Thank you Toby! St. John’s was a wonderful experience. It was by far the best way one could study philosophy in the modern age. For those that are unfamiliar; St. John’s is a 4-year liberal arts college with a unique, ‘Great Books’ pedagogy. Essentially, students learn how to read and translate Ancient Greek and French. Then, over the course of our four years, we read the entire Western canon of philosophical works, in their unabridged form. Students discuss their readings through weekly seminars, with their peers and professors. Here’s the reading list, for those that are interested.
The St. John’s program is probably the only philosophy program where one still engages in the practice of the activity of philosophy, i.e. contemplation — as opposed to the mere scholarship and historiography of philosophy, i.e. “what did Aristotle write?”
My time there was able to substantively influence my own moral values and ethical understanding, and as I’m pursuing a more technical vocation (currently doing my MSc. in Applied Maths and working in biosecurity research!), I’m grateful to have had this background to help me navigate the process.
So anyways! Thank you for the kind welcome, Toby. I’ve been spending the past few days reading voraciously on the forum, and I hope to author my own post soon!
Thank you Toby! St. John’s was a wonderful experience. It was by far the best way one could study philosophy in the modern age. For those that are unfamiliar; St. John’s is a 4-year liberal arts college with a unique, ‘Great Books’ pedagogy. Essentially, students learn how to read and translate Ancient Greek and French. Then, over the course of our four years, we read the entire Western canon of philosophical works, in their unabridged form. Students discuss their readings through weekly seminars, with their peers and professors. Here’s the reading list, for those that are interested.
The St. John’s program is probably the only philosophy program where one still engages in the practice of the activity of philosophy, i.e. contemplation — as opposed to the mere scholarship and historiography of philosophy, i.e. “what did Aristotle write?”
My time there was able to substantively influence my own moral values and ethical understanding, and as I’m pursuing a more technical vocation (currently doing my MSc. in Applied Maths and working in biosecurity research!), I’m grateful to have had this background to help me navigate the process.
So anyways! Thank you for the kind welcome, Toby. I’ve been spending the past few days reading voraciously on the forum, and I hope to author my own post soon!
Looking forward to it!