Practical philosophy course

AmberAmber

Hello every one,
just started a practical philosophy course a few weeks ago.

just wonedring who else on here has done or started this course also.

just wanted to get others opinions on it ,

or what you thought you were going to study or learn before the course and what you are think you are learning now that you may have a few classes done.
thanks .

AmberAmber

any one at all done the course ? or heard any thing about it ?

Cannibal Ox

Previous thread...doesn't look that positive.

I'd say that if you want to do an introductory course in philosophy, you should see if any of your local colleges/universities run extramural or evening courses. I know UCD and Trinity both do evening classes.

AmberAmber

Thank you ! not far from what i was starting to think my self !!!

i am a very far distance form Dublin so wont partake in any of the options you suggested but thank you any how. I have paid up and have surrived 5 classes but this is more so due to some very open minded and educated other students in the class rather than the " course material" that we have to keep going back to .

I might last one or two more classes but it is rather different .

rebelle

Hi,

I'm doing the course in Cork and must say I love it. I'm in my 5th term at this stage. I'm sure it isn't Philosophy in the true sense of the word, as it says it is Practical Philosophy.

You should try to stick it out, you've paid for it! And like you said, you can learn from others in the class too.

Sardonicat

Hi OP, I strongly suggest that you read the previous thread on the topic.

Did 1 and a half "classes" and walked out.

Anyone with a respect for philosophy, "practical" or otherwise, would not respond to a question with a dismissive "doesn't matter", as was my experience. Bear this in mind when making your decision to stick with it or not.

All the best.

donutheadhomer

AmberAmber wrote: »

Hello every one,
just started a practical philosophy course a few weeks ago.

just wonedring who else on here has done or started this course also.

just wanted to get others opinions on it ,

or what you thought you were going to study or learn before the course and what you are think you are learning now that you may have a few classes done.
thanks .

Is there anything truly practical about philiosophy?

AmberAmber

well class 6 tonight !!! looking forward now to tonight !!! should be good , not for any particular reason , just cos i want it to be , i want to be able to contribute a bit more in class too , will try tonight .

AmberAmber

come to think of it , I do have difficulty with "true" & "right" , like the true and right thing to do, to do what a wise man would do ! but sure i could have worse problems than this !

Black Swan

AmberAmber wrote: »

come to think of it , I do have difficulty with "true" & "right" , like the true and right thing to do

Max Weber in Economy and Society shares the same concerns when he deliberates what is value rational. From a different perspective, Jacques Derrida in Points would caution us all about how dichotomies can be problematic. I wonder if this "practical philosophy course" will consider such points in a more "practical" vein?

magentas

I did that course in galway few years ago

well, I went to the 1st two classes anyway
wasn't exactly inspired

plus I was only about 20 everyone else was at least40 plus which didn't bother me I'd talk to the wall!

but they weren't the friendliest bunch, quite snobby and pretentious

it's quiet contradictory when you think about it..."practical" "philosophy"!

AmberAmber

Blue_Lagoon wrote: »

Max Weber in Economy and Society shares the same concerns when he deliberates what is value rational. From a different perspective, Jacques Derrida in Points would caution us all about how dichotomies can be problematic. I wonder if this "practical philosophy course" will consider such points in a more "practical" vein?

oh no need to woner any such points ,
because i will explain very simply .........
" we will get back to the material",

"dont get bogged down by any thing said in the material"
" we will just move along"

thats what you hear / or are told, I can just boil over when I hear this but sure its just the way the class is . we dont & were asked not to keep notes its all just listing and a bit of talking.

for all my time i am on here giving out about it i will still go and finish the class . i paid good money and i would not be the sort of person to walk away form much with out a job being done well or realy attempted.


so this is starting to become a blog on here for me i guess.

Cannibal Ox

What kind of stuff are they covering and how do they make it 'practical'?

EurasianBadger wrote:

Is there anything truly practical about philiosophy?

Very little...but I do think reading and "engaging" with philosophy will improve your capacity to critically evaluate an argument and to make logical and/or consistent arguments yourself. Which is kind of practically useful I think.

Puzzle35

I did up to level 3 of this course, there is no end to the levels/layers you can go through!

At first I was, like the OP, completely taken aback by the course content. I was expecting a kind of overview of philosophy and the great philosophers in history. Instead I got this "weird" semi religious doused with some of their very own "philosophy" course which included short meditations.

I think the meditations were probably what made me stick it out for the 3 courses. That plus curiosity as I after the first couple of classes I had googled them and was interested as to what would unfold having read the reviews.

As Amber stated,

"oh no need to woner any such points ,
because i will explain very simply .........
" we will get back to the material",

"dont get bogged down by any thing said in the material"
" we will just move along"

That sort of thing was bandied about a lot. Basically if you questioned anything that had been stated by the tutor, that is in essence what you were told.

A few point that I found odd about the place

Most of the tutors are lovely but they all work for nothing and don't get paid for taking the classes.

The head tutor is treated like some sort of God by all of the staff, some of the students, and most notably, himself:) He is a "charming" man, quite nice in some respects, but incredibly cutting to anyone who dares to question him in class. This could be entertaining or cringe worthy for the other students depending on how well he used humour. I personally felt embarrassed for some of the people as he at times passed very personal comments about them.

