dropping by from time to time, I encourage you to support the creation of this group. Here's a sample mission statement that draws on the responses here along with the original suggestions.

DU Philosophy Group Mission Statement

The DU Philosophy Group will discuss major themes, issues, and problems in philosophy for the purpose of both interrogating the ideas and turning them towards practical politics. While the group will not follow rigorous disciplinary definitions of what counts as philosophical exchange, and will not focus on any one school of philosophy (Continental or Analytic, existentialism or Eastern philosophy), it will be interested in thinking through the ideas of philosophy, or engaging in the adventure of the concept. The group requires no previous philosophical training, and is geared toward a mutual or peer-to-peer teaching of challenging ideas. We ask only that participants take seriously the ideas they engage here, especially where taking seriously requires us to have some fun with them.

[truizm]

23. .

[housewolf]

24. I'd like to have philosophy group

Philosophical discussions are SOOOO fun - I love reading a variety of thoughtful points of view about things.

I especially am interested in the history political thought and how it eveolved from various schools of philosophy.

I look forward to meeting everybody there in the near future.

[truizm]

32. Have you read _The History of Western Philosophy_ by Bertrand Russell

or _The Story of Philosophy_ by Will Durant?

You might find them interesting.

[housewolf]

41. I'm not sure I read either of those

if I did it was about 100 years ago (well, maybe not quite that long ago), but they are pretty well buried in the old grey matter. They sound like a good starting point, thank you.

[alcibiades_mystery]

25. Nine out of TEN seconds now!

Need one more for the big push!

(I feel like I'm doing fundraising for public broadcasting...Am I that annoying yet?)

[Stop_the_War]

26. is this a place where I can learn Latin?

If so, I'm in.

[housewolf]

28. Oh boy, Latin...

I studied it for a couple of years in high school plus many years of catholic services... I'm pretty rusty but might be able to remember a few words here or there.

Let's see... "Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est" (All Gaul is divided into three parts) ... okay, well, that strained my brain beyond its capacity. I'm going to go watch John Kerry on c-span now, it's already started.

[truizm]

34. Julius Ceasar

...quarum unam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquitani, tertiam qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur.

[alcibiades_mystery]

36. I like Tacitus

Auferre, trucidare, rapere, falsis nominibus imperium, atque, ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant...

[housewolf]

40. Tacitus speaks the truth

"To plunder, slaughter and rape they give the false name of empire, and where they make a solitude they call it peace"

[alcibiades_mystery]

42. Wherever they make a desert, they call it peace

Familiar enough today, eh?

[housewolf]

39. Okaaayyy.. this really is a stretch...

it's been about forty years now since I had to translate Caesar's "Gallic War"...

"The Gallic Wars" by Julius Caesar
All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another, the third those who in their own tongue named Celts, in ours Gauls.

[ultraist]

27. I'm IN!

[The Minus World]

29. Thanks for stepping forward!

I've been waiting for someone to suggest this. Unfortunately, I've reduced my posting activity to a slow crawl recently, but you've still got my full support.

It seems like such a group would be an oasis of cogent discussion and analysis, in stark contrast to much of the mindless polemicizing done on political message boards. I would hope that it would serve as a place to escape the trivialities and distractions of popular political discourse; I also hope that it does not shy away - as many partisan intellectuals tend to do - from abandoning political predilections, and assuming an objective stance towards world issues.

Philosophy is the conscience of the human experience; a tool of contrast with which History judges the greatness or dereliction of civilizations long since crumbled. If that understanding can be our starting point, we can analyze our current situation objectively.

Bush, too, shall pass.

[alcibiades_mystery]

30. Thanks to all who have replied: I've requested the group be formed

We've hit the requisite number of seconds, so I've gone ahead and requested the formation of the group. Here's a link to the request: Request Thread.

Needless to say, bandwidth ain't cheap, so I respect the position of the administrators on this. I will be donating to DU as soon as I get paid again! (tight month...)

[Guaranteed]

31. Go for it. Sounds great. nt

[izzybeans]

33. I'm in and very much urge moving forward

with the proto-mission you provide.

If there were two trajectories (both issues and texts)in the forum/group/circle/(in)visible college/hyperlinkage/whatever, perhaps your "balance" between theory and practice might be achieved, or at least located and described.

My way of interpreting the world would rather look at the distinction as a necessary and unavoidable tension, however.

[alcibiades_mystery]

35. Necessary, unavoidable, and PRODUCTIVE tension

in my view. That space between theory and practice is not a null space, but where things speed up. So yes, I agree.

[izzybeans]

37. Productive is a good word too. I'll look forward to seeing how things

take shape with this in the near future.

Thank you for getting the ball rolling!

[cire4]

38. This Philosophy major supports the idea!

I'd love to discuss philosophy will fellow DUers.

[eleny]

43. Kicking in

:kick: