Past & Present: Philosophy for everyone by Stephen Law
Past & Present: Philosophy for Everyone Edited by Stephen Law Š 2014 Cambridge University Press Designed by Victoria Kleymenova Typeset in Minion Pro and Proxima Nova Printed in Falmouth, UK The Royal Institute of Philosophy 14 Gordon Square London WC1H 0AR United Kingdom T. 020 7387 4130 www.royalinstitutephilosophy.org
Past & Present: Philosophy for everyone
Edited by Stephen Law
6
“
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. George Bernard Shaw
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Foreword
T
he dominant view nowadays is that the philosophy of nature no longer exists. That branch of philosophy died out with the emergence of the modern empirical sciences.
Its domain of inquiry was divided among the various particular sciences. Admittedly, there are still some philosophers who try to cultivate a philosophy of nature, but when one takes a closer look at their work it turns out that most of their effort is devoted to defining what exactly the philosophy of nature is supposed to study. The philosophy of nature as traditionally understood only prepared the ground for the future natural sciences and at their emergence lost its reason for being. Does that mean the elimination of philosophy from science? Not at all. In the first place, the very existence of science is a fact which requires philosophical reflection. That task was taken up by the philosophy of science. That branch of philosophy is flourishing and, just as happens with any respectable science, has many schools and specializations - from research into the kind of rationality represented by various sciences and the logic of the development of scientific theories, through analysis of the methods used by various sciences, to specialized analytic research into those aspects of scientific theories which the sciences themselves cannot handle. Does that exhaust the tasks which philosophy must fulfill in relation to science?
Gottlob Frege
Table of contents
Introduction Stephen Law
Biographies 011
Ian James Kidd Alasdair MacIntyre Bernard Williams J端rgen Habermas Anthony Kenny Christine Korsgaard Simon Blackburn John Searle
024
Noam Chomsky John McDowell T. M. Scanlon Thomas Nagel Mary Warnock Jerry Fodor Tyler Burge Ned Block Derek Parfit
094
032 040 050 058 066 072 080 102 114 116 128 136 142 154 160
Religion & Society
Morals & Intentions
Ian James Kidd Humility And History
016
Alasdair MacIntyre Social Structures and their threats to Moral Agency
026
Bernard Williams
034
Philosophy as a Humanist Discipline
Mind & Body
Christine Korsgaard Personhood, Animals, And The Law
062
Thomas Nagel Conceiving the Impossible and the Mind-Body Problem
118
Simon Blackburn The Sovereignty of Reason
068
Mary Warnock What is Natural and Should We Care About It?
130
John Searle
074
Jerry Fodor Mental Representation without Conceptualization
138
Tyler Burge Perception: Where Mind Begins
144
Ned Block
156
Freedom of the Will as a Problem in Neurobiology
J端rgen Habermas The Pacemaker for Cultural Rights
042
Anthony Kenny Is Religion Really the Root of all Evil?
052
Noam Chomsky Some Thoughts on Terror, Justice and Self-defence
082
John McDowell Intention in Action
096
Attention and Mentalism T. M. Scanlon Reassessing Reasons
104
Derek Parfit Is Personal Identity what Matters?
162
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Don’t bite off more than you can chew because nobody looks attractive spitting it back out... Carroll Bryant
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Introduction
T
he dominant view nowadays is that the philosophy of nature
and then the natural sciences arose and liquidated the place of
no longer exists. That branch of philosophy died out with the
philosophy in science is a crude oversimplification of the historical
emergence of the modern empirical sciences. Its domain of inquiry
process. The natural sciences did not arise on the ruins of the
was divided among the various particular sciences. Admittedly, there
philosophy of nature. They existed in parallel to it, though they were
are still some philosophers who try to cultivate a philosophy of nature,
not always explicitly separated from it. It is sufficient to name the
but when one takes a closer look at their work it turns out that most
Greek sciences: astronomy, optics, acoustics, statics, not to mention
of their effort is devoted to defining what exactly the philosophy of
geometry. One can only speak of a period of the domination of the
nature is supposed to study. The philosophy of nature as traditionally
philosophy of nature over the sciences until the beginning of the
understood only prepared the ground for the future natural sciences
modern period, after which one must speak of the period of the
and at their emergence lost its reason for being. Does that mean the
domination of the sciences. The transition between those two periods
elimination of philosophy from science? Not at all. In the first place,
was a continuous transition, although one rich in dramatic tensions.
