I’ve messaged a few ~philosophy tutors on Superprof recently with a message about how I’m currently doing a “learning to think” website (this website, learning about Socrates, the elenchus etc)
Hi [name]!
I think I'm probably a reasonably unusual case → I'm 28, I have an undergrad and master's degree, but I feel like I never really _learned how to think_, and didn't get a particularly good education.
A few years ago I "learned how to learn", and now I want to learn how to think.
So far, I've learned about the Socratic method (via Ward Farnsworth's book), and have made a "thinking in public" website (https://www.alexislearning.me/learning-to-think/).
However, I think I'd make a lot more progress with expert help! I can imagine an expert tutor would say, for example, "oh, you should definitely start with logic, ok your assignment for this week is xyz", etc.
I'm kind of imagining an aristocratic tutoring setup, to make up for lost time! (This has partially been spurred by starting reading John Stuart Mill's autobiography recently and being (perhaps wrongly) jealous of his childhood.
In addition to reading about Socrates, I've started reading Plato's "The Republic" recently, in addition to Gonzalez' "Dialectic and Dialogue: Plato's Practice of Philosophical Inquiry", recommended by John Vervaeke in his "After Socrates" youtube series (which is fantastic!)
I have my first free 30 minute call with a tutor in 1 hour, and another one tomorrow
I don’t think I really need to prep, because I’ve been on this “learning how to think” vibe for a bit now and have already been thinking about it a decent amount. But still, I could probably elucidate some clear questions to ask. Let’s think…
Questions
What might a "classical" or “ideal” education look like, that I would have missed out on, going to a normal school in England, and not doing a Liberal Arts degree?
That is, “what should I know, that I don’t know”
E.g., logic, rhetoric, philosophy
How has philosophy (etc) helped you? (Looking for participatory knowledge, not just propositional knowledge)
I think that’s pretty much it. “What do you think is the path, and, are you wise?”
Who I’m looking for
I’ve only messaged men who are ~40 or older
Superprof is mostly people in their 20s, I guess mostly people who are tutoring school kids, people doing GCSEs/A Levels, or undergrads
Whereas I want people who have e.g. read deeply, lived, have wisdom. I had a few people around my age message and I just don’t don’t trust them as much
I’m looking for role models who I'd respect, people who live ethical, principled lives. So really it’s like “do I respect you, would I want to be like you”
So e.g. I’m not just looking for someone who has loads of propositional knowledge about philosophy, I’m looking for someone who is living unusually well
What I’m looking for is wisdom
Also, needs to be <£40/hour, as I don’t have any income right now
Tutor 1 (today)
Profile
“My main areas of interest are Ethics, Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Religion, Plato, Kant, Wittgenstein, Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art.”
“The most important things are: a) for students to question their own current beliefs and what I say. b) to deepen understanding of the foundations.
Once you understand the foundations everything else becomes more straightforward. I explain things clearly and engage in plenty of discussion with students.”
Sounds…
Sounds awesome, honestly
A Plato specialist! Hell yeah. I’ve been on my Socrates kick