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Michael Gumbrell

Procratination

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Must get my head down, re-read the book chapters.

Must do study, must not procrastinate.....

Oh look bake off is on tv, its quarter final week...


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Michael Gumbrell

Life changing

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I keep seeing lots of adverts on social media feeds which declare that OU study is 'life changing' despite my struggle with a222 so far this year, i do agree.

Study with the OU is life changing.

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Michael Gumbrell

Still clueless

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I am still clueless about what to write for the TMA.

I will just have to go over the relevant chapters again to see if anything pops into my head.

This philosophy module is very hard.

This year is going to be a struggle.

Whatever mark i get will have to be ground out.

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Michael Gumbrell

Tutorial

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The tutorial was okay.

I am still none the wiser sfter it 

Nice to catch up with Simon though 

I am still very confused though.

This year looks like being very hard work.

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Michael Gumbrell

Same boat?

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Are there any past or present A222 students who read this blog?

How are you coping with?

A. The huge amount of reading required?

B. The lack of resolution of topics.

C. Thought experiments, i get a bit overehelmed with all the potential positions, do you?

I am keen to hesr your input.

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Michael Gumbrell

Aarghhh

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Bloody A222. I thought the first tma was to ease you into the module.

Not the case with A222, it is confusing and difficult.

I will be paying close attention to the tutorial tomorrow.

I need to get me some clarity about this 'ease in' tma1.

I cannot even imagine how hard the rest of the module is.

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Michael Gumbrell

Personal identity as....confusion

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Okay personal identity.

Locke refuted physical identity as part of personal identity,

Locke decided that the continuity of memory is important to identity.

Locke decided we have a soul and it is a material thing.

But Hume...

Hume thinks we don't have continuity of memory as personal identity

The identity is made up of impressions (senses) and idea's (informed by senses)

Our identity is a mental stage that ideas and impressions float across like actors. 

Hume looked inside himself and could only detect ideas and impressions, hence he had no soul, he could only detect ideas and impressions. Hence the idea of a 'self' is only a fiction.

If I wrote my TMA1 today I would suggest that I agree with Hume, because when I look inside myself t the moment I just find confusion.

The self as confusion?

Now to wade through Taylor, lets hope Taylor proves insightful, because after that is Parfitt's bloody tele-transporter and that's not going to resolve anything!

'The self as confusion' so I must rely on the process of the study to see if it all becomes clear.

Perhaps Hume was right, my 'self' is the theatre that the ideas and senses play up, and only by having a organised process to make clear stage directions to those bloody ideas and impressions can I make a clear 'play' out of all of it.

The self as 'mental play- director, stage manager, orchestrator, lighting rigger, critic, actor, audience, in fact just the whole bloody theatre'.

So is, 'my self' just the auditorium that all the external impressions  and internal ideas perform in. The performance is a fiction, the theatre is not.

Can you quote Nick Hornby in TMA'S?

Rather than ponder so much about personal identity,

I could reference Hornby's 'about a boy'

'they say every man is an island!, fucking right, and if I am to be an island,

I will be I-fucking-biza, thank you very much'

 

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Michael Gumbrell

Personal identity

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I have to say, The first month of A222 is really challanging.

I cannot even begin to imagine how hard months four and five are.

I might not be the worlds most natural philosopher 

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Michael Gumbrell

First tutorial of the this module

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So Saturday is the first tutorial of this module. A222 exploring philosophy 

This year the tutorials are in Guildford.

It will be good to catch up with my cohorts from last year.

Looking forward to seeing Simon and Stephen again.

I might even get some insight into what ever the hell it is that the first A222 book has been on about.

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Michael Gumbrell

Activities

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You know you are in the first month of a new module when....

The book says....

'This activity should take 15 minutes'

And it takes you a full hour....

Oh well, slow and steady wins the race?

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Michael Gumbrell

Still stone age study.

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Edited by Michael Gumbrell, Monday, 9 Oct 2017, 17:26

8 year old A222 strikes again.

None of the forums work in a mobile format.

So i have to dig the lap top out to use A222's completely non interactive study planner just to read the forums.

Here i am currently on my mobile, blogging that my module planner will not work on a mobile.

And i am still getting charged full whack for it.

Come in A222, your time is well up.

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Michael Gumbrell

Tutorials

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Sorry i forgot to ask.

How are you all getting along with your new modules?

A222 has been much better organised than DD211 last year.

The module website does not open untill next week, but i already have a tutor and all my tutorials booked for this year.

Glad that is all organised, leaves me free to get on with all the reading...

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Michael Gumbrell

Stone age study

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Edited by Michael Gumbrell, Thursday, 21 Sep 2017, 18:40

Last year i did DD211. A brand new module last year. Only 2 books, all the audio materials online, interactive puzzles and very good 

Now i am on A222. Which is a 8 year old course. 6 books, 1 set book and 7 audio cd's.

The module website does virtually nothing.

It feels like i am studying in the stone age...

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