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TROPHY CASE


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Do you have to be familiar with most of Foucault's allusions to get something out of his work? by gatelessgatein philosophy

[–]biguhtree 1 point2 points ago

They can definitely be important for what he's attempting to do. If you open his books, I'll use the example of Discipline & Punish as it is his most popular, you'll find it littered with quotes by old philosophers, reformers, politicians, priests, principles, prison wardens (all/most of them being French, which is one of the caveats he states at the beginning of D&P). The purpose of these allusions, quotes and references all relate to his methodology. His career arcs over three slightly different, but all related, methodologies, chronologically they go: Archaeology, Genealogy, and Ethics.

The references are all what make Foucault part historian. Overall in his works he's asking the grand question of "Who are we now?". They are a very important structure in his arguments, as they are the sources for his arguments usually. This relates to his views on history as well. If you want some extra help on Foucualt, I'd recommend two things:

I) Look up his views on History, Archaeology, and Genealogy (Ethics isn't as important). These will help give you some context for his works.

II) If you're reading Madness & Civilization for enjoyment, then I'd recommend starting with Discipline & Punish or History of Sexuality, Vol. I for starters. I started him by reading The Order of Things. 90% of it was just woooooooooooshhhhhh

Also, I just began reading a great intro book on him called "The Philosophy of Foucault" by Todd May. You can find it on amazon for about $20-$30. Or if you can find the intro chapter online, read that. It really helps put things in prospective.

My gf entering a beach at sunset, in Koh Lanta, Thailand. [1060x1600] by Fearanin HumanPorn

[–]biguhtree 1 point2 points ago

Love Koh Lanta! One of the coolest places I stayed in Thailand. Didn't expect to go there too. My travel mate and I planned to hit the moon parties, but bad weather and high seas go us re-routed to Krabi and from there we hopped over to Koh Lanta and stayed in a cool hostel called "The Chill Out House" for 100 baht a night. The owner was a Thai man who did lots of over seas work for humanitarian organizations and with a Scottish friend of his created the hostel. The whole place was made of driftwood and they had a bunch of Corgis running around.

Definitely one of the hidden gems of Thailand. Glad to see a photo of it here!

One my most recent works. Just found myself with a ton of free time, so I'm gearing up to get my painting back in order. This is my jumping off point by earlymorninghousein Art

[–]biguhtree 1 point2 points ago

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Second I saw this I thought "Yup. New wallpaper." Awesome work. Definitely keep it up!

r/Music, what's an Artist that you fell in love with instantly? (After hearing one song) I'll start.. by ajleecein Music

[–]biguhtree 0 points1 point ago

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The National with "So Far Around the Bend" off of Dark Was The Night. Been a gigantic National fan ever since.

Alright /r/vinyl, let's see your autographs. I'll begin with Sonic Youth the eternal signed by the full band. by beerchefin vinyl

[–]biguhtree 4 points5 points ago

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Don't have a photo of it, but I got a copy of The National's Boxer signed by all members of the band last year. I was stoked, to say the least!

I really hope NHL 12 gets a little more difficult... by comproin hockey

[–]biguhtree 0 points1 point ago

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It seems every time you are either tied with a superstar computer or have a one goal lead (cause let's face it, how often are you up +2 against a superstar?) the computer has this unnatural ability to shelf the puck in such a clutch manner.

It's god damn annoying, but it always gets me riled up enough to play harder.

An invitation to post one of your favorite literary passages. by bloodswollengodin literature

[–]biguhtree 11 points12 points ago

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"I do not fear to be alone or to be spurned for another or to leave whatever I have to leave. And I am not afraid to make a mistake, even a great mistake, a lifelong mistake and perhaps as long as eternity too."

* James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,

Kesha offers fans free show tickets if they volunteer to feed the homeless and clean up rivers. by MFLUDERin Music

[–]biguhtree 3 points4 points ago

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I gotta say, despite all our feelings on her music (I'm sure the majority of us agree about the value of her music being... poor), this is still... pretty chill.

Gender Is Dead! Long Live Gender! by marquis_of_chaosin Foodforthought

[–]biguhtree 4 points5 points ago

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Anyone who's interested in this stuff should read Michel Foucaut's History of Sexuality and/or Ian Hacking Social Construction of What? Both deal with these ideas of socially and personally constructed identities. Foucault primarily deals with sexual identity while Hacking focuses a great deal on the identities that people who are labelled with mental disorder exhibit.

