Death of Philosophy Forum

A follow up to another thread posted a while ago . . .

 

When I first signed up with PN, when I found out there was a philosophy forum, I was absolutely thrilled, primarily because I studied philosophy in college (both undergraduate and graduate). Unfortunately, I didn't do much in aesthetics and was hoping to learn more by participating in the forum.

 

Sad to say, with several exceptions, my hope was dashed primarily by two factors: threads having very little to do with photographic subject matter involving philosophy (or occasionally having little to do with philosophy per se), and too many posts that contained blatant or disguised ad hominems. Initially, I learned that perhaps I was overly sensitive and progressively have made attempts to toughen up.

 

Unfortunately, I found in the "Philosophy forum on life support" thread that the practice of hurling ad hominems is alive and well. I, for one, rarely visit this forum any more and will continue to do so.

I miss the more active Street Forum of a few years ago. The N/W Forum is not a satisfactory substitute.

I miss the more active Street Forum of a few years ago. The N/W Forum is not a satisfactory substitute.

I don't get enough "street" time or photos, living in a Rural area as I do, or I'd offer to help kick start things. Simply a matter of interested individuals stepping up, posting regularly and others contributing. I posted a batch the other day, there may still be a few among the shots from the Santa Fe trip, but there won't be more till I have the opportunity to spend time in a city with a camera again. Any kind of concerted effort could jump start things again. I'll certainly contribute when I can. It would certainly be nice to see Street work more often.

One lives one's death, one dies one's life. Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.”

Jean-Paul Sartre

How's it go?

 

To be or not to be.... Shakespeare

DoBe dobe do..... Sinatra

Jean-Paul Sartre

 

"Hell is other people." (Sartre)

"Hell is other people." (Sartre)

The quote is from No Exit, where three people sit in a waiting room for Hell, realizing that no torturer for eternity will come. It’s just the others. And it’s not that the other people are the hell, it’s that their gaze, which sees me objectively instead of subjectively, takes away my own lifeblood, which is that liberating subjectivity.

 

The Other has the power to freeze me into a being (objectify me) I am not.

 

Kind of how a lot of people react to having their picture taken. I don’t recognize or even like myself seen through your lens.

 

The philosophy of photography after all!

While Sandy is right that it just takes people contributing to revive a forum (be it the Street forum, be it this one), sometimes it's also OK to admit things ran their course. For me personally, this forum sure did. The "life support" thread referenced makes abundantly clear why.

While Sandy is right that it just takes people contributing to revive a forum (be it the Street forum, be it this one), sometimes it's also OK to admit things ran their course. For me personally, this forum sure did. The "life support" thread referenced makes abundantly clear why.

 

Wouter, I'm going to quote one of my favorite philosophers - Woody Allen. "What we have here is a dead shark,"

While Sandy is right that it just takes people contributing to revive a forum (be it the Street forum, be it this one), sometimes it's also OK to admit things ran their course. For me personally, this forum sure did. The "life support" thread referenced makes abundantly clear why.

The thing is, that’s happened in Street and in Casual as well. I think it’s the players who are responsible, not the forum. “Philosophy” ought not be held accountable for the worst instincts of a couple of bit players. At least when Wittgenstein and Popper came to blows it was actually over cogent philosophical argument and not just who could yell the loudest or who thought himself the bigger man.

I'm impressed, Gary. Wittgenstein and Popper . . .

Wouter, I'm going to quote one of my favorite philosophers

 

Prefer the dead parrot version.

Second GT’s comment.

Good sharp strong give and take conversation relies upon good sharp strong people willing to give and take.

People all have their weaknesses and strengths.

Gotta know when to walk away and come back later.

I’m better at Moving On than I used to be.

Comes with age, time constraints of mortality and all donchaknow.

Edited October 13, 2018 by Moving On

I think it’s the players who are responsible, not the forum. “Philosophy” ought not be held accountable for the worst instincts of a couple of bit players.

