User:Treefingers1206: Difference between revisions
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'''Treefingers1206''' (sometimes '''WPGHSC,''' '''WillyPGuts,''' or '''WPG1206''' depending on mood and whether he wants to use something different) is the [[Wikipedia:Username | username]] of [[Wikipedia]] editor ''ME''. The username is a combination of the song "Treefingers" off of [[Radiohead]]'s album ''[[Kid A]]'' and the user's [[birthday]], [[December]] 6. |
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I first began editing in [[January]] [[2010]] and am currently familiarizing myself with the Wikipedia article editing platform and policies. This page, of course, is part of that effort and also a profile about me. I do not intend for this page to appear as a project in self-importance. |
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== About == |
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I was born at [[Lewis Gale Hospital]] in [[Salem, Virginia]] on December 6, [[1985]]. Although born in Salem, I grew up in [[Roanoke, Virginia]] and attended [[James Madison Middle School]] and [[Patrick Henry High School (Roanoke, Virginia) | Patrick Henry High School]], where I played [[lacrosse]] and participated in the school [[theatre]] program. I attended college at [[Hampden-Sydney College]] outside [[Farmville, Virginia]] and graduated in 2008 with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in [[Philosophy]]. I have since worked in [[economic development]] and [[social entrepreneurship]], and hope to pursue a [[Masters Degree]] in [[urban planning]]. I currently reside in [[New Hampshire]]. |
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I enjoy [[skiing]], a sport I was raised on. I also enjoy [[hiking]], [[biking]], and [[writing]]. I am fan of [[American football]] team the [[Dallas Cowboys]] and the [[NCAA | college]] sports teams of the [[Virginia Cavaliers]], the athletic program of the [[University of Virginia]], and [[Hampden-Sydney Tigers football#Athletics | Hampden-Sydney Tigers]]. I am also is an avid music fan; I play [[guitar]] and [[piano]], and have performed a handful of times ('''Note:''' I am not necessarily "good" at it, but who cares?). A few of my favorite artists include [[Radiohead]], [[REM]], [[The Pixies]], [[Belle and Sebastian]], [[Phish]], [[The Grateful Dead]], [[The Beatles]], and [[Bob Dylan]], and he enjoys [[bluegrass]], [[jazz]], and [[classical music]]. I have been to a bunch of concerts and seen Radiohead (3 times), Phish, [[The Flaming Lips]], [[The Disco Biscuits]], [[P. Diddy]], [[The Foo Fighters]], [[The Red Hot Chili Peppers]], [[Muse]], [[Stephen Malkmus]], and [[Wilco]], just to name a few. I also attended [[Bonnaroo]] and [[Langerado]]. |
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== Interests == |
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==== Urban Planning, Theory, and Economic Development ==== |
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I used to work for a nonprofit doing research on economic development in the [[Roanoke Region]], specifically with regard to [[intermodal transportation]] as well as regional development and economics. My current interests in urban planning and development include topics involving [[the creative class]], [[venture capital]] and [[innovation]] in cities, [[smart growth]] and contemporary [[urban design]], and [[social capital]], education, and [[social entrepreneurship]]. Ultimately, I hope to pursue a career in planning to develop strategies for small to mid-sized [[North American]], [[South American]], and [[European]] cities. |
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==== American Politics, Economy, and History ==== |
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I am political junkie, but I am ultimately interested in [[public policy]] on local, state, and federal government levels. I particularly follow current events in [[foreign policy]], the modern [[President of the United States | United States Presidency]], and topics in [[constitutional law]]. Specific topics I am interested in include (1) the history and current trends in the relationship between American religion, government, and culture; (2) the historical and current role of government in the national economy, as well as theoretical, ideological, and culture perspectives concerning the relationship between government and the economy; (3) the historical causes and philosophical influences of the [[American Revolution]]; and, (4) contemporary American political culture and ideology. |
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==== Philosophy ==== |
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I majored in philosophy in college and continue to read, write, and engage numerous topics such as those in [[political philosophy]], [[ethics]], [[philosophy of science]], [[philosophy of religion]], and the relationship between [[science and religion]]. |
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===== Political Philosophy ===== |
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Like all good students of philosophy, I was first introduced to the political philosophies of [[Plato]] (see '''[[The Republic]]''') and [[Aristotle]]. I try to engage and understand opposing schools of political philosophy, specifically [[Collectivism]] and [[Individualism]]. Some of the collectivist philosophy I find interesting includes the concept of the public or collective will, theories on the necessity of community, and theories on democracy and republicanism. A few of the thinkers I've read include Rousseau, Ardent, Plato, and Marx/Engels. But I am also fascinated by radical collectivism, such as communism, nationalism, and socialism, although I am a strong critic of radical collectivism, because it disregards the natural, individual self-interest of human beings. |
