Are Philosophy Forum former members students

I won't speak for the others, but I am a student in the sense that I am pursuing a BA. One year left. Then -- onto graduate school! Or not. Depends on being accepted, and funding.

I'm a former phorumer who's in high school

No offense but I seem to think some are like those young guys so intent in listening to their iPod that they don't notice the traffic.

I took philosophy because I was interested having read Ayn Rand in my teens and was curious about it but the professor hardly taught anything. I had to read the textbooks myself. He spent 3/4 of the time arguing about the existence of God with all the students who had various beliefs and which at that time I truly believed. Being unsure I never piped up. That course shattered my belief. I was not sure but I began reading the Bible because my other professor told me to read the Bible. It took me a year to read all 69 books, I think. Also, I bought a lot of the handbooks that helped interpret the crazy prophecies.

I like the mix of backgrounds and experiences the "phorumer"s bring to A2k.

Overall, a breath of fresh air in what had become a bit of a stale room.

I'm still reading it, still find it more interesting than not.. (I'm up to page 82).
I'm somewhat sympathetic to the protagonist's ongoing re-evaluation of his life, though I'm not sure how long my sympathy will last.

like being sympathetic to someone who has chronic pain? The whole time you are sympathetic but after a while it wears you down with the constant reminder of how their life sucks.

second year philosophy undergrad here. PhD plans in store.

Well, this fellow, a philologist, is gaining insights as he works out his questioning by learning about a mysterious author's life, so progress seems to be occurring. I'm still reading, p. 149.

Your professor hardly taught anything, or hardly taught anything about Ayn Rand? There is a difference. Now, I think that in all classes the student should eventually emerge knowing things he did not know before he went in. And in philosophy I am not a great fan of what is sometime called (or miscalled) "the Socratic Method" that is suppose to make you come up with answers by yourself, and the instructor is supposed be what Socrates called a "midwife". Just helping with the birth of new beliefs. That's because I don't believe there is enough in there to bring out. But some philosophy (especially) professors think it is an important part of their function to get students to think, and they try to stimulate them to do that. Some professors do go overboard and seem to think that is their only function and that they need not teach anything. As I have said, I don't agree with that. And maybe your professor was one one of those who went overboard. I don't know. But not teaching you about Rand does not indicate that.

I stopped being a fan of Rand by the time I got to this professor. It was a technical university so philosophy was a big thing at this campus.

Maybe I am being a bit too harsh as my own development at the same stage as many of the students was no different except I didn't know most of the PF members were students. I thought they were planted right wing ideologues in the guise as philosophy members. Don't worry knowing as I do I will not get too excited.

I do agree they bring a breath of fresh air. In nuroscience they say that at birth the baby brain has all the neurons connected to each other thus they can learn anything and any language. But as they grow older some of the connctions are pruned i.e.experience and learning reinforces certain paths and the less used just die away. So the brain becomes more specializedand the universality is lost. The universalitu created problems in a way as it slowed things down. Can you imagine a city with each house with a street running on every side. There would be so many streets.

How's it going? should I run out and buy the book yet?

I meant formal high school and undergraduate students. Of course there are mature people who will always be students as we are learning something every day.

This will sound tangential but I mean it as an analogy: in Venice, CA, there is an area of 'walk streets'. It is a grid of three blocks long, divided by actual streets running sort of north south. But in the other direction, the housing was divided only by alleys and sidewalks - alleys behind rows of house-lots, and concrete pathways between fronts of house lots. Lots of interconnection going on in that system.. even though the lots and the people who lived in them were differentiated. At least theoretically, this seems to me a more connecting pattern than usual street systems.

Quoting http://www.abbotkinneyrealestate.com/lifestyle_venice.html
"The Venice “walk streets” are another charming and well-preserved part of Venice’s past. Walk-street homes face each other with a sidewalk in between instead of a street, creating a car-free, pedestrian-friendly environment safe for kids, pets and all to enjoy."

I'm on p. 279, and am sure now that I'll finish the book. I'd carefully recommend it. I somewhat dread each page or pages that show the writing of the author, Prado, that the fellow is trying to work out things about himself by reading... as those pages are in italics. The dread falls away though (maybe it's italics fear, harder for my eyes to read, or maybe it's reluctance to have to think yet again) as each time, I get interested in Prado's writing.

Whether it would interest you, Gosh, I don't know you well enough to say.

In my case, the book cost me $1.99 at Goodwill, so it would have only meant that if it annoyed me, it would just go in my sack to donate back to Goodwill.

I still haven't read reviews, will do that after I finish and see how much of them I agree with.
I do know it's not going to get donated back to Goodwill anytime soon.