1. From: APA@apaonline.org <APA@apaonline.org> Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2016 12:48 PM To: Z Subject: A letter from Robert Audi to all APA members Dear Colleagues, I am writing you about opportunities and needs of the profession of philosophy and the APA. As you know, the APA sponsors three international meetings a year, supports teaching and … [continue reading]
Between Familiarity and Bewilderment: Towards A Theory of Incoherent Philosophical Bullshit. A No-Bullshit Approach to Philosophical Bullshit, part I. (Studies in Critical Metaphilosophy & Critical History of Philosophy 6)
BY OTTO PAANS. 1. Introductory Moves The output of philosophical practice is extremely varied in its topics and starting points. There are numerous theories of mind, different conceptions of knowledge and truth-value in epistemology, various metaphysical visions about the structure of reality, and varying strands of ethics, ranging from virtue ethics to Kantianism to utilitarianism … [continue reading]
Home Sweet Soames: “Philosophy’s True Home” (NYT Re-Post, With an Afterword by Z).
1. Philosophy’s True Home, by Scott Soames. New York Times, 7 March 2016. Scott Soames is director of the school of philosophy at the University of Southern California’s Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. He is the author of “The Analytic Tradition in Philosophy.” We’ve all heard the argument that philosophy is isolated, an … [continue reading]
An Insider’s View of the Brazilian Philosophical World, Or, How to Build a Really Totalitarian System.
APP Editors’ Note: SK is a PhD student in philosophy at a Brazilian university. Before getting underway, I want to stress that what follows is not a condemnation or denunciation of the Brazilian philosophical world, as such, nor is it a full critique–that would require an entire book!—of contemporary Brazilian professional academic philosophy. Instead, it’s … [continue reading]
APA Pacific Division Special: The Mall. By V.
APP Editors’ Note: V is a full professor of philosophy at a research university, with some 30 years of experience –and membership in the APA. I was wandering through the mall. Not because I wanted to, but once in a while, these days, one needs something that just happens to be at a store that … [continue reading]
APP is Not Alone, Sort-Of: “Where Academic Philosophy Went Wrong,” “Alternative Academias,” & “The Career Move That Dare Not Speak Its Name” (CH, PP, and DN Re-Posts, With Afterwords by Z)
1. Where Academic Philosophy Went Wrong, by Charles Huenemann. CH’s personal blog, 19 August 2014 A potted history: I believe Peter Sloterdijk is right that the Enlightenment has been followed by philosophical cynicism, or an impressive array of natural knowledge unaccompanied by any faith in providence. The U.S., which became the dominant intellectual and cultural … [continue reading]
Philosoflicks 5: caesargodkantgoldman.
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]
Philosoflicks 4: The Vienna Circle Meets The Hollow Men Meets Flitcraft Meets Us.
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 … [continue reading]
EDGY SPEECH DOUBLE FEATURE 2. A Plea for Edgy Philosophy.
1. Nowadays, philosophy is practiced almost universally at universities. If you want to be a philosopher, it’s almost inevitable that you should be a “professional philosopher” working as an “academic”. I have explored elsewhere some of the harms of this association. While professionalizing philosophy looks like a good thing, I shall argue that it kills … [continue reading]
EDGY SPEECH DOUBLE FEATURE 1. The Leiter-Motif in the Sartwell Debate, and the Double-Edged Sword.
FK: I’ve read the recent post on Sartwell by W1 and X1, and they’re right of course, especially with respect to the sanctimonious silence from those who usually shout at every opportunity. But it might also be good to point out that Brian Leiter at least is on the right side by defending Sartwell’s fundamental … [continue reading]