APP Editors’ Note: i.e. kantgoldman lives in a driftwood shanty on a beach in the Pacific Northwest, where s/he creates practical philosophy, channels Immanuel Kant and Emma Goldman, and dances like nobody’s business. Dear i.e., Time is running out to submit proposals for the APA’s small grant fund and diversity and inclusiveness funding programs. Proposals … [continue reading]
How To Be a Normalized Intellectual: Neoliberalism and Professional Philosophy.
If I were to ask my colleagues what they think about neoliberalism and its impact on today’s colleges and universities, many of them would report that they’ve either never come across the term “neoliberalism” or that they are unsure what it means. This is interesting in and of itself. But if I ask, “have you … [continue reading]
Professional Philosophy For and Against the Enlightenment.
The modern university and modern philosophy, alike, are founded on the intellectual, moral, and political ideals of the Enlightenment. But in the second decade of the 21st century, an era in which the university is not only intensely pressured from without by the demands of neoliberal politics and advanced capitalist values, but also intensely pressured … [continue reading]
McPublic Philosophy.
Recently, I received the following bit of e-propaganda from the APA– Dear Z, I am writing today to let you know that the APA board of officers has approved the following statement, which was proposed by the committee on public philosophy and the committee on the status and future of the profession: The American Philosophical … [continue reading]
The Analytic Self-Image.
Many essays, books and articles have been produced on the distinction between Analytic philosophy and Continental philosophy. Several recent installments in the long-running and seemingly never-ending Analytic vs. Continental debate have been posted here at APP: “Analytic” Philosophy vs. “Continental” Philosophy: Wtf? Why Does It Still Matter So Much? “Analytic” vs. “Continental” Philosophy Revisited. Which … [continue reading]
When They Come For You—And They Will! A Survival Guide.
APP Editors’ Note: A.S. Urvivor, aka ASU, is a serious philosopher, over 30 and female, who teaches at a public university somewhere in the English-speaking world. Dear APP, When I was tipped off about your movement (by a subversive friend) and began reading your edgy posts, my heart leapt for joy as I began to … [continue reading]
Five Theses About Real Philosophy, #1.
I. Introduction Some time ago, one of APP’s readers asked how real philosophy as we define and practice it (two activities that are inextricably connected) is supposed to be different from other types of philosophy, and whether all philosophy that is not real philosophy should be regarded as “fake” or “inauthentic” philosophy.[i] To a certain … [continue reading]
Ivory Bunker Mentality, Par Excellence: L’Affaire Tuvel.
Today is the final round of the French Presidential run-offs, between Emmanuel Macron, a centrist, and Marine Le Pen, an alt-right, neo-fascist, neoliberal female counterpart of US President Donald Trump. As of this moment, the outcome of the Macron-Le Pen run-off is unknown. But Kant willing, the French voting public won’t make the same tragicomic … [continue reading]
Professional Philosophy and the Normalized Intellectual.
For more than 35 years, I’ve been amazed, amused, bemused, and appalled by professional academic philosophy–my varying mental states cascading over one another, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, both in alternation and in combination. A question that has always intrigued and worried me, right from the time I … [continue reading]
This Be The Worse: An Anarcho-Poem.
The greater part of what my neighbors call good I believe in my soul to be bad, and if I repent of anything, it is very likely to be my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well? (H.D. Thoreau, Walden I, “Economy”) With Apologies to Philip Larkin, and Malice toward Some. … [continue reading]