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Michael Gumbrell

259 to go

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So the exam is tomorrow, i am all revised out, and am ready to go, i downloaded the last 6 years of exam papers, i am doing questions/revision for Book 1 -The self, book 4- Knowledge and book 6 - political philosophy. Checking the questions from the previous six years, i can answer all the potential questions- apart from 2016 when then threw a cheeky- what does novak's public address thought experiment show- question.... That's is the only curve ball question i found. Just in case they do wish to drop a curve ball in this year, i have revised Thomas reid's major/general objection to Locke's position of personal identity.

So this is it, i have really despised this module, and tomorrow i will be finished with it and philosophy for good. I am happy about that and i hope i do myself justice in the exam.

GOOD LUCK to everyone tomorrow.... may the revision and remembering gods be with you... and may your work books fill with retained knowledge that is both relevant and answering of the questions asked of you.

As for the 20,000 views by tomorrow target, i am 259 short, and i cannot reasonably imagine many of you will be surfing blog posts tonight, when we still have revision to do.. so i think i will miss by a couple of hundred, not that 19,800 views is anything to sniff at.

So lets do the exam thing tomorrow, stay focused everyone and stay on target... and may your arguments be incisively inductive, unless you are doing Maths, Physics, Chemistry or Law, then let them be deductive... Piori and postpiori and all that......bloody Rene Descartes....

#bloodyA222

Permalink 2 comments (latest comment by Michael Gumbrell, Wednesday, 20 Jun 2018, 21:43)
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Michael Gumbrell

Finally TMA of A222

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Got my final TMA06 back.

The last essay of #bloodyA222...

I got 60%, so i end up with an OCAS of 60% for the module, so a grade 3 pass in O.U speak, or a 2:2 pass in normal undergraduate speak.

Just happy to be shot of this module in all honesty, it has been awful.

So just the exam to knock out and i can move onto the first economics module.

Lets hope the A222 exam goes okay.

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Michael Gumbrell

One week to go.

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So by this time next week, i will have done the exam.

Hopefully everyone's revision is going well.

I have one week left to pick up 600 blog views to hit my 20,000 target by the time i have finished the A222 exam.... here's hoping!!!!

Permalink 2 comments (latest comment by Michael Gumbrell, Tuesday, 29 May 2018, 20:33)
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Michael Gumbrell

No more philosophy tma's

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Well, my struggle is almost over... i wrote my tma6 this week and got it submitted... so only the exam in three weeks and thats philosophy done.

Philosophy done and never to be returned to.

I will have 2 economics and one more politics module to due.

So my philosophy exam is on Tuesday 5th of June 2018...and that will be my exact half way point... it will be 2 economics and one politics to the finish line.

So quote an emotional time... it is just a shame that at the moment the strongest emotion is contempt. I have little but contempt for this philosophy module... i can't say i have hated every moment of it... the first two weeks were okay ( probably because i had not worked out what was going on in those first two weeks) but after that initial period of grace, the contempt started to build.

I have the exam revision lecture tomorrow, so just stomach that and did the exam done and i will be free.

FREE... in the John Locke essence of ''natural freedom' or Berlins essence of ' negative freedom'?

Either way, to quote Bob Dylan....

" i shall be released "

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Michael Gumbrell

Final tma

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Time to write my final tma of this module. Then just the revision and i am out of it.

Happy days.

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Michael Gumbrell

New low score!!!!!

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#bloody A222.

Just got the mark back for tma 5. Which was about Descartes Dualism.

I set my own personal record for a low score.

I got 40%. So i passed, by the lowest possible mark.

One more tma to go and the exam and then i am done with bloody A222.

I cannot wait.

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Michael Gumbrell

Finishing line....

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So close...stay in attack formation....eyes on the prize..

Just political philosophy to go, the tma is on consent to political obligation as John Locke saw it. 2000 words will be hard, it is a quite thin topic to be writing the essay about. All idea's of consent, both actual and implied struggle if choice is not part of the process.. 

Then just the exam....and boom, #bloodyA222 will be behind me and i will never really have to return to Philosophical study again, which suits me, i have hated this module with contempt and will never return to the study of Philosophy again.  

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Michael Gumbrell

Dualism

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So lurching onto tMA 5 we go, Rene Descartes and the idea of dualism.

Is our mind a 'different' thing to our body.

Dualism, are they two distinctly separate things?

My response to the idea that we are two separate things, our bodies and mind is NO.

But that is too simple an answer for the TMA, so we need to have a deeper explanation of the NO.

So here we go, TMA 5 , so near the end and i will be so happy to be shot of this module...

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Michael Gumbrell

philosophy is hell

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following on form my previous blog post about studying philosophy being akin to Dante's seven circles of Hell,

i did start to make a few, what i thought were funny flash cards about that concept.

Here are the first three, i am not sure how funny they are, or relevant, but i made them anyway,


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Michael Gumbrell

slowing down with blogs

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i have really slowed down with my blogs lately.

