u/Dependent_Bug_6778

Sorry if this is a stupid question or easily searchable

I’m trying to fully understand Marx’s idea of religion as an opium, and the rest of his views about religion in his critique on Hegel’s philosophy of right, so I was wondering if a correct interpretation of his views would be to say that religion is irrational / there is no rational basis for forming religious beliefs, it is just a result of the oppression of capitalism?

I’m VERY new to Hegel (didn’t know who he was until like a week ago) and I’m really struggling to understand what exactly his views were on Indians and why he had them. My reading comprehension sucks so this is probably a silly question, the text I’m about to post is probably really self explanatory but I can’t understand it at all lol.

“Firstly, Bauer draws explicitly on the reality-distorting effects of opium consumption: the idea of the Christian after-world is construed on the basis of an opium vision. Hegel, on the other hand, seems to imply that the beliefs of Indian culture are natural underpinnings of the early state of the development of the world spirit. Secondly, Bauer and Hegel take different points of departure. Hegel views Indian culture as enmeshed in the sensuous and without means to separate between nature and spirit - according to Hegel, Indian culture has to be overcome.” … “According to Bauer, Christianity leaps into the opium frenzy of a dreamed-up world to cover its destructive deeds whereas Hegel describes Indian culture behaving as though it was a desolate man craving the delirious bliss of opium addiction. Hegel's image of Indian opium addiction is passive whereas Bauer's image of Christian opium use is active.” (Religion is the Opium of the People by E.O. Pedersen, page 365-366)

What exactly about Indian culture is it that he dislikes so much? I’m assuming when he talks about Indian culture he’s talking about Hinduism but I don’t understand what he’s getting at. What is meant by “enmeshed in the sensuous and without means to separate between nature and spirit”? (Sorry for using the thesis, antithesis, synthesis thing) but is he saying that Indian culture forces India to remain in the “antithesis” stage, and is unable to advance because of its beliefs? Is that why he thinks it needs to be “overcome”?

I’m genuinely so lost, I’m guessing it’s because I don’t really understand his idea of spirit 😭 Is there anywhere (or anyone) that could provide a simple explanation of what his qualms are with Indian culture and how this relates to the rest of his philosophical views? 🫠

Sorry, I know this is a stupid question. I’m absolutely rubbish at philosophy and relatively new to studying it.

I feel like I’ve completely misunderstood what philosophy of religion is, and how it compares to theology. What I originally thought was that it looked at things like the existence of God, the problem of evil and the relations between religion and culture from a philosophical point of view, and that theology did the same thing but from a religious point of view.

Can someone explain what the *goal of philosophy of religion is* or suggest a good beginner’s resource to use?

I wasn’t born here, I’m not genetically Welsh and I unfortunately don’t really speak the language (I live in South Wales so only learned it up to GCSE).

But, I was brought here when I was 2 so my first memories are in Wales, the only language I speak is English, and all I’ve ever known was living here. I also have a pretty unique family situation where I didn’t grow up around any other cultures (so I only know Welsh/British culture) and if I went back to the county I was born in, which I could never do as I don’t speak the language, I wouldn’t even fit in because of my race - it’s a pretty racist country. Sometimes, I feel like I’m from nowhere, like I’m out of place wherever I am.

The recent election has made me question what my answer would even be to that question. I don’t want to upset anyone by calling myself Welsh/saying that I’m from Wales if people here didn’t consider me to be. Then again, I literally have no idea what I would be or where I would be from if I wasn’t from Wales.

I was asked whether I consider myself to be Welsh or British or something else before the election and at the time I didn’t know how to answer. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. I’m considering going to England for uni soon and was wondering what I would say if I was asked where I’m from when I go there.

TL;DR: Can I say I’m from Wales if I grew up here for most of my life, but don’t speak Welsh and wasn’t born here? (Sorry if this is a stupid question and the answer is no)

Edit: Thank you to everyone who replied - feeling very Welsh! I genuinely love living here and calling this country home, just wanted to make sure it was ok 😊🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Will similar or worse heatwaves occur in July and August??

