tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post113489086988787131..comments2023-10-29T10:32:36.914-04:00Comments on Philosophy, et cetera: 2005@Canterbury.ac.nzRichard Y Chappellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725218276285291235noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1135248417653346432005-12-22T05:46:00.000-05:002005-12-22T05:46:00.000-05:00hehe - I enjoyed this post - probably because I di...hehe - I enjoyed this post - probably because I did a number of the same courses while doing Phil and Psyc at Canterbury (95 to 00)<BR/><BR/>I did Phil 238 when it was still INCO 219 (very wide ranging stuff in those days, and I dare say Derek has developed his ideas on phil of biology some way since then). Bit of goss- Paul Russell was involved for one year in INCO 219 - he failed to turn up to one of the lectures! <BR/><BR/>My two fav psyc papers - I found there was lots of philosophically interesting studies from Psyc 209 that made their way back into my philosophy essays! Plus looking at perceptual illusions in darkened lecture theatres is quite fun. Shame Psyc 331 hasn't been offered for a few years - I found a background in philosophy of science and an understanding of Kant definitely helped.<BR/><BR/>Good to hear Doug is doing so well - not surprisingly he was top of our honours class - he's a clever guy! :)Joe Hendrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09004777030451582118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1135096016141589072005-12-20T11:26:00.000-05:002005-12-20T11:26:00.000-05:00Depends entirely on where/why your heading.General...Depends entirely on where/why your heading.<BR/><BR/>General advice if you are going into academic philosophy is to train in more than one place (I didn't and look now I'm employed as a bioethicist, either a chilling cautionary tale or... some small hope :)<BR/><BR/>If you stay in NZ then go to Auckland, its the only place with real credibility in the Leiter report. (Which I know shouldn't be important, but after the umptheen dozen time you explain at a conference, then you'll understand...) I should say I mean no respect to the faculty at Canty, wonderful people, but the international rep of your postgrad departments does count.<BR/><BR/>if to Auzzie (And why Auzzie?) then what do you want to specialise in?<BR/><BR/>Pick a department appropriate to that...<BR/><BR/>Happy to give further advice if you want.David Hunterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10511387997239132302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1135038982471329602005-12-19T19:36:00.000-05:002005-12-19T19:36:00.000-05:00Anon - you seem confused by my contingent numbers ...Anon - you seem confused by my <A HREF="http://pixnaps.blogspot.com/2005/12/contingent-numbers.html" REL="nofollow">contingent numbers</A> post. What we (allegedly) learn empirically is not first-order mathematical truths, but rather, the metaphysical fact that numbers <I>exist</I> (which Quineans say we learn because they are indispensible to science).<BR/><BR/>Alex, fair point that I'm not really the "intended audience", but nevertheless, I think my suggestions would benefit maths majors too. It's not really an issue of fundamentals vs. fun. It's an issue of learning vs. cramming.<BR/><BR/>David, that's funny, my dad actually was a maths teacher once upon a time.<BR/><BR/>Next year is not fully determined yet. Most likely a fourth undergrad year at Canty to get a 2nd degree, before heading to Oz (maybe Melbourne?) for honours. Alternative would be to ditch the double degree and get straight into honours, either here or elsewhere. Depends in part on which courses I most want to take. But any general advice is also welcome :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1134999960028133652005-12-19T08:46:00.000-05:002005-12-19T08:46:00.000-05:00Re: MathsI think courses are taught like that for ...Re: Maths<BR/>I think courses are taught like that for two reasons:<BR/>1) For 95% of the students, the course is there to show that the student is capable of learning /something/ - and for that it doesn't matter how interesting, relavant or applicable what you're learning is.<BR/>2) For the students going on to do maths, they can ponder the more interesting questions later: for now they need the fundamentals. (c.f. you don't teach kids at primary school why they should want to learn to read and write: you simply teach them and hope that they come to realise by themselves that it was worthwhile at a later date)<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, for the remaining 1% of students who take courses for interest, its not a good approach.<BR/><BR/>I guess what I'm saying is that you're in the unfortunate minority.<BR/><BR/>(I'm sure you could also make a comparison between Salem's Ass and philosophy type approach to learning)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1134995913963463082005-12-19T07:38:00.000-05:002005-12-19T07:38:00.000-05:00I've got it on good authority (Well my mums...) th...I've got it on good authority (Well my mums...) that more children of maths teachers study philosophy at university than maths...<BR/><BR/>Anyway what are your plans for next year?David Hunterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10511387997239132302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1134973806716819672005-12-19T01:30:00.000-05:002005-12-19T01:30:00.000-05:00"Utterly worthless"? A bit of an exaggeration. P..."Utterly worthless"? A bit of an exaggeration. Plenty of math students take these basic courses and manage to learn the material without filling their heads with worthless cockamamy philosophy like "math is empirical". There *is* a lot of material to cover, and time can't be wasted in navelgazing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1134930802526471252005-12-18T13:33:00.000-05:002005-12-18T13:33:00.000-05:00You're absolutely right about math. I'm convinced ...You're absolutely right about math. I'm convinced that poor teaching in math turns more students off than in any other subject. On the conceptual side of things, I find it also helps if you understand the historical background. Books like <I>Men of Mathematics</I> by E.T. Bell, <I>Journey Through Genius</I> by William Dunham, <I>Cantor's Paradise</I> by Mary Tiles, <I>Prime Obsession</I> by John Derbyshire, etc. make good suplemental reading because they provide context and really help bring the subject to life.Matt McIntoshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14268874489737727182noreply@blogger.com