Ethics, epistemology, analytic, meaning in life. Phl of mind/psych & language adjacent. UNL Philosophy. Also PopCulture, Neuro(existentialism/psychoanalysis).
Philosophy grad students: here is the UPDATED location for the resources previously shared! Really great & useful stuff, everything from reading & writing philosophy to applying to graduate school!
Trying to lecture to a class of 30 when 6 have done the reading is exhausting 😔 I don’t know how to get through to them that my lectures are there to compliment & expand the reading, not to rehash it
Studying Analytic philosophy is like listening to a “best of” compilation of mostly one-hit wonders. Studying Continental is like listening to the whole discography of an underground band with a 35 album career with only one song that made local airplay 😂
After reading all these responses , I may resort to traditional reading quizzes or pop quizzes. I wanted to try to build a more exploration based, student lead experience but perhaps I’m trying too hard. Maybe in an upper level class this may work better
@RonRosenbaum1
I’m not sneering, I’m venting. And yes, in my frustration and haste I misspelled. Perhaps instead of “sneering” at spelling you could offer some constructive advice on how to help a weary educator 🙂
Thanks everyone for you solidarity, advice, and sharing of experience. I REALLY am trying to cultivate curiosity and a love for thinking about new things rather than rely on traditional “incentive through points”. Not necessarily due to a fault of there’s, they may not be ready
I went to my MA excited to nail down an area in philosophy to work in for PhD. Really feeling dejected, like maybe I don’t belong in this field at all. I just wanted to study phl n teach for the rest of my life and die, not all this other bs.
@TylerSproule4
For context, I’m teaching critical thinking. I assign 15-20 pages to read. Until the final project, their grade is comprised of attendance, weekly reflections, and biweekly ish in class exercises (credit/No cred). I’ve constructed my class starting there.
The number of fellow Phil grad students contemplating switching fields or leaving academia altogether is heartbreaking and noteworthy. The institution MUST notice & address before it’s too late.
(1) In some ways, the upcoming semester is literally a dream come true. I’ll be paid (barely) to do & teach philosophy; I’m an instructor of record for the first time as well as am beginning my thesis.
I am so thrilled, and anxious to do my absolute best on both fronts. And yet,
One of my fellow grad students said something to me the other day along the lines of “how could someone be expected to become the best possible them when they aren’t in the best possible world for them” and it’s been bouncing around in my head
Philosophy grad students: found this awesome compilation of resources put together by a fellow student (more advanced than I). Really good n useful stuff here, and I wanted to share it with y’all!
@winnie4prez
Thanks so much for the encouragement & perspective. I’ll try to keep this in mind. Thanks for being one of the 6! I also was in undergrad, I was just totally oblivious that not everyone was like my friends and I
@katyaphipps
I mean, at this point I’m pretty convinced that people who start grad school w/o it will either develop it or it fuel their villain origin story 😂
In roughly 37 hours, I will be in a new state. I will be on campus and geared up to begin my MA in Philosophy!! I have a lot of big feelings, some good & some bad. Overall though, I’m ready to begin this next adventure.
#gradschool
#philosophy
#Utoledo
What if philosophy took a serious look at music, tv, and other popular media through the lens of it being genuine ethical, social & political, aesthetic, and existential reflection and critique? What would we find? (1)
Philosophers of Twitter, do you think that being an “analytic” philosopher with primary areas of interest being ethics & epistemology, it would be too strange/off putting to have an AOC in existentialism? Would it be potentially harmful?
Philosophy Twitter, we just need to all band together and encourage our students & peers to read AND CITE each others’ papers. This will signify quantifiable relevance to the institution and perhaps save the field, while also supporting the homies.
A gift autistics have is being very sure of what we like. Some of my favorite things include philosophy, metal music, horror movies, sci-fi, and adult cartoons. If I can find the right way to pursue these (or any combination) I will be set. Now to figure out what that looks like
So much of what philosophically interests me in any significant way is largely due to the music I enjoy. Punk rock & hardcore, classic rock & metal (particularly Death & thrash), and folk music shaped my interest in ethics, identity, mental illness, (1)
(2) a bigger anxiety looms in the background: as PhD apps draw nearer (some are already open 😬), I wonder if this year will be the last chance to live this dream. I want so badly for it to be my life, but I’m painfully aware that the odds are so slim, and that truthfully,
I didn’t realize how much emotional pressure had built up over the semester as I’ve adjusted to a new state, living apart from my partner, grad school, etc. Now that finals are over, it’s all hitting me like a flood and… oofff, it’s been a morning. Big feelings
The US academy literally has everyone so twisted that when someone wants to work on x, another person who works on x gets territorial rather than being stoked to start building a community and that’s just garbage man.
(3) I’m pretty average in skill.
I’m doing my best to silence that voice, to breath in this moment and enjoy it, but with having to split my time with PhD app materials, it’s so hard to do.