If so, is it worth buying an AC?

i’ve just finished my Y12/AS resit (with external/real exams) - which universities would i have a good chance of getting into for PPE?

stats:
- eligible for contextual offers
- 10A* 2A at gcse
- BBD at AS last year (maths (a in pure, e in applied 💀), history, chem
- i did AS politics, maths and further maths this year and will do these at A2 + philosophy (linear) next year
- hoping for BAB, BBB or AAC this year (not very specific ik)

currently considering:
- bath pol+econ (reduced offer from pathways to bath but they don’t offer ppe)
- reading ppe (kinda mid course structure and they only do BA not BSc)
- exeter ppe (did exeter scholars last year but not sure if my reduced offer expired + the place seems kinda depressing)
- warwick/durham ppe if i somehow manage to get good grades this year

any advice or other suggestions?

Hi, I’m a college student living in the area and was looking for somewhere to revise for my A Levels over the summer. Am I allowed to use the library without being a student, and are the opening hours the same as usual?

Also, does the library provide wifi? My college uses eduroam, is it possible to use that to connect to the library wifi?

Thanks :)

i really struggle with reading so i don’t have as much ‘additional’ knowledge as the rest of my classmates do, but it’s getting to a point where i always feel like the stupidest person in the room in all of my humanities subjects.

everyone is extremely knowledgeable in some way. whether it’s directly related to the topic we’re learning about, or extra info about new developments being made in the subject (outside of what’s required by the spec), everyone knows something interesting or has an interesting point of view to share, except for me.

an easy fix for this would probably be to read more and explore more outside of lessons, but i still have the feeling that no matter what i do, i’ll never match the level that the rest of my classmates are performing at

i’m actually so embarrassed to even be dealing with this and i have nobody to talk to about it so i’m venting about it here

i retook y12 because of my mental health and ended up moving to a different school, so literally all i’ve been trying to do this year is put my head down, get the grades i need and finally move on to uni - avoiding drama.

but now at the big age of almost 18 im being made fun of by 16 year olds (not abt my age), and over a school monitored messaging app too 😭😭

im actually tired bro, please tell me if anyone else has dealt with this and if it gets better eventually. i cant even do anything about it because it’s subtle bullying and also i’m genuinely embarrassed that this is even happening, i wouldnt be able to bring myself to report it or anything even if i could.

like i dont want drama i just want to get my grades and move on bro leave me alone 😭

i’m 17 and i’ve just been referred to CAMHS (not sure exactly what for but i think adhd assessment??), but i’m turning 18 soon.

am i going to age out of CAMHS before i get an assessment??

idk what stage of the process i’m at but basically i had a support worker refer me to CAMHS after completing a 30 min questionnaire with her, they’ve emailed my mum to ask her to complete a questionnaire abt me and asked for a tutor from my college to complete a questionnaire abt my education.

if i do age out, will i get transferred to adult mental health services or do i have to start the whole process again???

How did everyone find the paper?

how did everyone find it??

i have my first politics exam later today and i basically know nothing, probably will fail, but i spent so much time revising for it that i neglected my further stats exam tomorrow so i know nothing for that either

do i just give up on stats and focus on mechanics next week or is it possible to revise it in one night? i haven’t done a past paper in a while either… 🫩

this is AS so there are 4/5 topics on the stats paper

i have an exam at 1:30pm tomorrow and i barely know anything. i need to remember 11 pages worth of content to pass but idk how to do it.

i have a general idea of what some of the content is but i can’t remember the specifics. what do i do? do i pull an all nighter?

my as further maths exam is in 3 hours and i just got a c on a past paper and lost marks on the easiest questions of all time it’s actually over for me 😭😭🥀🥀🥀

i guess im lowering the grade boundaries tho so ur welcome

for anyone that needs them, i’ve just found resources for unit 1.1.1-1.2.3 AS WJEC gov and politics online. i don’t know how good they are but they were published by Hwb so i think they’re official resources??

to find them, search up “hwb wjec as government and politics unit (e.g.) 1.1.1” or dm me and i’ll send it to you

they’re quizlet flashcards but formatted as a pdf/word document. when i tried to follow the quizlet link it didn’t let me but you could copy and paste the info into your own flashcards.

also if anyone finds them for unit 2 pls lmk :)