My anarcho-philosophical attention was recently drawn to this very interesting blog post, by Marcus Arvan, “Has Contemporary Philosophy Over-Fetishized Rigor?” By “rigor” Arvan means, and I also mean, analytical clarity, consistency, a preparedness to give reasons for one’s claims, attention to validity in arguments, and a preparedness to defend one’s claims and arguments against actual … [continue reading]
Learning to Love Your Captors, Or, How to Publish, then Perish before Leaving Grad School. An Edgy Essay by X1.
I would venture to guess that the vast majority of us took an interest in philosophy not as a way to have better access to a job, but as a way of life. I would also venture to guess that the vast majority of those who began philosophy in this way have now abandoned philosophy … [continue reading]
“Analytic” vs. “Continental” Philosophy Re-Revisited. (APP’s Readers Talk Back! 4)
APP Editors’ Note: not-Q is a recently tenured associate professor of comparative literature at an institution of higher education somewhere in North America; and JdB recently received her/his BA in philosophy at a public university somewhere in North America. This conversation flows from these three posts: 1. “Analytic” Philosophy vs. “Continental” Philosophy: WtF? Why Does … [continue reading]
Real Philosophy from the Outside. A Conversation between M, Boethius, L-E, and Z. (APP’s Readers Talk Back! 3)
APP Editors’ note: M is a recent PhD in philosophy, and also the holder of an advanced degree in law, who is currently teaching in a non-TT position at a public university somewhere in Europe; Boethius is a tenured associate professor of philosophy at a public university somewhere in North America; & L_E is a … [continue reading]
Which Brand Do You Identify With? Brand Loyalty as Discrimination in Professional Philosophy.
Are you Analytic-coke, or Continental-pepsi? Are you Femininist-Tareyton, or non-Feminist-Tareyton? Would you rather fight than switch? Now remove ‘coke’, ‘pepsi’, and ‘Tareyton’ from those all-too-familiar professional-philosophy labels. Do you now see how essentially stupid, rationally unjustified, or even immoral it is for you to identify yourself with one brand of professional philosophy than another? Or … [continue reading]
Philosoflicks 2, Installment 1: Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus, Preface & Letters I-IV.
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]
Let’s Crash Out! Real Philosophy, Anti-Professional Style, and the Right Genre and Medium for the Message. (APP’s Readers Talk Back! 2)
APP Editors’ Note: JV is a graduate student in philosophy at a public university somewhere in North America; Ishmael is a tenured associate professor of philosophy at a small private university somewhere in North America; and L_E is a PhD student in philosophy at a public university somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere. This conversation refers … [continue reading]
How the Journals are Making Me Lose the Philosophical Will-to-Live.
This essay describes my own personal take on certain aspects of what Z has called the Publication Racket. When philosophy journals contact me to request that I referee an article, they typically request that I submit my review within two months. Some journals request that I submit my review in as little as six weeks, … [continue reading]
Philosoflicks 1: You are Not a Machine! (Re-edited March 2018)
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 Leiterized: How We Reduce Vermeers to Cow Plops, and How A Measure Colonizes Our Behavior. (Re-edited March 2018)
APP EDITORS’ NOTE: THE 2017-2018 PHILOSOPHY GOURMET REPORT RANKINGS ARE HERE. No, I’m NOT going to attack Brian Leiter— That’s been done many times before. What I’m interested in are these two paragraphs from Leiter’s Wikipedia article: Philosophical Gourmet Report In 1989, while he was a graduate student, Leiter made a list of what he … [continue reading]