Introduction-to-Philosophy-discussion-help-
Introduction-to-Philosophy-discussion-help-
Introductions and Questions
Introduce yourself. Besides including the “normal†things (like your name, major, and any previous experience with Philosophy), include at least one thing about yourself that would make you “memorable†to your classmates. Typically, the things that make us most memorable are the things that we, personally, would like to forget, like the time that your pants fell to your ankles while you were marching in a band during a half-time show during a football game that was being broadcast on live TV or if you went into labor and actually gave birth during a Sunday morning church service. Yes, I know people whom I will always remember because those things actually happened to them. It does not have to be embarrassing (although embarrassing things about other people are the ones we most quickly remember), but your “something†needs to be enough different from anything else that your classmates might mention, so that we can immediately know who you are and separate you from everyone else in class. And, by the way, everyone has a humiliating story about drinking too much and hugging a toilet all night, so you need something that makes you unique.
Next, originally, philosophers were interested in everything, and much of what the ancient Greek philosophers concerned themselves with would now be classified as physics, mathematics, sociology, chemistry, psychology, music theory, justice and the law, art, medicine, literary criticism, astronomy, geology, zoology, anthropology, biology, any other “-ology†that comes to mind, political science, grammar, economics (the Greek word for which translates into “household managementâ€), God(s), reality, knowledge, sports, how to think, and how to live. In other words, they were interested in everything! So, undoubtedly, something in that long list applies to some facet of your life (or major). Now that you know that Philosophy is not a small box, ask one question from any of those areas which you would most like answered—whether in this course or, at least, before you die. With some luck, someone here might even be able to answer your question!