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I have also studied the theories of [[individualism]] and [[classical liberalism]]. My particular philosophical interests in these schools of thought are historical and contemporary theories of [[rights]], [[social contract theory]], and concerns in the relationship between individual [[freedom]] and the collective will. Like radical collectivism, I am also fascinated by radical individualism, such as radical [[libertarianism]] (a contemporary adaptation of [[classical liberalism]]) and [[anarcho-capitalism]] (a stateless political environment dictated entirely by individualist capitalism), and thinkers such as [[Milton Friedman]], [[Ayn Rand]], and [[Noam Chomsky]]. I am a strong critic of Rand, who in my opinion (and to put it simply) disregards the historical propensity of humans to form community, something she thinks is horrible because she believes all forms of community hinder our individual potential; in other words, I am critical of her work on [[Objectivism]] and [[Rational Self-Interest]]. |
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==== Ethics ==== |
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I'm a big fan of [[Immanuel Kant]], but I have also studed other schools of thought including [[Utilitarianism]], [[Rational Self-Interest]], [[Evolutionary Ethics]], and various theories of [[Christian Morality]]; notable thinkers of interest include [[John Stuart Mill]], [[David Hume]], [[Thomas Hobbes]], [[Baruch Spinoza]], [[Friedrich Nietzsche]], [[C.S. Lewis]], [[Thomas Aquinas]], [[Jeremy Bentham]], [[Thomas Henry Huxley]], [[Thomas Nagel]], [[Bertrand Russell]], [[Ayn Rand]], [[Arthur Schopenhauer]], and [[Peter Singer]]. |
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Some topics I am interested in include: Kant's [[Kingdom of Ends]] and the logical fallacy of a theistic moral foundation, evolution and ethics, relativism and moral progress, moral obligations of government and community, self-interest and altruism. |
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==== Philosophy of Science ==== |
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My interest in philosophy of science involves critiques of truth and knowledge, metaphysical naturalism, the philosophical implications of quantum mechanics (particularly Einstein's objection to QM being treated as anything more than a useful mathematical model, the theory of multiple worlds, determinism, and the conflict between QM and classical mechanics), and the relationship between observation, theory, and objective reality. Price is also a big fan of Thomas Kuhn and his groundbreaking work '''[[The Structure of Scientific Revolutions]]'''. |
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==== Philosophy of Religion ==== |
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My interest in the philosophy of religion particularly concerns topics and arguments related to supernaturalism, the existence of God and gods, the necessity of God, the characteristics of God, Free Will, and various philosophical implications in religion. |
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==== Topics in Science and Religion ==== |
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I have studied a great deal the philosophical conflicts between science and religion, including issues in evolution and ID creationism, god-of-the-gaps, young earth creationism, the scientific study of religion, and the historical relationship between the scientific and religious communities. |
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== Short List of Favorite Books == |
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* '''[[The Elegant Universe]]''' by [[Brian Greene]] |
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* '''God, Darwin, and the Devil: A Critique of Intelligent Design Theory''' by [[philosopher]] of [[science]] [[Niall Shanks]] |
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* '''The Second Civil War: How Extreme Partisanship Has Paralyzed Washington and Polarized America''' by [[Ronald Brownstein]] |
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* '''American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America''' by [[Chris Hedges]] |
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* '''The Birth of the Mind: How a Tiny Number of Genes Creates The Complexities of Human Thought''' by [[Gary Marcus]] |
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* '''Theories of Rights''' by [[Jeremy Waldron]] |
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* '''Creating the Kingdom of Ends''' by [[Christine Korsgaard]] |
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* '''An Inquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals''' by [[David Hume]] |
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* '''Philosophical Essays and Correspondence''' by [[Rene Descartes]] and compiled by Roger Ariew |
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* '''[[Leviathan (book) | Leviathan]]''' by [[Thomas Hobbes]] |
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* '''[[Night (novel) | Night]]''' by [[Elie Wiesel]] |
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* '''[[Second Treatise of Government]]''' by [[John Locke]] |
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* '''The War Lords''' by [[A.J.P. Taylor]] |
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* '''The Ethics, Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect, and Selected Letters''' by [[Baruch Spinoza]], translated by Samuel Shirley, edited by Seymour Feldman |
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* '''The Deconstitutionalization of America: The Forgotten Frailties of Democratic Rule''' by Roger Barrus |
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* '''[[The Phenomenology of the Spirit]]''' by [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]] |
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Revision as of 22:27, 31 August 2010
Hey.