Prospective PhD Student

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v83
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Prospective PhD Student

Post by v83 »

Hi,

Good to meet some other philosophers. I've just finished studying my MA in Philosophy and am hoping to go on to study the subject at PhD level. Obviously this requires a research proposal - two areas of interest are metaphysics and philosophy of mind, but I'm really not sure how to go about researching and deciding on a topic. It just seems like looking for a needle in a haystack! Is it just a case of doing stacks of reading until an idea just "clicks"? Has anyone else completed a philosophy PhD and would recommend it? Or has any advice about how to go about researching a proposed topic?

Thanks so much
V83
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Bill Wiltrack
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Re: Prospective PhD Student

Post by Bill Wiltrack »

.





Don't wait for an idea that just "clicks."

Take advice from someone who's life is centered around philosophy. Someone who has lived philosophy. Someone you can trust. Someone like me.


And I say, do your thesis upon something that involves the study of consciousness. Then apply your own interests, like metaphysics, in relationship to the study of consciousness.

Get high, then articulate your thesis proposal.

You're welcome.







.
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Harbal
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Re: Prospective PhD Student

Post by Harbal »

Bill Wiltrack wrote:.
Someone like me.
.
Anyone who's come across you is hardly likely to go looking for someone else like you.
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Bill Wiltrack
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Re: Prospective PhD Student

Post by Bill Wiltrack »

.





.......................................
Yeah. I know. There's only one of me. Thank you for the respect.





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Harbal
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Re: Prospective PhD Student

Post by Harbal »

Bill Wiltrack wrote:.


.......................................
Thank you for the respect.

.
Don't mention it.
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Immanuel Can
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Re: Prospective PhD Student

Post by Immanuel Can »

v83 wrote:Hi,

Good to meet some other philosophers. I've just finished studying my MA in Philosophy and am hoping to go on to study the subject at PhD level. Obviously this requires a research proposal - two areas of interest are metaphysics and philosophy of mind, but I'm really not sure how to go about researching and deciding on a topic. It just seems like looking for a needle in a haystack! Is it just a case of doing stacks of reading until an idea just "clicks"? Has anyone else completed a philosophy PhD and would recommend it? Or has any advice about how to go about researching a proposed topic?

Thanks so much
V83
Where's your mind already working most of the time? What are you already finding yourself passionate about? Why did you choose philosophy? What kind of questions do you ask in your more reflective private moments? What do you argue about with friends and fellow students? What differences do you look to philosophy to make in your life?

These are good sorts of questions to be asking yourself. You'll need a lot of intense interest to keep yourself going, so you don't want to choose something that is just technically a "good topic," but fails to inspire industry and a sense of fulfillment in you. You want to start off with a great store of your own enthusiasm for your topic.
uwot
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Re: Prospective PhD Student

Post by uwot »

One way to narrow it down is to look at the bodies that are offering bursaries or funding; they will sometimes say exactly what they are looking for. It's generally something dry, but with a bit of imagination, it can usually be tweaked into some interesting shape.
v83
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Re: Prospective PhD Student

Post by v83 »

Bill Wiltrack wrote:.

And I say, do your thesis upon something that involves the study of consciousness. Then apply your own interests, like metaphysics, in relationship to the study of consciousness.

.
Thanks Bill - I have been considering consciousness as an interesting topic for quite a while. I'm also really interested in ancient philosophy, would be great to find a way to connect these two. Otherwise metaphysics is a good link, as that's another area of interest.
v83
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Re: Prospective PhD Student

Post by v83 »

Immanuel Can wrote:
v83 wrote:Hi,


Where's your mind already working most of the time? What are you already finding yourself passionate about? Why did you choose philosophy? What kind of questions do you ask in your more reflective private moments? What do you argue about with friends and fellow students? What differences do you look to philosophy to make in your life?