the very existence of science is a fact which requires philosophical
Notice how many typically philosophical problems were found in the
reflection. That task was taken up by the philosophy of science.
spheres of interest of various scientific theories. The problems of time,
That branch of philosophy is flourishing and, just as happens with
space, and causality will serve as typical examples. Right down to our
any respectable science, has many schools and specializations - from
own day they are thought of as “great problems of philosophy” though
research into the kind of rationality represented by various sciences
at the same time all the fundamental theories of physics have much to
and the logic of the development of scientific theories, through
say on these topics.
analysis of the methods used by various sciences, to specialized
It is of course true that when some problem migrates
analytic research into those aspects of scientific theories which the
from philosophy to the empirical sciences, it thereby changes
sciences themselves cannot handle.
its significance. We know that context is just as important as the
Does that exhaust the tasks which philosophy must fulfill in
“internal” connections between concepts. What is more, the problems
relation to science? In answering that question, let us appeal to history.
and concepts transformed by the migration from philosophy to the
Above all, the statement that first there was the philosophy of nature
sciences often come back for further philosophical deliberation, in that
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way thickening the connections between the two realms of knowledge.
those lectures, made available in typescript through the kindness of
The strengthening of that connection creates an interesting field of
Professor Ladrière, were of invaluable assistance to me. The many
investigation. I have called it “philosophy in science,” no doubt a
references to Professor Ladrière’s notes in the text of this book indicate
summary expression and one which includes only some aspects of
my debt to him only partially. However, my own series of lectures
the phenomena which interests us here, but I hope that the entire
is not a copy of the lectures given in Louvain. Professor Ladrière
book will constitute a justification for it. As I have already noted, the
concentrated his attention principally on one problem, namely, on the
history of science itself bears witness to the presence in science of
relation of physics to metaphysics in the most important systems of
philosophical threads and it is for that reason that I have to write this
the philosophy of nature.
book from a philosophical point of view. That does not mean that the study of philosophy in science has
That is indeed one of the key problems, but I decided to go beyond that problem, and to undertake a more comprehensive
to limit itself to purely historical considerations; it means only that
discussion of the particular systems. As a result, the more focused
historical considerations seem to be an indispensable element of a
formulation of Professor Ladrière has, in my book, become a more
strategy which would allow us to see the philosophical significance of
general series of lectures. That has manifested itself also in the method
the sciences. In my opinion, a thorough knowledge of at least the most
of the lectures. Professor Ladrière limited himself to a discussion of
important trends which have appeared in the history of philosophy
the relation between physics and metaphysics in Aristotle, Descartes,
and science is a necessary condition of a responsible research program
Leibniz, Kant, and Whitehead. I have supplemented that account
in the area of contemporary philosophico-scientific problems, and
with a look at Plato, Newton, Popper and the so-called Romantic
at the same time is an indispensable minimum of knowledge for the
philosophy of nature. I also added a chapter on Aristotle’s treatise
researcher working in other areas of philosophy.
On the Heavens and a chapter discussing the philosophical themes in
I borrowed the idea of developing a series of lectures around
contemporary science.
the most important figures and themes from the history of place of philosophy in science from Professor Jean Ladrière, who gave such a series of lectures at the Institut Supérieur de Philosophie of the University of Louvain in 1982-–1983. The unpublished notes from
Introduction
Stephen Law
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“
Human beings are born into this little span of life of which the best thing is its friendship and intimacies, and soon their places will know them no more, and yet they leave their friendships and intimacies with no cultivation, to grow as they will by the roadside, expecting them to “keep” by force of inertia. William James
“
He who thinks great thoughts, often makes great errors Martin Heidegger
Religion & Society
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Humility and History Ian James Kidd
Philosophy is an ancient subject, but what is the value of an understanding of its history for its practice? What can contemporary philosophers draw from an historical understanding of their subject?
I
Across the scope of human cultures, in different times and climes, one finds sustained philosophical reflection, on topics ranging from knowledge and justice, to society and education, to reality and meaning. Although philosophy, like any subject, has its ‘boom and bust’ periods, recent scholarship indicates that even periods previously considered to be rather barren – such as the ‘Dark Ages’ of
argue that amongst its many benefits, the history of philosophy
medieval Europe – were, in fact, philosophically dynamic, even if their
is an excellent resource for the cultivation of certain intellectual
questions and problems reflected concerns rather different from ours.
virtues , most notably gratitude, humility, and justice. Acquaintance
The fact of the historical ubiquity of philosophy of course pleases those
with the history of philosophy can, therefore, be edifying, in the sense
engaged in the ‘business’ of philosophy today.
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of being conducive to the cultivation and exercise of virtues. These
Certainly philosophers, whether professional or lay, should
virtues can be cultivated in many ways, but the history of philosophy
find a legitimate sense of pride in their participation in a venerable3
offers unique means for securing those virtues just mentioned –
tradition of thought. This should include an appreciation of the sincere
or so I will argue. In what follows, I hope to show that some familiar
and sustained efforts, by men and women historically and culturally
pedagogical and intellectual uses of the history of philosophy in fact
distant from us, to articulate ideas about their place in the ‘order of
reflect its edifying functions. The origins of philosophy are unclear,
things’, which we may, today, profitably draw upon. And there isn’t,
but certainly there were, in Greece, India, and China, vigorous
one hopes, too much vainglory4 in the optimistic sentiment5 that
philosophical traditions by the sixth to fifth centuries BCE. Indeed,
philosophy has been, and continues to be, an ennobling6 feature of
it is possible that Confucius, the Buddha, Thales and the authors of
human life. Although such sentiments have their place, the history
the Upanisads may have been contemporaries. The last six thousand
of philosophy surely offers us more than just a sense of pride of one’s
years have, of course, seen philosophy, both ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’,
place within a venerable tradition. Those things matter, if only to
go on to sustain vigorous, dynamic traditions. Indeed, one striking
motivate, but the value of the history of philosophy should not be
fact evidenced by history is the ubiquity of philosophical reflection.
narrowly construed7 as a capacity to encourage young philosophers –
2
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Ian James Kidd
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2. Ubiquity - the state or capacity of being everywhere, especially at the same time. 3. Venerableness - Commanding respect by virtue of age, dignity, character, or position; honorableness.
4. Vainglory - inordinate pride in oneself or one’s achievements; excessive vanity. 5. Sentiment - a view of or attitude toward a situation or event; an opinion. 6. Ennoble - to make noble.
“
1. Virtue - behavior showing high moral standards.
7. Construe - to interpret (a word or action) in a particular way.
those sitting through hard going undergraduate lectures on Kant, say
context of the structure of modern universities. Yet a focus on abstract
– to ‘keep at it’ and work hard. A sense of ‘standing on the shoulders of
argument divorced from concrete context does, at least sometimes,
giants’, to borrow Newton’s handy phrase, is useful. But so, too, is one’s
compromise one’s understanding and appreciation of the ideas and
knowing something about those ‘giants’ and about how, and why, they
problems being discussed.
worked and wondered as they did. In the history of philosophy, these ‘giants’ would be all those earlier thinkers whose work is now part of our shared history. Some of the giants are obvious and familiar, such as Plato or the Buddha, whereas others, like Nāgārjuna or Josiah Royce,
That man is wisest who, like Socrates, realizes that his wisdom is worthless
remain reliably obscure, at least within certain areas of academic philosophy. Both familiarity and obscurity can be fickle things, of
Plato
course. Some philosophical giants are prominent for their notoriety, like Nietzsche, and others for their accessibility, like Russell. But what
One could, for instance, take a course on ‘Knowledge and Scepticism’,
does it mean to say that these figures, and others more like them, are
covering Pyrrho, Descartes, Kant and others, without ever detailing
part of a ‘shared history’, and how and why does that history matter?
why, for each of those figures, questions about knowledge and
The significance of the history of philosophy turns on the
scepticism mattered. An appeal to the inherent1 fascination or
answer to that question. Certainly there are many reasons why one
trickiness of their questions usually suffices2, at least for those who opt
might not want to teach philosophy in a historical manner.
to take such courses, but often those questions are presented without
One might prefer, for instance, to teach or write about philosophy
a clear account of why those philosophers were troubled by them.
in terms of ‘problems’ or discrete ‘areas’, like ‘Metaphysics’,
Most philosophers, at least in the past, were troubled by philosophical
‘Consciousness’, or ‘Topics in Philosophy of Science’. This way of
questions not simply out of mere curiosity, but rather because they
philosophising focuses on topics, issues, and themes, like the nature
perceived that those questions, even the most abstract ones, had
of time, mental causation, or scientific methodology. And that can be
implications for aspects of life which mattered to them.
a valuable and effective way of ‘doing’ philosophy, especially within the
Such concerns are easily to neglect.
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Ian James Kidd
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1. Inherent - existing in something as a permanent, essential, or characteristic attribute.
4. Presocratics - a pre-Socratic philosopher. 5. Reform - make changes in (something, typically a social, political, or
2. Suffice - to be enough or adequate.
economic institution or practice) in order to improve it.
3. Axiom - a statement or proposition that is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true.
“
A philosopher’s ‘position’ can be summarised as an argument, or a
were interested. Rather, it was because they perceived that a person
series of bullet-points on a PowerPoint slide, but this format is apt to
who is to be happy must understand, first, what things are like and,
neglect the vital concerns that animated them. For instance,
second, how one should be disposed towards them. Put another
it often tends to obscure the biographical and historical context of
way, they thought that knowledge of things was essential if we are
a philosopher’s life, reducing them to names and dates, of the form
to act properly regarding them, therefore interlinking epistemology
‘Thomas Hobbes (1588– 1679)’. Where, after all, is the contextual
and ethics in a way that will, one worries, remain invisible if one
richness of a biography such as that which Heidegger offered for
concentrated simply on the arguments themselves.
Aristotle: ‘he was born ... he worked, and ... he died’. Heidegger may have been right that, for certain purposes, Aristotle’s biography is Certainly it is not a general axiom3 of philosophizing. Context is not
Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives -
only pedagogically or interpretively valuable. There are entertaining
choice, not chance, determines your destiny
not ‘of interest’, but that fact is only true at a certain level of analysis.
anecdotes in the history of philosophy, for sure – and not solely in the life of Ludwig Wittgenstein – but the value of historical context goes further than that. Showing the wider social and political conditions
Aristotle
within which philosophers worked, worried and wondered can help us
Many derisive9 assessments of the value of philosophy arise because,
to appreciate their ‘practical’ objectives.
in many cases, those critics do not see how the ‘abstract’ issues raised
The Presocratics offer interesting arguments against traditional 4
by the philosophically-minded bear on ‘practical’ issues. The fault
Greek religion, but they were, ultimately, intended to facilitate
may be shared, but it can, I think, be partially resolved by an historical
social and political reform5. Or to take a slightly later example, the
perspective upon philosophy. Once one becomes accustomed to a
Pyrrhonian sceptics did not engage in abstract epistemology , asking
historical articulation of philosophy, the task of providing accounts of
abstruse questions about the nature of knowledge, just because they
the ‘practical’ import of ‘abstract’ philosophising should become much
6
8
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Ian James Kidd
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6. Pyrrhonian - Pyrrhonism was a school of skepticism founded by Aenesidemus in the 1st century BC and recorded by Sextus Empiricus in the late 2nd century or early 3rd century AD. 7. Epistemology - the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief
8. Abstruse - difficult to understand; obscure. 9. Derisive - expressing contempt or ridicule, sarcasm. 10. Perennial - lasting or existing for a long or apparently infinite time; enduring or continually recurring.
from opinion.
easier. By being able to explain how earlier philosophers came to their
to changing social and intellectual conditions. Questions about the
ideas, or what provoked their questions, it should become easier for us
certainty of knowledge, say, were changed by the development of
to do the same for our own inquiries. And this should be understood,
the modern sciences. But appreciating this involves an historical
not as ‘accounting for ourselves’, but, rather, as explaining ourselves,
sensitivity. It requires us to look not only at earlier philosophers
for our benefit, and for that of our critics. Certainly a knowledge and
who asked similar questions, but also at the context within which
appreciation of the history of philosophy can be a valuable feature of
those questions were asked. After all, it is often context which lends
the actual practice of philosophy.
our questions urgency, vitality, and significance. There are many
An understanding of philosophy as an historical discipline shows how it is bound up with social and political change, religious controversy, scientific innovation, and so on. Those sorts of issues are,
philosophical questions and puzzles, but which ones matter to us, and why, is as much a matter of history as it is of curiosity and inquiry. The role of history in shaping our own ideas points to another
of course, features of our world today; indeed, many philosophical
role for the history of philosophy. Many questions face us, but not all
questions are perennial10 in the sense that they return, each
of them matter to us. Certain questions move us, either by disturbing
generation, often in evolving forms. Questions about beauty and art,
or fascinating us (or, indeed, both). Other questions are curiosities –
justice and goodness, knowledge and certainty, and the like have
interesting, but deemed neither urgent nor essential. Understanding
featured within the public and private lives of human beings across
the distribution of significance across the philosophical landscape
all times and cultures. A historical understanding of the philosophers
will, again, require a historical perspective. After all, we are ourselves
that responded to them can help us, today, in our own efforts to
subjects of a history. To ape Nietzsche’s* famous remark, when we
address them. The history of philosophy is, therefore, a feature of
stare into history, history also stares back into us, insofar as the
philosophising itself.
concerns and issues of contemporary society are products, at least in
To ask and address philosophical questions is to enter into a
part, of that society’s history – that is, of our history. Such a reflexive
longstanding tradition of inquiry. The specific content and form of
historical stance is, of course, only useful beyond a certain point.
philosophical questions changes over time, of course, in response
We can get on much of the business of philosophising, debating and
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Ian James Kidd
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1. Genealogy - a record or account of the ancestry and descent of a person, family, group, etc.
4. Haecceity - a term from medieval scholastic philosophy, first coined by Duns Scotus, which denotes the discrete qualities, properties or
2. Salience - prominent or conspicuous.
characteristics of a thing which make it a particular thing.
3. Flux - a flowing or flow. * for further biography see last page of transcript
arguing without ever engaging in the historical project of tracing what
questions’ which command the interest and attention of most of those
Nietzsche called the ‘genealogy ’ of our questions and methods.
drawn to philosophy. It is these questions, and the richer conception
But that point at which history becomes essential is, I think,
of philosophy they reflect, which Kant had in mind when he wrote of
reached far sooner than is often imagined. Beyond a certain point,
the ‘cosmopolitan sense’ in philosophy, which issues in four questions:
philosophical understanding must, if it is to satisfy us, become
‘What can I know? What ought I to do? What may I hope?
historically sensitive. This would include an understanding of how and
What is man?’ The history of philosophy, then, is an essential
why those questions came down to us, what presuppositions must be
feature of a certain broad conception of philosophy. It may be called
in place to enable our inquiries, and of why those questions and their
cosmopolitan, after Kant, or ‘humanistic’, after Bernard Williams,
answers matter to us. A great deal of valuable philosophical work can
or it may be judged, following Pierre Hadot, as a series of ‘spiritual
proceed without the sort of historical understanding just described.
exercises’ manifesting in a certain ‘way of life’. Whatever its name, it
A philosopher would be foolish to pursue a historical perspective
is a conception of philosophy focused upon questions and concerns
where that would neither aid nor complement their concerns. Analytic
of vital importance to thinking, reflective human beings: questions
philosophy, for instance, is often said to be largely ‘ahistorical’, but
of beauty, meaning, goodness, and the like, where these questions are
that is most often, I think, because its questions and concerns are not
understood, not as exercises in conceptual ingenuity, but as essential
usually of the sort of invite historical input.
components of one’s practical activities within the world. These
1
The salience2 of history depends upon the questions being
questions are certainly not absent from ahistorical philosophising,
asked and the kind of answers one is seeking. My emphasis on the
but arguably they may be better served by an historical approach.
role of the history of philosophy is directed at those with more vital,
Abstract reflection has a part to play in articulating and addressing
‘practical’ concerns. The refinement of a complex argument about
these questions, but often they cannot be fully appreciated, or
logical relations might not invite historical reflection; but questions
answered, without an historical appreciation of those earlier
about the nature of ‘the good life’, for instance, surely are, for the
generations of philosophers who, troubled by similar worries, offered
reason that it is questions of this sort that are perennial, which appear
their own responses. Sensitivity to the history of philosophy therefore
across different cultures and generations. And it is, I suspect, such ‘big
offers resources for understanding that may be unavailable to those
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Ian James Kidd
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5. Mind-body dualism - In philosophy of mind, dualism is the position that mental phenomena are, in some respects, non-physical, or that the
8. Cartesian dualism - Descartes’ concept of dualism. 9. Presuppositions - a thing tacitly assumed beforehand at the beginning
mind and body are not identical.
of a line of argument or course of action.
6. Iconoclasm - the forceful opposition to the veneration of inanimate
10. (Margaret) Thatcher - UK. prime minister (1979-1990).
