MA: I had some follow-up thoughts on your recent critical study, “On Sebastian Rödl’s Self-Consciousness and Objectivity, Or, The Refutation of Absolute Idealism,” that I wanted to run by you. But first, a prefatory remark. I consider absolute idealism, and the various resultant constellations of self-consciousness, objectivity, knowledge and judgment, to be neither unintelligible nor … [continue reading]
Category: Conversations
On Paul Bali’s “How I Got Fired By The Ryerson Philosophy Department.”
Nemo: I just read Paul Bali’s “How I Got Fired By The Ryerson Philosophy Department.” I imagine this situation is all too common and vastly under-reported; most people would be devastated, depressed and cowed and perhaps few would have resisted the process. I wonder what was the agenda of the instigator of this affair, the … [continue reading]
Is Philosophy Inherently Escapist?
W2: I wanted to raise a question in light of your recent post, Hyper-Disciplined Minds. One of my concerns is that some problems you raise for professionalized philosophers are, in fact, problems for anyone who pursues philosophy full time. The fact that experts in critical thinking are siphoned off into the ivory tower, where society … [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]
From Professional Vocabularies and the Ethics of Terminology to Presentational Polymorphism: A Conversation about Otto Paans’s “The Pre-Structured Professional Philosopher.” (Re-edited February 2018)
Z: OP’s essay, “The Pre-Structured Professional Philosopher,” leads in many fascinating directions, and has correspondingly many important implications. But before I get down to that, I want to quote, between the horizontal lines directly below, a few pages of a highly APP-relevant, prescient, and characteristically beautifully-written, jargon-free essay by Susan Haack from the late 2000s, … [continue reading]
Genuine Puzzlement: A Philosopher of Science Talks Back! to APP, & Z Replies with an Analogy. A Conversation Between PoS and Z.
APP Editors’ Note: PoS is a philosopher of science and an associate professor in a non-US subsidiary of a top-ranked US philosophy department. PoS: Your website is down, I guess professionalism is good for something after all… Z: Re website functionality: Sorry! It seems to be working fine now. Re professionalism: You might find this … [continue reading]
POOCs Without PAWs (Philosophy Open Online Courses Without PAy Wall Shit), and Why the Internet Might Be a Primary Vehicle for Real Liberal Arts Education and Real Philosophy.
Z: Recently I’ve been thinking lots about how a real liberal arts education—i.e., a liberal arts education that hasn’t run into the neo-conservative cultural cul de sac and nihilist abyss of what William Deresiewicz so aptly calls the “neo-liberal arts,” and is aimed at Heavy Duty Enlightenment, not Enlightenment Lite–-might be really possible, about real … [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]
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]
APP’s Readers Talk Back! 1
Why Anonymous? Why “Against”? APP Editors’ note: M is a 30-something woman philosopher who is currently teaching in a non-TT position at a public university somewhere in Europe. M: Is this you? I find it a bit strange to talk to someone who apparently prefers to communicate as … anonymous. I hadn’t been aware of … [continue reading]