(Philosophics, 2022) In “The Philosophy of Limits and Life-Shaping Philosophy,” Robert Hanna argues that, bracketting the issue of transcendental idealism, Kant’s 18th century philosophy of limits can be smoothly exported to our contemporary 21st century philosophical situation. Considered superficially, one might think that this exploration is essentially negative and skeptical. But on the contrary, upon … [continue reading]

(GPC, 2019) In Voltaire’s Candide, the scathing critique of abstract, world-alienated, self-alienating, sanctimonious theoretical philosophy in general, and of professional academic philosophy in particular—specifically exemplified by 18th century Leibnizian/Wolffian rationalism and theodicy, or “theo-idiocy,” satirically represented by that iconic moralistic idiot of professional academic philosophy, Dr Pangloss—equally evocatively and provocatively concludes with the phrase “il … [continue reading]

(Murphy, 2021) In “The Analytic-Continental Divide, and How to Transcend it,” Robert Hanna argues that The Great Divide between Analytic philosophy and Continental philosophy is essentially an artifact of the social-institutional structure of the professional academy in the latter half of the 20th century and the first three decades of the 21st century, and if … [continue reading]

(Russell, 1912/2009) In “The Eleven Fundamental Problems of Philosophy and How to Solve The Hyper-Fundamental Problem,” Robert Hanna formulates a list of the eleven fundamental problems of philosophy, then identifies one of them–the problem of rational anthropology: what is the nature, meaning or purpose, and value of individual and collective rational human existence in a … [continue reading]

(Williams, 2021) In “Can Philosophers Change Their Minds” Robert Hanna argues that as many as 99% of all contemporary professional academic philosophers, after they’ve completed their PhD dissertations, as much as 99% of the time don’t read anything outside their AOS, as much as 99% of the time don’t work on anything outside their AOS, … [continue reading]

“The Death of Socrates by Means of the APA,” by Q (APP, 2013a), after “The Death of Socrates,” by Jacques-Louis David (1787) In “Philosophia Longa, Vita Brevis,” Robert Hanna correspondingly argues that philosophia longa, vita brevis. That neologized Latin aphorism means: “philosophy is long, life is short.” Of course, Hanna riffing on the classical aphorism … [continue reading]

 Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)  Timothy Williamson (1955-present) In “Kant, Williamson, and the Future of Analytic Philosophy,” Robert Hanna points out that it’s a truth not generally acknowledged, that all Anglo-American-&-European philosophy since Kant—i.e., since the end of the 18th century—is post-Kantian. This is of course trivially true, in that all Anglo-American-&-European philosophy since the end of … [continue reading]

(Wikimedia Commons, 2026) Literacy emerged in Sumeria roughly 5500 years ago, but the emergence of philosophy in ancient Greece roughly 2500 years ago seems to have been closely bound up with the emergence of the first alphabetic writing-&-reading system there in the 8th century BCE (Rayner et al., 2012: ch. 2). Certainly, in the 6th … [continue reading]

(Kyiv Mohyla Academy, 2023) In “What Good is Philosophy? My Answer.,” inspired by the title of an international conference in 2023, Robert Hanna attempts to provide an answer to the conference’s titular question himself. Now, like most philosophical questions, the question, “what good is philosophy?” is in fact a complex question that should be decomposed … [continue reading]

Kant Futurized (Quintessential Mind, 2023) The future of philosophy and the future of humankind-in-the-world are intimately related, not only (i) in the obvious sense that all philosophers are “human, all-too-human” animals—i.e., members of the biological species Homo sapiens, and also finite, fallible, and thoroughly normative imperfect in every other way too—hence the natural fate of … [continue reading]