Hello!

[the_antithesis]

I tried studying philosophy, but I just Kant.

[OctoberTrees]

I tried studying philosophy, but I just Kant.

Aha. Punny. ;)

[Fidel_Castronaut]

Welcome :)

Trees in October are my favourite, owing to the gorgeous brown and gold leaves.

Hope you stick around :)

[DunkleSeele]

Welcome, Kaytlin!

[Solitary]

Kant for the first one to study? He is really hard to understand, but rewarding when you do.  8-)  Solitary

[OctoberTrees]

Kant for the first one to study? He is really hard to understand, but rewarding when you do.  8-)  Solitary

It fit with my schedule best... There was a whole class on atheism that I really wanted to take, but I couldn't make it work. I took an ethics class last year and got somewhat of an introduction to Kant, so hopefully it isn't too terribly overwhelming!

[mykcob4]

Hmm, let's see where to start.
I'm a sophomore at Portland State University. Studying psychology, but taking several philosophy/ethics classes which seem to be really fascinating. I'll be taking a whole class on Kant this fall, so I look forward to that.
When I say "exploring all this" I don't necessarily mean exploring religion. I'm pretty confident in my stance as an atheist. I just know there is still an incredible amount of information that I have yet to figure out... so I'm hoping to meet other people who can help me grow in that way.

Ron Pope is my favorite artist and one of his songs is called "October Trees." That, combined with the fact that nothing beats trees in the Pacific Northwest during the fall, made me think it was a fitting username.

Thanks for being so welcoming all. :)

Thanks for the info and explainations. I don't know what could be interesting about religion unless you are a social anthropologist. All religions are born out of the same thing. The need for oppressors to control masses of people without being questioned. To exert authority with impunity. The followers of religions all have a need to be led. They are lost in some way. The only benefit that they get out of religion is that misery loves company and so it is the association that they seek.
All religious or "spiritual" people have been born into indoctrination (traditional brainwashing) or have come to a "faith" by way of a scam. The missionaries go to foriegn troubled lands and provide food, shelter, and various needs for those people, but they demand spiritual obedience. The catholic church has in the past been the most successful at this tactic. It doesn't provide immediate returns for said church, but in the long run it is the biggest ponzi scheme ever employeed. Now the mormons, and evangelicals have taken up the banner and run their own ponzi scheme called charity and mission.
Heres how it works. A mega-church creates a mission. That mission goes somewhere where people are in great need. They take supplies and convert the populace to their mythology. Back home they advertize that they are doing good works and collect money for the effort. Of course they skim off of the top and gain great wealth, but also they have insured that the people that they have helped are converted and will in the future provide even MORE wealth to that church, via slave labor, selling children for adoption and a number of criminal activities. It is clear explotation and a tax dodge.
Another HUGE criminal org is the church of scientology. So you see it isn't really interesting unless you want to investigate the crime or look into mass hysteria and mass hypnosis. It is at best racketteering. The mafia has nothing on organized churches.

[OctoberTrees]

All religious or "spiritual" people have been born into indoctrination (traditional brainwashing) or have come to a "faith" by way of a scam.

Oh, I'm all too familiar with that. My family is almost completely conservative Christians. You say I'm the black sheep... A proud moment for them is when their young children talk about prayer/religion/God or anything of the sort. It's so exciting to them, but really it's just a long line of children believing something because their parents told them to. Thankfully I met some people who challenged me to think for myself. :)

[Jason78]

I tried studying philosophy, but I just Kant.

I know Foucault about philosophy.