By real philosophy, we mean synoptic, systematic, rational reflection on the individual and collective human condition, and on the natural world in which human and other conscious animals live, move, and have their being. Real philosophy fully includes the knowledge yielded by the natural and formal sciences; but, as we see it, real philosophy also … [continue reading]
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Why Does Conscience Make Cowards of Us All? The Tenure-&-Promotion System as an Extremely Effective Device for Thought-Control. (With Follow-Up Discussion by L_E and Z)
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pitch and moment With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action. Hamlet, act III, scene 1 I. THE ESSAY Why are contemporary … [continue reading]
Weapons of the Weak Revisited: The Problem of Contingent Faculty and Everyday Forms of Philosophical Resistance. (With Follow-Up Discussion by Boethius and Z)
I. THE ESSAY 1. In 2014, there were roughly 140 philosophy departments with graduate philosophy programs in the USA and Canada. I would conservatively guess that on average, each such program has roughly 20-25 graduate students. So that’s roughly 3000 people, at least. Therefore, assuming that enrolment in philosophy graduate programs is relatively constant, then … [continue reading]
“Analytic” Philosophy vs. “Continental” Philosophy: WtF? Why Does It Still Matter So Much? (with Critical Discussion by Y, X, and W)
Quarrels between professors are never entirely disconnected from larger quarrels. There was a hidden agenda behind the split between old-fashioned “humanistic” philosophy (of the Dewey-Whitehead sort) and the positivists, and a similar agenda lies behind the current split between devotees of “analytic” and of “Continental” philosophy. The heavy breathing on both sides about the immorality … [continue reading]
APA Conferences, Bullshit, Racism, Ethnic Hatred, Guns, & How Contemporary Professional Philosophers Might Change Their Lives
In the Theses on Feuerbach, Marx wrote that “philosophers have only interpreted the world in different ways; the point is to change it.” Now I completely agree with Marx that an essential aim of real philosophy is to change the world, not merely interpret it. But I also sharply disagree, in that I think that … [continue reading]
What Is the Real Point of Graduate Programs in Philosophy? (Featuring a Critical Discussion by X and Y)
I. THE ESSAY 1. Until recently, I was a tenured full professor of philosophy at a public university somewhere in North America, and as I say in my APP site-blurb, nevertheless I still managed to escape with my life. It’s therefore somewhat ironic that my former department hasn’t yet purged me from their e-mail lists, … [continue reading]
Women Philosophers Can Be Just as Fucked Up as Men Philosophers
An APP-sympathizer attended a philosophy conference in the South recently, and was equally amazed and dismayed by the public performance of a well-known woman philosopher, who…. Well, I’ll let my APP-sympathizer friend tell it in her own words, minimally edited for anonymity’s sake: “Speaking of ‘professional philosophy’, the conference I attended in WWW a couple … [continue reading]
“Fear, What’s Fashionable, and Fear”: An Untenured Woman Philosopher’s Thoughts on the State of Contemporary Professional Philosophy
Author’s Note: Roughly 18 months ago, I was at a philosophy conference and had several long conversations with a super-smart and super-nice 20-something woman philosopher who’s an untenured assistant professor at a private university somewhere in North America. Let’s call her “W.” Over the course of three days, W and I talked about all sorts … [continue reading]
Death by Assessment?
An emerging trend over the last five years ago has been higher education’s increased emphasis on “assessment.” What I have in mind is not the assessment of students and the assignment of grades, but instead the evaluation of courses, departments, academic programs, and institutions. The general strategy is to develop “best practices” and “learning outcomes” … [continue reading]
The Schizophrenia of Authentic Philosophy, Part 1
There are authentic and inauthentic philosophers in the professional philosophical world. An authentic philosopher is one who, at the very least, does philosophy without regard for what the profession as a whole decides is right or correct simply by fiat. In other words, an authentic philosopher is one who does not let the prevailing biases … [continue reading]