Philosophy vs Science, where do you draw the line? by chicken_chaserin askscience

[–]biguhtree 0 points1 point ago

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OP says that a lot of Philosophy makes use of the scientific method. An interesting point to bring up is that many Philosophers argue that there is no general scientific method. See Feyerabend's Against Method or, more recently, Steven Shapin's The Scientific Life: A Moral History of a Late Modern Vocation. Shapin in his book questions why we put science on such a high pedestal in terms of the authority it has about making statements about the world. I'll say right now that I'm not taking a skeptical stance and saying that scientists do not create any knowledge about the natural world when they do science, but we should be skeptical when people say that there is a general scientific method. A biochemist, botanist, physicists, and a behavioral psychologist all embody a scientific attitude, but their methodologies I'd argue are all completely different. Eg. The psychologist would probably use inference based tests that rely heavily on statistics while a physicist might use falsification or inference as their methodology. I think you'll find some philosophers, specifically the analytical ones, also have that scientific attitude.

So, where do they draw the line? There is no real line. It's probably not the best way to think about it. What can be said is that with the rise of the scientific attitude since the 17th century, many philosophers have taken a similar attitude when they do their philosophy. Bacon and Descartes are the obvious examples since they are essentially the progenitors of the scientific attitude. David would also be another example.

I hope that gave some insight into the question you're asking, chicken_chaser, because it's definitely an interesting one.

Going to be on a train later this week, and I am looking for some good introduction books on Human Sexuality and Political Systems. by IrritableSaladin booksuggestions

[–]biguhtree 1 point2 points ago

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Foucault's History of Sexuality is really very insightful. Although I will say that some of his rhetoric can be long and drawn out in some places, I found it hard to put down after I really got engaged in it. He also has a book on the history of the prison system called Discipline & Punish, which may alleviate your political itch.

Long time lurker with a question: what everyone's background? Do you all have PoS or technical degrees? by Neutrino86in PhilosophyofScience

[–]biguhtree 1 point2 points ago

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3rd year undergrad in Botany, hoping to go into Science and Technology Studies/Phil of Science for grad school.

"The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not." Michael Foucault quote by vladdionein literature

[–]biguhtree 1 point2 points ago

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One of my favourite Foucault quotes! Here's the long version for anyone interested:

"The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning. If you knew when you began a book what you would say at the end, do you think you would have the courage to write it? What is true for writing and for a love relationship is also true for life. The game is worthwhile insofar as we don't know what the end will be"

I want to read beautiful prose. by DogDayin books

[–]biguhtree 17 points18 points ago

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I would say anything by Vladimir Nabokov. The man has some fantastic prose despite the fact that English is his 4th language!. Lolita is a good place to start, but I'd also recommend Pale Fire, which is a bit more experimental of a novel, but it's very rewarding. The story in PF will definitely keep you hooked because it twists like no other.

What are your TOP THREE books you have ever read? Need some suggestions... by ToTheOceanin books

[–]biguhtree 1 point2 points ago

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  • Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
  • Franny and Zooey
  • The Stand

Michel Foucault, "What is Enlightenment?" by ashokin AcademicPhilosophy

[–]biguhtree 0 points1 point ago

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Was actually just about to post this essay, but glad to see someone else liked it enough to post it here. I didn't really get the part about Kant at the beginning when he talks about private and public use of reason, but I did like the part on Baudelaire and the very last part where he talks about his methodology of this "Historical ontology of ourselves."

The man, although dead, is still way beyond everyone else in his thinking.

DAE add random swear words to their study notes just to spice things up? by biguhtreein DoesAnybodyElse

[–]biguhtree[S] 4 points5 points ago

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Things only go up when you start doing it. I promise.

Time to read..but what? by napswithcatsin booksuggestions

[–]biguhtree 2 points3 points ago

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That helps a lot. Thanks for the update. If you enjoyed Kafka, I'd suggest some Albert Camus. "The Outsider/Stranger" (title depending on what translation you get), would be enjoyable. Also, Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" is some excellent science fiction, and it's the novel Blade Runner was based off of.

I'm sure you'll find something you'll like.

Time to read..but what? by napswithcatsin booksuggestions

[–]biguhtree 1 point2 points ago

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It's really hard to recommend anything just out of the blue. Tell us what your interests are and/or what you've read before and we can give you some recommendations.

In the spirit of our last regular season game I present you potentially the best final game of a season in recent memory. by UnderpantsKnomein canucks

[–]biguhtree 1 point2 points ago

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You couldn't have picked a better time to post this either. Brings back all the emotion when we went into the playoffs last year. Hard not to get pumped this year.

(Nearly) Free Books! Take them off my hands... by GobBluthJDin books

[–]biguhtree 1 point2 points ago

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Depending on shipping costs, I'd be down to take Notes From The Underground, Metamorphosis, Existentialism and Human Emotions, and your Plato. (Also, very eclectic selection of books you got. Nice to see a reader with varied interests.)

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