 

Sorry, but nowhere did I blame this forum as such. Nor do I try to tell anyone to stop contributing. I just state that for me, this forum has run its course. Note that I have been a very frequent contributor to this forum for years, and have seen both the good and bad of this forum. And caused some of that good and bad (well hopefully some good, for sure some bad).

 

Now, if all of a sudden a new rush of members jumps in to revive this forum, it can only be better for this site for sure as it will only widen its appeal. Just don't expect me to come along, and maybe that's all just for the better too. Unless the words in support of this forum remain limited to this thread, though, I fear that Michael's conclusion in the first post will turn out completely justified.

 

That all said, a bit on Monty Python makes everything better.

Sorry, but nowhere did I blame this forum as such.

I thought I was agreeing with you. By referencing the life support thread I thought you were calling attention to a case where a couple of guys had run amuck. That seemed to be part of why the forum was falling apart. I didn’t think you were necessarily blaming philosophy, I was the one choosing to emphasize that I don’t think philosophy is to blame as much as a population not very interested in philosophy or depth when it comes to photography. It’s very much about other things here now. Just notice what threads focus on in general, gear in particular. Clever visual puns in the No Words forum, a lot of postcard-like and family snap photography throughout the site. Deeper approaches to photography still exist. Just not too much here.

August 1, 2018.

 

Interesting......

Sorry, but it seems you misinterpreted the two sets of comments you quoted. Neither set involves a complaint. They simply state matters of fact. And, FYI, I did create threads in the Philosophy forum, and participated in many more.

Neither set involves a complaint.

“Sad to say . . . my hope was dashed”

 

“. . . hurling ad hominems is alive and well . . .”

 

These are complaints.

 

No reason to deny making complaints, if you feel they’re legitimate.

 

Again, I think the reason the Philosophy of Photography forum didn’t work are many, especially having to do with Philosophy of anything having little space in a more social networking and less serious or deep atmosphere.

Consider the amount of bad attitude and ad hominems in so many of the gear threads. Despite that, these types of threads continue to flourish. Why not Philosophy of Photography? Because it’s not what the population here wants. Now, if, on the other hand, philosophy could encompass pictures of our favorite camera or competitions about what the most tack sharp lens is or whether film is better than digital, maybe Philosophy of Photography could thrive here. :(

I'm not denying anything. The 2 items you quoted are not complaints at all. Here they are, as complaints. (1) (addressed to the Moderator) "Why can't threads in this forum be limited to those having philosophical content? (2) (addressed) to Glenn: it should be site policy to prohibit ad hominems in discussion forums.

Death is not just an end. It can be a beginning. When Nietzsche declared God to be dead, he didn’t mean literally that an entity known as God no longer existed. He meant the Enlightenment was something to reckon with and was moving us into the future, doing away with systems of government based on a divine right and instead yielding to governments respecting the rational consent of the governed. Physical laws now could hold more sway as science flourished.

 

A ‘dead” Philosophy forum could offer new possibilities. A “dead” Philosophy forum could spur the imagination and creative juices toward something even more photographically challenging and alive.

 

What?

 

Think.

No one said it was a declaration of victory. It was a recognition of the role of the Enlightenment in politics and science as a new beginning. Whether he liked it was not the point and whether you think it’s a good example is of no concern to me. My point is that we can use the so-called “death” of the Philosophy forum as an opportunity. I’m not surprised that point escaped you.

The subject of the forum is photography, not philosophy. I’ve said before that the forum should be renamed into something like ‘Theory & Practice of Photography’ or ‘Aesthetics of Photography’ to eliminate too much conflation with classic philosophy or philosophy in general. At least it used to be named Philosophy of Photography. Now it's just named Philosophy.

 

I also don’t see the purpose of specifically making a new thread here to complain about it when instead you could have made a thread with a subject that you would like to see discussed.

 

You don't have to see the purpose of my creating a new thread. I saw the purpose of doing so. This really is counterproductive.