[tomtom]

Wow, what a great subject philosophy is! Does this mean you can write fuck all about fuck all, and relate said fuck all to some references by some old Greek and German dudes~~?

 

<edit> wish there was a sarcasm emoticon....

[adam_NE5]

It means you can think long thoughtful things about being unemployed-Bruce Lee.

The Monty Python clip is quality, might just hand that in, who wouldnt give that a high mark?

[slackline]

Wow, what a great subject philosophy is! Does this mean you can write fuck all about fuck all, and relate said fuck all to some references by some old Greek and German dudes~~?

 

You've not come across the Post Modern Generator before?

The most amusing thing was that journals were spoofed by Sokal (see also Wikipedia.  His book Fashoinable Nonsense has the excellent quote...

If the texts seem incomprehensible, it is for the excellent reason that they mean precisely nothing.

 

(Not knocking philosophy in general, understanding methods of how we obtain knowledge and so forth are worthy of investigation and consideration, but not too much as you need to get things done at the end of the day).

[slackline]

@adam_NE5 : I dare you to submit a thesis based on the Post Modern Generator! 

[adam_NE5]

Oh well if you dare me then I will have to do it 

Wow, what a great subject philosophy is! Does this mean you can write fuck all about fuck all, and relate said fuck all to some references by some old Greek and German dudes~~?

I am always intrigued by how much irrational hatred people have for philosophy!

[tomtom]

You've not come across the Post Modern Generator before?

Oh yes  I put a article generated by it on the notice board to rile the human geographers. Being a notice board no-one noticed it...

[tomtom]

Oh well if you dare me then I will have to do it 

Wow, what a great subject philosophy is! Does this mean you can write fuck all about fuck all, and relate said fuck all to some references by some old Greek and German dudes~~?

I am always intrigued by how much irrational hatred people have for philosophy!

Double dare 

[badong]

When asked what I do, I normally answer student. Not because I think it defines me but because I feel that is the purpose of the question.

[Sloper]

Wow, what a great subject philosophy is! Does this mean you can write fuck all about fuck all, and relate said fuck all to some references by some old Greek and German dudes~~?

 

<edit> wish there was a sarcasm emoticon....

Indeed you can if you want an ordinary degree (can you still get one).

[tomtom]

yes... we can still give them...

[Sloper]

Yeah, but they're called desmond's now 

[Ru]

Basically I was wondering if anyone would offer an opinion on which aspects of their lives they would put first when asked, do you classify yourself by your job or by the fact you are a climber?

I don't want to undermine your objectives, but I wonder if asking someone which aspect of their lives they would put first is really going to give a useful answer. I would expect that most people would give massively different answers in different circumstances. And what do you mean by "aspect"? What are you asking people to decide between? Climbing and eating for example? Or just climbing and work? In which case isn't asking virtually any climber going to yield an answer along the lines of "I want a job I can bear that pays me enough to have a reasonable standard of life and still go climbing to some greater or lesser extent"?  And if that's the case, what have you really learnt except some people like climbing more than others and different people have different definitions of a "reasonable standard of life"?

[tomtom]

Yeah, but they're called desmond's now 

If you pay us 3k a year for three years, have a pulse and are capable of writing 3000 words of spell checked rubbish on why rivers meander and you'll do... 

Teaching starts tomorrow...    Tonight I'm going to finish a couple of bottles of Riggwelter and puff on a monte-cristo to celebrate my last hours of freedom!!

[adam_NE5]

What are you asking people to decide between? Climbing and eating for example? Or just climbing and work?

this seems a bit facetious, basically the idea which I posted on here is a very basic skeletal idea, what I'm getting at is more about what people prioritise mentally, obviously nobody could realistically choose climbing over eating (at least not on a long term basis)  but rather what people feel that their life is aimed at!
I'm not trying to be deliberately argumentative though, thanks very much for your comments this dissertation is in its very early stages and Im just trying to collect some ideas, also its not so much about finding out something which I didnt know, I'm not looking for an epiphany of "oh shit 'x' is the reason for climbing" but just more of a consideration of the state of affairs, a hermenuetical rather than an empirical investigation.

[Sloper]

I still think you're setting yourself up for a third with that area of discussion.

[webbo]

what I'm getting at is more about what people prioritise mentally, obviously nobody could realistically choose climbing over eating 

people do this all the time.i think its called going on a diet.

[dobbin]

I'm more alarmed Adam, that you can be as strong as you are and not have climbed 8a! jesus!

I'd never say I was a climber. Unless I did it for a living, but I would never say I was a computer nerd either. As has been said before, it depends on the context in which I was being questioned.

I'm a gimp, i'm a pimp, a bitch and a donkey. (see you on sunday) (Rupert got a first in philosophy from Cambridge).

[Falling Down]

(Rupert got a first in philosophy from Cambridge).

[andy popp]

My point is discussing why climbing or any activity takes over your life isn't really, in my view a sufficiently broad or deep subject for an academic dissertation, I think it's a bit like what I did on my holidays.

Remember the point of the dissertation is to show your critical thinking and academic development, pick a subject that allows you to achieve this.

Personally, I'd say the topic is too broad and deep for an undergraduate dissertation.

How about a phenomenological exploration of climbing as lived experience? Relatively straightforward in methodological terms though perhaps tricky to execute well.

[account_inactive]

Does ethnography count as philosophy or just a social science? 

My professor earned his PhD by immersing himself in an Ultimate Frisbee team.  To demonstrate this he showed a video of a UF final (televised) where a family had set up a picnic in the middle of their game.  Obviously this raised many laughs

[mrjonathanr]

I've discussed this topic with Dave Thomas several times. My conclusion is........

Dave didn't have a conclusion that I understood.

 
Surely the discussion of identity has some difficulties of definition before you can get to the analysis... particularly because we all have multiple identities which will be in a state of flux depending on situation/interlocutor/weather/pre- or post- coffee in the morning.

As a psychological study you could explore the contextual variables quite freely I'd imagine. Whether it's all relative I wouldn't like to say, as there are some aspects of identity I'd think are more stable/enduring/of attachment.

FWIW I'd tend to say I'm a teacher if hob-nobbing socially or in a non-climbing context as that's what's usually expected, people being most commonly pigeon-holed by role in that way.
Ben F's post pretty well goes for me too though, as I'd say teaching was more transient than climbing for me. Then again I might just stop climbing , but I'll never stop being a parent...

However my missus would probably say my principal identity is a wanker for having the Grateful Dead blasting out of Spotify at this time in the morning.

[Wipey Why]

Snap! Philosophy was my under-grad degree. I won't try to offer advice in respect of topic etc seems like everyone else has already. Just pick something that interests you and you will still want to be writing about months from now (so probably a god choice with climbing)

[mrjonathanr]

Just pick something that interests .... so probably a god choice with climbing

Sounds suspiciously metaphysical to me.

[Wipey Why]

Just pick something that interests .... so probably a god choice with climbing

Sounds suspiciously metaphysical to me.

Possible Freudian slip. I did my 1st year at Leeds which is a heavily Theology influenced dept.

[adam_NE5]

It all worked out well with this topic and I got a First, whooooo! 

Too bad its in a degree that has no practical application, hey ho.