Agreed. After a youthful interest in philosophy and a shelf full of works, I haven't engaged with it for some years. I've recently utilised Coursera to reacquaint myself with whistlestop tours of many themes. Lower level philosophy is also now taught in a very curated way to our children now, particularly through the misnamed Religious Studies subject at school;also PGSE. The 'thematic studies' portion which covers things like environmentalism, gender, equality, sexual identity etc seeking to equip them with a progressivism as rationalism mindset.
"Religious Studies" courses at sixth form level are very shallow. Their idea of critical thinking is memorising a list of arguments for each side on an issue.
True, it is undeniably so. But it does introduce some pupils to a thought world beyond, to an understanding that for the intellectually curious minority there are deeper waters ahead. For the rest, the topics - usually centred around class discussions, with Prevent reports lurking in the background - it solidifies the bounds of the permissible, the public moral spectrum that one is expected to assent to.
Post-thought. Also on that aforementioned platform there's a useful course in logic (Duke). It is free or certificate cost and is beneficial both in giving an order to your own thoughts and intuitions as well as in outlining the core argument of those that you're reading and engaging with. It won't likely help you win the internet in the battle of ideas (Haidt's elephant) but will provide some peace of mind.
Superb account. I came to philosophy through classical Greek and Latin. Talk about those subjects! In comparison to philosophy, they have no respect. But classical languages may be perfect introductions to philosophy. They were in my case.
Agreed. After a youthful interest in philosophy and a shelf full of works, I haven't engaged with it for some years. I've recently utilised Coursera to reacquaint myself with whistlestop tours of many themes. Lower level philosophy is also now taught in a very curated way to our children now, particularly through the misnamed Religious Studies subject at school;also PGSE. The 'thematic studies' portion which covers things like environmentalism, gender, equality, sexual identity etc seeking to equip them with a progressivism as rationalism mindset.
"Religious Studies" courses at sixth form level are very shallow. Their idea of critical thinking is memorising a list of arguments for each side on an issue.
True, it is undeniably so. But it does introduce some pupils to a thought world beyond, to an understanding that for the intellectually curious minority there are deeper waters ahead. For the rest, the topics - usually centred around class discussions, with Prevent reports lurking in the background - it solidifies the bounds of the permissible, the public moral spectrum that one is expected to assent to.
Post-thought. Also on that aforementioned platform there's a useful course in logic (Duke). It is free or certificate cost and is beneficial both in giving an order to your own thoughts and intuitions as well as in outlining the core argument of those that you're reading and engaging with. It won't likely help you win the internet in the battle of ideas (Haidt's elephant) but will provide some peace of mind.
Superb account. I came to philosophy through classical Greek and Latin. Talk about those subjects! In comparison to philosophy, they have no respect. But classical languages may be perfect introductions to philosophy. They were in my case.