1. Overture Knowledge and research within the modern university have a curiously feudal character, given its division into a series of faculties and departments each with their own pedagogical self-definitions. By its very structure, which is specialized and hierarchical, the modern university is hostile to inter-disciplinary teaching and research. Interdisciplinarity flies directly in the face … [continue reading]
We, the Professional Sages: Analytic Philosophy’s Arrogation of Argument.
1. INTRODUCTION For the sake of establishing the greater context of my discussion, I want to begin by quoting a well-summarized account from Michael Friedman’s book, A Parting of the Ways. As he writes, One of the central facts of twentieth-century intellectual life has been a fundamental divergence or split between the “analytic” philosophical tradition … [continue reading]
Philosophy Ripped From The Headlines! Issue #7, March 2018: The Meaning of Life & the Morality of Death.
Dear Philosopher or Philosophically-Minded Person, Do you ever think about the larger philosophical implications of contemporary events and issues, especially when reading newspapers, journals, or blogs? —Of course you do: but then what? What if you were able to convert your thinking DIRECTLY into something you were able to use for TEACHING PHILOSOPHY, for PHILOSOPHY … [continue reading]
How Exquisitely the Individual Mind to the External World Is Fitted: — And How Exquisitely, too, the External World is Fitted to the Mind.
Visual philosophy inspired by mountain landscapes, Wordsworth, and Hopper, HERE. Against Professional Philosophy is a sub-project of the online mega-project Philosophy Without Borders, which is home-based on Patreon here. Please consider becoming a patron! We’re improvident, but cheerful.
“Poetry is the Hero of Philosophy”: Novalis’s Metaphilosophy.
Introduction Novalis is perhaps best known to contemporary philosophers for his aphorism, “Philosophy can bake no bread; but she can procure for us God, Freedom, Immortality.” But less well known is the following sentence: “Which, then, is more practical, Philosophy or Economy?” In other words, Novalis is saying that philosophy is profoundly more practical than … [continue reading]
Philosophy Without Borders: What It Is, & Why It Matters–Four Short Talks.
‘Understanding Impact’ 4th Conference of the Public Philosophy Network Boulder, Colorado | February 8-10, 2018 The Public Philosophy Network announces our fourth conference on Advancing Public Philosophy. Our 2018 conference theme is Understanding Impact: What practices improve the uptake of philosophy, both across the disciplines, and throughout society? This question will be pursued through … [continue reading]
Thinking Life: A Philosophical Fiction.
This title is available everywhere, including the following popular online booksellers: Amazon: US; UK; CA; DE; IT; FR; AU; ES Barnes & Noble: paperback, Nook About the book: Thinking Life is a narrative exploration of such themes as the decline of the contemporary university, man’s alienation from nature, modern melancholia, Dionysian intoxication, the relative value of … [continue reading]
Philosophy Ripped From The Headlines! Issue #6, February 2018: Poverty in the USA, Marx Redux, & the Scope of Mindedness.
Dear Philosopher or Philosophically-Minded Person, Do you ever think about the larger philosophical implications of contemporary events and issues, especially when reading newspapers, journals, or blogs? —Of course you do: but then what? What if you were able to convert your thinking DIRECTLY into something you were able to use for TEACHING PHILOSOPHY, for PHILOSOPHY … [continue reading]
Philosophy Ripped From The Headlines! Issue #5, January 2018: Bakers, Buddhists, Plant Minds, & Total Work.
Dear Philosopher or Philosophically-Minded Person, Do you ever think about the larger philosophical implications of contemporary events and issues, especially when reading newspapers, journals, or blogs? —Of course you do: but then what? What if you were able to convert your thinking DIRECTLY into something you were able to use for TEACHING PHILOSOPHY, for PHILOSOPHY … [continue reading]
Ho! Ho! Ho!
Sick and Tired of Being Alienated and Oppressed by Corporate Capitalist Greed, Neoconservatism, and Neoliberalism? And Do You Use Play and Leisure to Escape from Work? Then Just Look at What Santa Karl Left Under the Tree! THE ABCs OF SOCIALISM THE FIRST RED CENTURY “MARX’S THEORY OF PLAY, LEISURE, AND UNALIENATED PRAXIS” DARE TO … [continue reading]