1. The relationship between philosophy and academia is tricky, and sometimes even tragic. For individuals living in the 21st century, the standard path towards a “quality” education is to enroll in universities. Those among us who are deeply interested in philosophy are naturally led to philosophy departments, and accordingly, we spend a great deal of … [continue reading]
Monthly Archives: January 2016
APP is Not Alone 3: “The Ph.D. Octopus” (Harvard Monthly Re-Post) By William James.
Harvard Monthly, 1903 Some years ago we had at our Harvard Graduate School a very brilliant student of Philosophy, who, after leaving us and supporting himself by literary labor for three years, received an appointment to teach English Literature at a sister-institution of learning. The governors of this institution, however, had no sooner communicated the … [continue reading]
Philosoflicks 3: On the Metaphysics of Puppets.
WHAT IS A PHILOSOFLICK? In “Let’s Make More Movies,” the epistemological anarchist Paul Feyerabend wrote this: The separation of subjects that is such a pronounced characteristic of modern philosophy is … not altogether undesirable. It is a step on the way to a more satisfactory type of myth. What is needed to proceed further is … [continue reading]
Philosophy From the Outside: A Horse-Trainer’s Metaphysics.
1. A Prefatory Note, by Z In “On University Philosophy,” Schopenhauer writes: [T]he look back at all the goings-on at universities since Kant’s departure, have more and more hardened my view that of there is there is to be philosophy at all, i.e., if the human intellect is to be allowed to turn its highest … [continue reading]
APP is Not Alone 2: “Making Philosophy Matter—Or Else” (CHE Re-Post) By Lee McIntyre.
Lee C. McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University and an Instructor in Ethics at Harvard Extension School. Chronicle of Higher Education, 2011 In March administrators at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas announced that, because of budget cuts, the entire department of philosophy … [continue reading]
Self-Reflections in a Shallow Pond: Jason Stanley’s “The Crisis of Philosophy” Revisited.
In 2010, Jason Stanley published an article in Inside Higher Ed called “The Crisis of Philosophy.” Stanley was later interviewed in 2012 on 3AM, to much the same effect. From the contemporary vantage point of APP, imagine our interest! Six years down the road, however, on a close reading of “The Crisis of Philosophy,” the … [continue reading]
APP is Not Alone 1: “When Philosophy Lost its Way” (NYT Re-Post) By Robert Frodeman & Adam Briggle.
New York Times 11 January 2016 Robert Frodeman and Adam Briggle teach in the department of philosophy and religion and the University of North Texas. They are co-authors of the forthcoming “Socrates Tenured: The Institutions of 21st-Century Philosophy.” The history of Western philosophy can be presented in a number of ways. It can be told … [continue reading]
Some Remarks on Russell’s Metaphilosophy. An Edgy Essay by Boethius, With a Postcript by Z (Re-edited, January 2018)
1. The Essay, by Boethius. I’ve been reading Russell here and there recently, mostly late stuff from 1942-67, with an eye to studying his metaphilosophy. There’s at least one common metaphilosophical thread with “The value of philosophy” from 1912, one thing I’ve noticed in the tone and substance of Russell’s criticism of philosophy I’d group … [continue reading]