I imagine the Philphorum pholks would be interested in knowing which A2Kers frequent the philosophy threads:
Fresco is a thorough-going dualist whose gods are Wittgenstein, Heisenberg, Gurdjieff, and Fritjof Capra. Everything is observer-dependent, which
Fresco treats as a major revelation instead of the trivial truism that it really is. Although his interests are mainly in ontology and epistemology, he's always ready to toss in his tuppence, even if the thread has nothing to do with his favorite hobbyhorse of nondualism. On the other hand, I've always found
Fresco to be quite knowledgeable and his posts to be challenging and thought-provoking (albeit consistently wrong). Furthermore, he almost never engages in personal attacks, despite sometimes severe provocation.
JLNobody is another of the Buddhist, metaphysico-dualists, a member of
Fresco's amen corner (along with the long-since departed
twyvel).
JLN is, I believe, a retired educator whose interest in philosophy tends more toward the spiritual than the strictly philosophical, and he isn't terribly scrupulous about separating the two.
JLN is uniformly polite and good-natured, and he is genuinely interested in learning rather than arguing for argument's sake -- I consider him one of the good eggs here on A2K, even though his philosophical positions are uniformly incorrect.
I seem to recall that
Cyracuz is Norwegian or some other kind of imaginary creature. Interested primarily in metaphysics,
Cyracuz leans toward the Buddhist-nondualist side. Another one like
JLN who will ask big questions because
he wants to know the answers, not because he's interested in stirring the pot. I'd say that
existential potential is pretty similar, albeit not Norwegian.
Wandeljw is primarily interested in the philosophy of science. His hero is Karl Popper, as is evidenced by his signature line.
Wandel mostly contributes through links and C&Ps that tend to move the thread in the direction that the original poster intended, thus preventing or limiting the kinds of diversions that frequently derail these sorts of discussions. Despite being a White Sox fan, which suggests that he was dropped on his head repeatedly as a child, he is actually a pretty intelligent guy.
Thomas is a self-described "natural rights utilitarian." He's a physicist with wide-ranging interests, which makes him a
rara avis in terra indeed. You can find him in philosophy threads dealing mostly with science, ethics, religion, and law/politics. As is typical of Bavarians, he is a genial and merry fellow who is tenaciously persistent in his misguided beliefs.
ebrown p philosophical focus is primarily in demonstrating that atheists are somehow hypocrites. That puts him into religion and ethics threads, where he shows surprising lack of familiarity with either topic. He is, however, a fair debater and is, I think, actually open to opposing viewpoints.
The only thing you need to know about
hawkeye10 is that he doesn't want to have sex with children. He just wants to have the
right to have sex with children.
Occom Bill is our resident objectivist, although I haven't seen him post on any philosophical topics in a while. I'm not sure if he is a committed Randroid or if he's just one of those quasi-Nietzschean "gee it'd be swell to be one of them supermen" type of objectivists who read the
National Review and think that Glenn Beck "has some pretty solid ideas." Paradoxically, he is also a passionate defender of the defenseless, which can't be something he picked up from Rand.
dyslexia, in contrast, is our resident anarchist, which makes him far too much of a right-winger for my tastes.
Robert Gentel believes that most philosophical disagreements can be resolved with the judicious application of a sock filled with lugnuts. The human equivalent of that form of persuasion is
Frank Apisa, who we rarely see around these parts any more.
There are plenty of other people who contribute to philosophy threads but who show up less consistently. I'd add
Carbon System,
Rosborne979,
dlowan,
the pentacle queen,
Eorl -- I'm sure I'm missing quite a few others. And those are just the regulars -- we have plenty of new (pre-amalgamation) members who are making their presence known (e.g.
Litewave), as well as some old-timers who make occasionally make a comeback (e.g.
Centroles)
