(We really need a word for a proponent of scientism, because "scientist" obviously isn't it). — Pfhorrest

"Scientologist"? No, that's not quite right....

Positivist.

(We really need a word for a proponent of scientism, because "scientist" obviously isn't it) — Pfhorrest

Realist? Non-hog-wash-ian? Educated? Jk :razz:

I had a philosophy class in high school and I don't feel like I came away from it with an understanding of what philosophy was at all, but that could have been because I was a dense scientism-ist at the time. — Pfhorrest

I think being a teenager as well as a total novice at anything at all, including philosophy, just means that in the intro courses lots and lots is going to be lost on you.

After I graduated from college, I worked for several years as a paraprofessional in the public school system (one-on-one with disabled students who may or may not be integrating into regular classrooms) and so basically retook a lot of school classes with my students. I kept thinking "Wait! I learned this before? Where the heck was I? If all students actually remembered all this stuff after school, everyone would be so smart!"

"Positivist" seems to fit, thanks.

(I remember the teacher of the class asking something like what's my philosophy, and I started to explain string theory to him, completely not getting what the question even was. A few years later, in a political science class my first year in college, I remember thinking that "my philosophy" was an ethical stance I had come up with that was basically utilitarianism though I'd never heard that word yet).

basically retook a lot of school classes with my students. I kept thinking "Wait! I learned this before? Where the heck was I? If all students actually remembered all this stuff after school, everyone would be so smart!" — Artemis

I remember having a similar thought after re-learning some basic grammar concepts (like subjects and objects of sentences, predicates, etc) incidental to learning logic as I started to study philosophy, though in my case it was more that memories of having studied these topics in elementary school came back to me as I learned them anew, and I was shocked to remember that something like this was being taught in elementary school.

I think an offshoot of that thought process was how I came to the conclusion that basic propositional logic should be taught in junior high alongside elementary algebra, since they use a lot of the same mental skills. I literally exclaimed out loud, upon seeing propositional logic for the first time in my first English class at college, "it's like algebra with words!"

Surprised to see that even three months later there's not a single person with an associate's degree here.

Selt-taught but 16 years.

One senior level college course, taken before the time of the dinosaurs.

A PhD in math, during the time of the dinosaurs.

Out to pasture, now. :cool: