From: nospam@example.net   
      
   On Sat, 25 Jan 2025, Ed Cryer wrote:   
      
   > D wrote:   
   >>   
   >>   
   >   
   > I studied "modern philosophy" at a well respected British university. It   
   > started with Descartes.   
   > I was struck by how many young men had written books, convinced that they'd   
   > somehow found new approaches or solutions to old problems.   
      
   Ahhh! I have exactly the same experience! Especially on discussion forums   
   for technologists. It is very common for some philosophical topic to come   
   up, and someone then comes up with an argument that is several 100 years   
   old, but the thing is, if you studied your philosophy you know where the   
   argument is going before it started.   
      
   The downside is that it might make me too fast at dismissing things, but   
   never have I discovered something new in those discussion thread, so the   
   upside is it does tend to save a bit of time. ;)   
      
   > George Berkeley and David Hume are my British favourites. Not to mention A.   
   > J. Ayer with his "Language, Truth, and Logic".   
      
   Hume is a Ninja! I looove his empiricism, and also, how his social   
   contract thoughts blossomed into the wonderful ethical branch of   
   contractarianism. Especially Narvessons version!   
      
   > But someone always came up with "This was handled by Plato in ..." In fact,   
   > Alfred North Whitehead went so far as to say that "The history of philosophy   
   > is no more than footnotes to Plato".   
   > I tend to agree.   
      
   I'm more into Aristotle, but I do understand the point.   
      
   > Ed   
   >   
      
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