Comments on: The Failure Seminars: My Own Story, Part 2 http://avromandina.net/avrom/2008/11/the-failure-seminars-my-own-story-part-2/ Analytic Philosophy for Fun (not Profit) Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:16:59 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Jonathan Kaplan http://avromandina.net/avrom/2008/11/the-failure-seminars-my-own-story-part-2/comment-page-1/#comment-23 Jonathan Kaplan Sun, 07 Dec 2008 21:41:41 +0000 http://avromandina.net/avrom/?p=53#comment-23 Haven't the foggiest -- it is weird though. I think one reason for the rise of blogging among academics might be that it gets *closer* to the immediacy of real argument than the usual cycle of publishing, etc. I sometimes think I get more out of the exchanges I participate in on Massimo's blog, for example, than I do out of most talks I attend... Haven’t the foggiest — it is weird though. I think one reason for the rise of blogging among academics might be that it gets *closer* to the immediacy of real argument than the usual cycle of publishing, etc. I sometimes think I get more out of the exchanges I participate in on Massimo’s blog, for example, than I do out of most talks I attend…

]]> By: Avrom http://avromandina.net/avrom/2008/11/the-failure-seminars-my-own-story-part-2/comment-page-1/#comment-21 Avrom Sat, 06 Dec 2008 18:58:05 +0000 http://avromandina.net/avrom/?p=53#comment-21 And that's so weird. At least, to me. Isn't that the *best part* of philosophy? Jenann Ismael once told me that if you sat in the graduate student lounge at Princeton and someone came in, you could "taste the tang of steel in your mouth." And OK, maybe that's overdoing it a bit (philosophical discussion doesn't really have to be a blood sport), but where does that sort of passion go in 99% of academics? And that’s so weird. At least, to me. Isn’t that the *best part* of philosophy? Jenann Ismael once told me that if you sat in the graduate student lounge at Princeton and someone came in, you could “taste the tang of steel in your mouth.” And OK, maybe that’s overdoing it a bit (philosophical discussion doesn’t really have to be a blood sport), but where does that sort of passion go in 99% of academics?

]]> By: Jonathan Kaplan http://avromandina.net/avrom/2008/11/the-failure-seminars-my-own-story-part-2/comment-page-1/#comment-20 Jonathan Kaplan Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:58:08 +0000 http://avromandina.net/avrom/?p=53#comment-20 I don't read much academic philosophy anymore -- but I'm a voracious reader of just about anything else. One thing I continue to love about the kind of philosophy I do is that I can get distracted by some train of thought or other, and follow it up for weeks without anyone telling me that I should get back to work. (Recently, I found myself reading everything I could find on the dental problems of meth addicts and their children, and the relationship between biofilm ecologies and dental caries... (I think these topics are related, but no one else seems to...) What I miss as well as conversations with colleagues who enjoy the give and take of philosophical conversations, who are interested in figuring out what positions can be defended (whether or not they should)... While visiting KU a few weeks ago, Shari and I had lunch with a couple of the faculty there, one of whom was a newish junior person. He seemed a bit grumpy all through lunch, a little hard to warm up to, etc. But suddenly, in the midst an argument about a joke, he began to visibly perk up, and before long was engaged in this argument about the nature of human sociality and the requirements for a good life. And it was obvious that *that* was what he'd been waiting for -- a philosophical discussion about, well, anything, really. It was obvious that here was a person whose office you could wander into, ask about some random claim, and be off on a multi-hour journey. But yeah, that is really really rare... I don’t read much academic philosophy anymore — but I’m a voracious reader of just about anything else. One thing I continue to love about the kind of philosophy I do is that I can get distracted by some train of thought or other, and follow it up for weeks without anyone telling me that I should get back to work. (Recently, I found myself reading everything I could find on the dental problems of meth addicts and their children, and the relationship between biofilm ecologies and dental caries… (I think these topics are related, but no one else seems to…)

What I miss as well as conversations with colleagues who enjoy the give and take of philosophical conversations, who are interested in figuring out what positions can be defended (whether or not they should)…

While visiting KU a few weeks ago, Shari and I had lunch with a couple of the faculty there, one of whom was a newish junior person. He seemed a bit grumpy all through lunch, a little hard to warm up to, etc. But suddenly, in the midst an argument about a joke, he began to visibly perk up, and before long was engaged in this argument about the nature of human sociality and the requirements for a good life. And it was obvious that *that* was what he’d been waiting for — a philosophical discussion about, well, anything, really. It was obvious that here was a person whose office you could wander into, ask about some random claim, and be off on a multi-hour journey. But yeah, that is really really rare…

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