When you reach level 4 your are asked to contribute between 1 weeks and a months salary, (depending on what you earn I think). You then go through an initiation procedure, where you are brought into a room with the head guys, and some sort of ritual is performed. That is one of the reasons I decided to leave after level 3. Plus I was getting quite bored to be honest and had made my mind up about the place at that stage.

I do thing their advertising is very misleading. Most people including myself who started the course, felt as the op did.

They believe that illnesses are caused by things that you have done wrong in past lives, also disabilities. Come to think of it I actually never saw a disabled person there! also it is in an old building with an incredible amount of steps so would certainly not appear to be wheelchair friendly, I stand to be corrected on this though.

It is an incredibly secretive place and would in my opinion be a Cult / Religion rather than a philosophy school. If you for example asked somone on the higer level courses any questions regarding the school they simply refused to answer.

On saying all of the above I wouldn't activly discourage others from doing the course. There were a few "easily led" types and a few vulnerable people too who will probably be there forever but if you are fairly savvy and do a bit of research outside of the place you'll be fine, mad place all the same

Any questions OP or others just ask. I would also like to hear from someone who went past level 4 and then left or is still there.

AmberAmber

oh my oh my !!! that is some reply !!! I am delighted to read it !

its even more like what i am thinking as i go week after week .

I am sure by now there must be some of them now reading this page and sitting back in silence !!!

Fizzical

AmberAmber, come back! Did you finish the course? And what did you think?

I started the beginner's course after Christmas as it was recommended to me by a friend. The first two classes I found very woolly but the third really caught my imagination. I like how it makes me think about life/living from a different perspective. I'm a sceptic, though, and I'm not sure about where it's leading. I have also read some of the negative threads on Boards.

I do like how you are asked to put things into practice, and I was aware that it wasn't an introduction to general philosophy (thank God - had enough of that in college!). I'd love if it led to my drawing up my own philosophy of life....

AmberAmber

Hi !!! I am here alright ! glad I did not turn off my " follow " option on this tread !
well i did the course , only missed one glass but it was the one where they started the gunas and the 3 sorts of activity in any one situation , so have dificulty remembering the words for it , i found it difficult the following week back then to catch up on it but did more a less.
I realy enjoyed it ! i made it my own rather than being influnced by other peoples thoughts on it . yea i dont realy do the " practice" but take my own moments the sit and rest and take a moment of peace to gather my self so that is a major part of benifit to me.
i have even started part 2, i started part two 3 weeks ago and it was to give me as in part 1 some thing regular to do in my week , to give me a night class , but also give me a regular thing to do the same time every week .
I work in a job that starts very early in the morning and has a bit of shift about it, so would be on some times too . so a regular constant in my week is enjoyable if that makes sence to any one .

I do not plan to keep going on and on as this course can lead you on its path for years and years as far as i can make out form the course givers. 2 sessions will be plenty .

Fizzical

Thanks for that .

People do seem to enjoy it alright. It's just that sometimes it seems disjointed and it's hard to see where it's going.

I'll keep going so! Cheers.

AmberAmber

Yea its the group that will bring you along too. a few of us used to meet up for tea after too to just chat and unwind all the info of a calss . i enjoyed that too maybe a bit more than the calss. you get to know the group and be more comfortable to share and talk about your experiences in life.

Surion

Hi there, only chanced across this this evening! I've gone through level 1 & 2 last year, but missed a few as the year progressed, so returned there about 4 weeks ago, to level 1.

Can't argue, its not 'Philiosophy' but is philosophy (no capital!). I've really enjoyed the discourse and conversation and input from some seriously thoughtful fellow attendees. I couldn't fault it.

Its given me a wonderful way of looking at things, and thinking about them, using when other boardsies might call a 'rough' philosophical frame work. But it got me into reading more about actual Philosophy (caps back on there). So its serving a very good, positive purpose for me. Dont know what else to say, enjoyable and mind-opening. Isn't that a brilliant outcome?

BTW, I've no intentionso f sharing income etc, I pay the fee and enjoy attending/listening/participating; I'd never go that far. But for now, other than a seeming high 'middle-class' ness about the place and people there (no doubt the kids attending the school element too), I've thoroughly enjoyed the learning.

PPS - I'm a very sensible down to earth soul...can't imagine being sucked into a cult.

But facinated to hear of other attendees experiences, positive and critical.

Surion.

Tim Robbins

I did this course years ago. It's a messed up pseudo religion / cult. Not philosophy.

Philosophy is more about questioning and framing a logical argument. When I was there the head of the school Shane was adamant evolution was only a theory, women should only were dresses, people got cancer because they were selfish in their last life and didn't even know what the electo-magnetic wave spectrum was.

It took me about 10 weeks to see through the psycho babble.

All the place does is take some mystic nonsense and mix in with some ancient Greek buzzwords and then throws in its own crazy sh*t. Anytime he gets a tough question he wriggles his way out of it. He's pretty good at this.