These are good sorts of questions to be asking yourself. You'll need a lot of intense interest to keep yourself going, so you don't want to choose something that is just technically a "good topic," but fails to inspire industry and a sense of fulfillment in you. You want to start off with a great store of your own enthusiasm for your topic.
Thanks. I'm interested in a wide variety of things - that's the issue. Personal identity and the nature of consciousness are two that are definitely on my mind quite a bit of the time.
v83
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Re: Prospective PhD Student

Post by v83 »

Also - do I need to come up with something startlingly original i.e. my own take on the nature of consciousness etc.?! Or is it just providing an original take on a specific argument / philosopher?
v83
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Re: Prospective PhD Student

Post by v83 »

uwot wrote:One way to narrow it down is to look at the bodies that are offering bursaries or funding; they will sometimes say exactly what they are looking for. It's generally something dry, but with a bit of imagination, it can usually be tweaked into some interesting shape.
Thanks, will take a look.
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Immanuel Can
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Re: Prospective PhD Student

Post by Immanuel Can »

v83 wrote:Thanks. I'm interested in a wide variety of things - that's the issue. Personal identity and the nature of consciousness are two that are definitely on my mind quite a bit of the time.
Pick one. Do only that.

Remember that your PhD work, if successful, is not your entire career. There will be may questions and issues that will be explored later on.

I can give you only this strong advice: keep your thesis topic down to size. Get something you know is doable in around 120 pages or so, whatever your advisor stipulates. Then just do that little piece very, very well. Your problem will not be finding a big enough topic; it will be keeping it down to doable size. Focus on that, and you might get through.

So it's a highly-motivating, small-enough topic you want.
do I need to come up with something startlingly original i.e. my own take on the nature of consciousness etc.?!
No. The originality will come for you, if you just do a good review of the state of the field at the start. Right now, you want to be locating everything important that is relevant to your topic and reading it, making journals and notes on your thoughts about it. Your "big idea" will emerge from that process. You couldn't possibly have your original insight right now -- not unless you've already done all the reading. After all, how do you know but that your "original" idea is already "out there," done by someone else, unless you read the field?
v83
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Re: Prospective PhD Student

Post by v83 »

Immanuel Can wrote:
do I need to come up with something startlingly original i.e. my own take on the nature of consciousness etc.?!
No. The originality will come for you, if you just do a good review of the state of the field at the start. Right now, you want to be locating everything important that is relevant to your topic and reading it, making journals and notes on your thoughts about it. Your "big idea" will emerge from that process. You couldn't possibly have your original insight right now -- not unless you've already done all the reading. After all, how do you know but that your "original" idea is already "out there," done by someone else, unless you read the field?
Thanks, that's good to know. I'm going to start reading an overview of arguments relating to consciousness and progress from there.

So from my understanding, the idea is to narrow it down to one particular theory or argument relating to consciousness and scrutinise and analyse that, as opposed to focusing on various aspects? It's a shame as the latter would be more interesting.

Thanks for your advice
Belinda
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Re: Prospective PhD Student

Post by Belinda »

Choose your criterion.

1. God told me what to write about.

2. I am mostly interested in (whatever)

3. Present social needs are such that I ought to write about (whatever)

4. I will serve my own needs best if I write what might be accepted by a publisher.

5. I will suck up to Professor X and write about her special interest and quote her a lot.
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Immanuel Can
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Re: Prospective PhD Student

Post by Immanuel Can »

v83 wrote:So from my understanding, the idea is to narrow it down to one particular theory or argument relating to consciousness and scrutinise and analyse that, as opposed to focusing on various aspects? It's a shame as the latter would be more interesting.
I'd say that the first thing you need is a "helicopter view" of the field...so whatever the most important writers have recently said about, say, consciousness, if that's what you are interested in. Read, read, read. See what terms they use (like "the Hard Problem," for example, or "the Mind-Brain Issue," and what theories they always seem to refer to in making their points, like Nagel or Ryle, or whomever). Read those authors whose stuff keeps appearing, and highlight / make notes in your copies (this will help you a great deal later). As you continue to read, you'll notice a particular sub-problem that perhaps few of them are fully pursuing, or that they are pursuing it without solving it. If it interests you, start focusing down on that particular sub-problem.

The key is not to try to "solve the whole field." That would not only be the work of a lifetime, it may well be far too big for any single lifetime. Instead, be happy to make any significant progress on one sub-area or lesser question, since that will be doable in the length you need. Then spend the rest of your life working on the rest, but DON'T DO IT NOW. :shock:

Yes, solving all the world's problems would be more interesting. But if you try, I assure you that all you'll do is that you'll end up frustrating your own hopes of getting through your thesis, and you'll join the large number of people who end up quitting or going "ABD" for the rest of life. Working on that "more interesting" kind of problem is your future; the now is getting a smaller job done.

Trust me, and you'll get through this. Go the other way and...well, it never works.

Best wishes for every success. Just remember, some people DO get through. :D Stay positive.
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