Anywho, here’s to another semester. May it be one of the best yet for all🍻
My big philosophical achievement right here: the Mother’s Paradox.
If I let my mom down by being a failure, but she expected me to fail, then I’m successful in meeting her expectations. But in succeeding in letting her down, I fail her.
Philosophy Twitter, what do y’all consider a “conference length” paper? Have a prof who think “conference length” is 6000+ words and I…
Also, what’s the point of having students write essays longer than 3-3.5 k words, when many calls for papers that I’ve seen have that cutoff?
Mom come get me, I’m scared. I’m turning into a depressed philosophy grad student in his Midwest emo/math rock phase. I can’t stop wearing flannels and conjuring up mental images of melancholy, very specific Midwest geography😬😫
Some days, I am certain that I am where I belong. Other days my anxiety screams incessantly, things like “knowing a lot about philosophy is not the same as being good at it.” Today I experienced both, and unknowingly some peers encouraged me through it. Much appreciated gang ❤️
In yet another grad acceptance season, I notice this trend where philosophy undergrads/MA’s get rejected by philosophy programs in mass, BUT are VERY warmly welcomed into other fields that they applied in. I’ve noticed this phenomena to be rather consistent. Why is this?
It’s so crazy that we are all literally one decision away at like, all times from being unalived. We’re out here looking for meaning when the fact that we’re alive is happenstance, and the fact we’re alive *still* is nothing short of a miracle.
(1) As anti-psychiatry sentiments begin becoming more prevalent on various sites I keep tabs on, I would like to take a sec to remind people that being skeptical of the prevalence of SSRI use IS NOT equivalent to being anti-psychiatry.
Working at a youth home to save up cash before grad school begins in August. Putting together a summer program called “What Matters: Values, Ethics, & Identity”.
For mid-teen youths, what are some recommendations for short, accessible readings/activities??
@SIUChasmite
One of my more disillusioning experiences was being at a continental philosophy conference and finding many continental grad students were just as dismissive of analytic phi as analytic phi grad students are of continental phi.
I've gotten some weird reactions when people have found out that I do ALL my reading in grad school. Some have even made comments about how "no one" does and it's expected that you will be selective and fudge a bit. Is this your experience as well? If so, I have a question:
I am still so in love with philosophy, but having a second to reconnect with my various interests has been so refreshing. Horror movies, punk/rock/metal, Star Trek, cartoons, retro game emulators… so much fun to be had & caught up on
Proud to report that I began this July 4th as every American ought: with a reading of “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?” and “Two Dogmas of Empiricism” 😤
Having the usual existential dread where I realize I’m too creative/wholistic for the analytics and too rigid and formal for the Continentals. Having an analytic background, I also lack the necessary familiarity with continental work also. Idk where I belong, if anywhere. 😔
“What do you mean, what is my costume supposed to be?!? CLEARLY I’m a body without organs 🙄 Read some Deleuze loser”
- some Philosophy grad student, probably
Picture this: analytic philosophy student at his desk. Furiously scribbling notes on a close reading section of the Phenomenology of Spirit for seminar. Synthwave in the distance. Cheap coffee beside him. Welcome to my Sunday 😂😂
In a new turn of events, I have decided that I’ve been thinking too hard about what to write in philosophy. I will now leave it up to fate. Decisions will be based on what books I pull off the shelf at random.
Coming soon “Thinking and Sources of Normativity After Virtue”
I’m so confused by undergrads right now. I see regularly only 1/3-1/2 of classes show up. People have full length, regular volume convos in the middle of class. Seem genuinely surprised by expectations such as citations. Are upset if you don’t allow wiki to be their main source
I think analytic philosophy is not in a good state rn () but I also think anglophone Continental philosophy is not in a good state either. Anglophone philosophy in general just seems to me not so much a period of crisis as one of decrepitude.
Nana died a year ago today. And all I wish is that I’d taken a few moments away from academics to play more Words with friends with her. Friends, my heart hurts tonight
Had a group of undergrads purchase on sale Steam games in class and then proceed to play (left4dead I believe they said) the entirety of class. Not only did I witness this, they announced it. I am aghast, myself or my peers would have never done this in lecture
I’ll always read & enjoy various continental philosophy but I’ve come to realize just how indebted to & fond of my classic analytic background I am. Hoping to cultivate an AOC in existentialism, but otherwise probably sticking to my roots moving forward
Thesis writing can be so frustrating. After three hours of writing I have several pages of a draft to show for it, but they’re *bad* pages 😭. I know it’s easier to edit than to produce from scratch, but man it’s discouraging sometimes
What is the point of assigning large quantities of reading if the idea is that students won't complete it? Would it not be more advantageous to reduce the load so students have a firmer grasp of the material?