Partly because A222 is nearing it's completion, and i have to just knuckle down and get it finished (never to be seen again)

Plus i don't feel like i have much to say at the moment, i think it is better not to just post rubbish for the sake of it.

My view counter passed 15,000 some time in the last three weeks, so thank you to everyone who has taken the time to view my blog.

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Michael Gumbrell

New philosophical lows...

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So my tma 4 scored 53. Lowest mark i have had throughout this module and the lowest of all my modules so far....


But the question is... do i double down?

My OCAS so far is s grade three pass. I can turn in two more tma's that hover around 50 and get a grade three pass.

I could not bother to do the last two tms's and drop to a grade 4 pass...

Then it all rides on the exam. Anything exam score over 40% for a grade 4 pass or over 55% for a grade three. I cannot see any possible way i could hit 70% or higher in the exam to jail a grade 2 pass.

This is all disappointing, the two modules before this one i have been in the 80-85% range...


So i wonder if i should play ball and submit the final 2 tma's, or should i not bother with them? Or even better, mis represent the next tma question into a sarcastic rant about how awful i have found this module and philosophy in general. 

I would love to hear what Simon thinks about my situation. Without his wise words i might have lost my rag with this module much sooner

So i cannot thank Simon Reed enough for his support and his wise perspective.

#bloodyA222 .


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Michael Gumbrell

Blog slowing down

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I have been a bit light with blog posts lately 

I think i have slowed down abit because i have decided it is better to only post when i hsve something relevant to  blog about, rather than just doing it for the sake of it.

Despite my slow down, my hit counter is clocking 14,000 views.

So thanks again to everyone who has visited my blog.

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Michael Gumbrell

tma 4

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Well i wrote 700 words for my TMa 4 last week, now i hate those 700 words, and so need to sit down and write anew.

#bloodya222.

Round and round it goes , this module is so frustrating....

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Michael Gumbrell

Online support group

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Having spoken to Simon, i am tempted to start an online support group for former philosophy module students.

It will focus on keeping a calm pragmatic mind set to what philosophy has shown us, i use the word 'shown' rather than 'taught' so that we can keep a light inductive air to the group.

There must be a section called ' my essay, my rules'

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Michael Gumbrell

So tired, tired of waiting..

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Still waiting for my tma 03 mark.

I am already 75% through book 4 already. I have already started the tma 4.

I have also downloaded the last 6 years of exam questions and put them into a matrix to inform my revision.

I have a question for simon reed. In your comment to the blog post below, you mentioned last years a222, book 3 tma question, which was different to this years book 3 tma question.

Do you remember all of the tma questions from a222 october 2017 to june 2017.

I would be really keen to know, i could put that info into my matrix to see the relationship between tma and exam questions... that would help my revision program greatly.

Permalink 4 comments (latest comment by Simon Reed, Sunday, 4 Feb 2018, 15:04)
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Michael Gumbrell

TMA 3

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So i finished TMA 3.

Thats 50% of the course complete.

Still hating every moment of it thou..

Permalink 1 comment (latest comment by Simon Reed, Wednesday, 24 Jan 2018, 19:24)
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Michael Gumbrell

Hitting half way

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I just have to write tma3 and i can move on to the next block.

Half way done.

I am pleased to be 50% done.

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Michael Gumbrell

Book 3 away

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So i have completed book 3, ethics.

Now i just have to return to chapter 2 and write the tma 3.

Hopefully i can write something in the 65-70% range.

One step closer to home...

#bloodya222.

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Michael Gumbrell

Simon was right.

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Simon Reed was right, of course.

Kant is much easier to process, as Simon put it, ' you are better off with a maxim. Gives clarity and something concrete to discuss, shame Kant is not part of this TMA.

Permalink 4 comments (latest comment by Michael Gumbrell, Monday, 8 Jan 2018, 07:57)
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Michael Gumbrell

Chapter 2 again

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Edited by Michael Gumbrell, Wednesday, 27 Dec 2017, 15:42
#bloodya222.

The block 3 tma question is similar to the last one in structure.

Once again it is all about chapter 2. It is a shame because you plow through 4 weeks of reading and work and only use 1 week of it.

I had a look ahead at all the other tma's and the same structure applies.

It might be possible to write all the tma's by only reading one chapter from each book.

That would leave you unstuck for the exam, however your ocas would be complete.

This is a very odd and off putting module.

I shall not miss it.

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Michael Gumbrell

Venue change.

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##bloodya222.

I attended the first tutorial. In Guildford, a 40 mile drive each way.

Not great, now i have a charmiess email telling me the venue is now changed to Farnborough.

Great that adds another 20 miles on each way. One hour each way.

The OU really can stick a222 up their online portal.

This module has been the worst i have ever studied, by a country mile... and i will have to drive 60 country miles in each direction to attend tutorials now...

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