newcomer

[Woody]

Hi all,

I'm a 44-year-old male resident of Toronto, Canada. I studied journalism for two years and philosophy part-time for two more years before dropping my last course in 1991 to take on a full-time job. I then had a flourishing career as a typist in typing pools until I suffered a mental breakdown in 2006 and went on disability benefits. In September I'll be going back to college as a third-year philosophy major, but it has been 18 years since I last studied and I'm very rusty. To prepare myself I'm watching the online Yale frosh lecture series on the philosophy of death at Academic Earth and treating it like school--commuting to the college library at 10 am every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to watch the lectures on my laptop, taking notes, doing the required reading, and attempting to get discussion going of issues the lecture series raises. So far I'm adjusting to being active again very nicely and the capacity to study is coming back. I'd have to suggest that my old belief is wrong: when you're out of school for 18 years your mind does _not_ ossify and you don't permanently lose the ability to learn.

In terms of biographica, I'm in a three-way relationship with two middle-aged American women, one of them transgendered, who are giving me the money to pay tuition. I run an online support forum for the chronically suicidal. I am currently staying with relatives, but not really living here because the conditions are like those of a bad flophouse. I also post on Online Philosophy Club and the Google group alt.philosophy. I got my subscription to Philosophy Today just this afternoon.

I've read the Welcome Message subforum and like the tone of this place. Hope to be posting more here soon.

Regards,

Woody
durwoodie@hushmail.com

[ala1993]

Hi Woodie! What were/are your philosophical interests?

[Woody]

Hi Woodie! What were/are your philosophical interests?

Because of my experience with other people's chronic suicidality, I have a strong interest in philosophy of mind and associated ethical issues. I also enjoy reading Plato and discussing his thought. Most of my old schooling is in the German thinkers (Kant through Nietzsche) but I no longer find them interesting. I have pretty much no knowledge of any philosophy done since Heidegger.

Woody
durwoodie@hushmail.com

[1804]

hi there,

I'm a depressive too (although trying to move on with my life). It's nice to meet a new philosophy afficionado in the forum

1804

[kake]

Hey woody, I would love to discuss philosophy of mind with you. May I send you messages?

[Woody]

Hey woody, I would love to discuss philosophy of mind with you. May I send you messages?

Sure! Or email me. But be warned that my knowledge of the subject right now is extremely basic.

Woody
durwoodie@hushmail.com

[Jack]

[quote="Woody"]I have pretty much no knowledge of any philosophy done since Heidegger. [/quote



You haven't missed much.

Jack

[ala1993]

Jack wrote

You haven't missed much

Gadamer, Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze, Adorno, Arendt, Lacan, Agamben.

(to name a few)

[duszek]

Hi Woody,
it´s only now that I discovered your introduction.

As to Jacques Lacan, I do not think that you have missed much.
A Frenchman accused him of doing accounts, reading newspapers, leaving the room for a couple of minutes while he was listening to a patient. But he never forgot to charge the patient for the session.

I hope you had more luck with your psychologists.