1. We live in the best of all possible worlds
2. In the best of all worlds, Ohio wouldn’t exist
3. Ohio exists
Therefore, we don’t live in the best of all possible worlds. QED. 😂
(I’m joking, ignore me. Blowing off finals stress steam)
I know I want to stay in the academy to teach, and I know I want philosophy to be the most emphasized of these things. Yet, I’m becoming aware of how many options there truly are (most of them not great bets, but 😂) and it’s both freeing and TERRIFYING
Seeing a lot of ppl talking about how much they struggled in graduate logic, or that logic is why they aren’t in philosophy and like, maybe logic isn’t the problem? Maybe ppl who teach logic just objectively often don’t do it well?? Idk man
Heard my undergrad institution is more or less considering collapsing phl & other liberal arts majors into one Liberal Arts major and I… I called this awhile back when I was thinking about the pros & cons of the influx of interdisciplinary studies degrees I’ve been seeing (1)
Dear Profs,
I understand y’all are busy/have lives. I get you’re human and miss deadlines. Yet, if assignments are set up so that feedback from the last one is supposed to inform the current/future ones, please grade the old BEFORE the current is due.
Love,
Michael
@rbnmckenna86
A game show on Bojack Horseman called “Hollywoo Stars and Celebrities: What Do They Know? Do They Know Things?? Let's Find Out!” has always been a fun conceptualization for me. What do we know? Do we know things? Let’s find out! 😂
I was asked once if I had any philosophical examples beyond classic thought experiments and pop-culture references. The answer is NO. And honestly, I’m okay with that. The ivory-tower days of philosophy are behind us, and it’s okay to have a little fun 😤😂😎
With the White House announcement of $20,000 of loan forgiveness for Pell Grant recipients, this leaves me with only $2k of debt for undergrad. I have a huge weight off my shoulders, and this will allow me to feel more confident moving forward into my MA & beyond ❤️
This may be a naïve question, but as a first gen student, I have become aware that there seem to be unspoken norms that other academics just... know? I'm unsure if this is one such norm. If so, I want to know why
Thinking about parental love tonight. How can we know our parents love us? Parents talk about “loving a child” from the second they find out they’re having it, but what does that mean?
Can loving the idea of the child translate into loving the child itself? Why or why not?
After nana died, I stopped writing poetry. It was always a special bond between us, and when she died I felt a part of me as a poet died.
It’s been almost a year, but I’ve started writing again. I’ve never been great, and I’m rusty compared to what I used to be. But I’m writing
With the phl job market being what it is, is having two different MA’s perhaps a better ticket to a teaching gig (ie community college) than a PhD? (More versatile, etc?). Would love your thoughts philosophy Twitter & current profs
(2) I explicitly stated that I was concerned it could lead into “meaningless” degrees & continued destruction of departments.
On the flip side, it validates my conscience of interdisciplinary work if I don’t get into any philosophy PhD programs.
Stipend: $9k per year. Cost of rent: exactly $9k per year. 😥 So much for avoiding debt in grad school. Still have electric, gas, phone, car, internet, food, etc.
Ps No, I can’t work to supplement stipend per contact agreement.
Philosophers debating the virtue of chastity might be more meaningful & interesting if we took the time to address the issue of sexual misconduct in our profession first. Just a thought 🤷♂️
A risk of being an analytically trained philosopher engaging with highly emotive topics is you come across as a heartless bastard. Or maybe I just am heartless bastard. Let me know...
@saditious
I’m still unsure what lies on the other side of my PHL MA, but for this reason I’ve toyed with the idea of transitioning to culture studies for my PhD, then hiding out in a mass comm. or film department doing continental philosophy as a prof
(8) To end on a positive note, let’s all work together to protect knowledge & learning! Let’s be creative, and caring, and set aside these weird superiority complexes to assure our mutual survivals. We are in our fields to contribute to humanity, including each other!
Seeing more of my close friends leave philosophy for other academic fields, and do exceedingly well in gaining admissions to noteworthy programs in these alternate fields, is both heartwarming AND terrifying as the time draws closer for PhD app season
“The very wish to be right, down to its subtlest form of logical reflection, is an expression of the spirit of self-preservation which philosophy is precisely concerned to break down.”
- Theodor W. Adorno, from Minima Moralia
Finally caved and spent some time with chatGPT. My assessment is that while it could be a useful tool for generating a direction for an essay, it’s not sophisticated enough to produce an actual essay. I think this for a number of reasons. First, the language it uses was
Week 5 of the semester. Someone hangs a sign that says “please break down boxes”, with the “boxes” on a second line. Someone fails to break down boxes, and piles them in front of sign. Sign now says “please break down”, and I was happy to oblige 😭😂
@second_sailing
The Gay Science, The Myth of Sisyphus, A Sickness Unto Death, Leviathan, The Trouble With Being Born, The Denial of Death, One Dimensional Man, the Philosophical Investigations, and A View From Nowhere
Finally analytic philosophy is taking this seriously (beyond a fringe or a brief aside). The Oxford Handbook to Meaning in Life dropped last year & is an excellent place to begin!!