Hi all!

Tell us a little about yourself.

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Ataraxia
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:48 pm

Hi all!

Post by Ataraxia »

Just wanted to introduce myself. I found many of the topics in this forum fascinating, and just joined.

As far as where I stand philosophically, I can't say there is any ONE position; I find that different philosophies work best for me for different circumstances. For example, when dealing with the death of a loved or some big setback in life, I find myself reading the stoics. When thinking about big life decisions, like career decisions, etc.... I find myself reading the existentialists. When trying to sort through some difficult moral dilemma, I find myself reading Isaiah Berlin. I think the postmodernists have some interesting insights, but feel that too much of that way of thinking can lead to some dangerous levels of relativism- in everything from ethics to science that I don't like. In fact, that's why I like many of the American pragmatists like Dewey. I think they provide a nice balance between anti-foundationalism without floundering in relativism and nihilism. I have more recently been particularly fascinated by Richard Rorty and his "neo-pragmatist" blending of American pragmatism, Wittgenstein, and postmodernism. But I am still wrestling with whether he is really adding that much to Dewey after all. It seems that Dewey had recognized and addressed a lot of the issues raised by postmodernists a few decades before it even became a thing.

Anyway, I look forward to meeting you all and discussing! :)
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