7. Representations, religious icons, and other symbols or monuments.
who forsake context for raw argument. By neglecting the context of
However, the objection that philosophy is detached is invalid
philosophical inquiry, one deprives many problems of their urgency
because it relies upon a false conception of philosophy. That image
and salience. Earlier philosophers, stripped of context, may seem
of philosophy – as detached, abstract speculation, isolated from a
peculiar, even perverse, for persisting in abstruse intellectual inquiries
practical context – would certainly make it difficult to see what, if
– about flux , haeccities , mind-body dualism , and the like. However
anything, those speculations had to do with the world. However that
to accuse them thus does them an injustice, and indicates, at the same
conception of philosophy is dependent upon an ahistorical approach
time, our own ignorance. Once Cynic iconoclasm , say, or Cartesian
to the subject, one which strips it of context and isolates it from those
dualism is located within its proper intellectual and historical context,
‘real-world’ concerns which animate it. Reaffirming the contextual
their urgency and salience may be clarified and amplified. The result
and historical nature of philosophy should also help to insure us
is, argue two recent writers, ‘the maturing of a kind of modesty or
against various vices.
4
5
6
7
humility’, an ‘increased perception’ not only of the ‘presuppositions and prejudices of earlier eras’, but also an increased capacity, on our own part, to ‘expose similar presuppositions and prejudices that 8
may be shaping beliefs and commitments today’. Such a historical
Every man is a creature of the age in which he lives and few are able to raise themselves above the ideas of the time
conception should also help protect philosophy from certain persistent and ill-informed challenges to it. Those who object that philosophy is ‘abstract’ and ‘detached’ often, I suspect, have certain caricatures of contemporary academic philosophy in mind. Certainly successive
“
3
Voltaire
The awareness that our problems are not new and that earlier
British Governments since Thatcher seem to have shared that view,
generations also encountered them should encourage a certain
the present one included. Other philosophers have also expressed
humility on our own part. Only presentist hubris1 could persuade us
worries about the deleterious impact of certain features of academic
that our predilections2 – our anxieties and insights – are privileged
philosophy upon the genuine pursuit of philosophical inquiry.
guides to the nature of reality. An appreciation of context should, one
9
hopes, indicate that our anxieties and insights arise from ideas and
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1. Hubris - excessive pride or self-confidence.
4. Prefigure - to show or represent beforehand by a figure or type.
2. Predilections - a preference or special liking for something;
5. Impoverished - poor, weakened.
a bias in favor of something. 3. Parochial - of or relating to a church parish.
developments which are not wholly of our making. Our achievements
Understanding that history will not only illuminate our contemporary
are, therefore, not ours alone. At the least, we owe a debt to both
concerns, but, one hopes, also renew our appreciation of philosophy.
the errors and the insights of earlier generations, a debt which an
Our participation in that history will, at the least, enable us to do
understanding of the history of philosophy can help to make apparent.
justice to those who came before, and hopefully enable us to endow
There is ignorance, injustice and also ingratitude in the attitudes of
future generations, as best we can, with ideas which, in time, may
those who deride the value of philosophy whilst living within a society
be of use to those who follow us. At the very least, such historical
so shaped by it.
philosophising brings with it a set of intellectual virtues –
urged us, when considering our history, to
admire those who ‘first brought us to the path of truth’ as much as
gratitude, humility, and justice – which lend it a moral as well as an
those ‘who afterwards conducted us through it’. To cherry-pick from
intellectual significance.
the history of philosophy those figures whose views prefigure ours 3
smacks of what historians of science call ‘Whig history’: a neglect of the role of critics, rival schools and the like in shaping the ideas that, from a parochial4 perspective, ‘won’ in the end. Failure to acknowledge those who brought us to our current path reflects badly upon us, especially if, as d’Alembert reminds us, we are but a ‘passing generation’, our concerns being, perhaps, ‘nothing for the next one, still less for distant posterity’. Once a historical approach to philosophy is in place, that impoverished5 view of philosophy – and the stereotypes it sponsors, of philosophers as intellectual narcissists preoccupied with their own uncertainties, say – should dissolve. There is a place for abstract reflection, for sure, but philosophy is, for many, necessarily rooted in the practical concerns of human beings who are, themselves, subjects of a history.
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Meet & Greet
*
Find out more about selected philosophers who starred in the previous transcript
Friedrich Nietzsche 1844-1900 Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) was a German philosopher
sobriety and rationale to such destructive drives. These became to
of the late 19th century who challenged the foundations of
major principles in his future work, the Dionysian and Apollonian,
Christianity and traditional morality.
one of chaos, dream and intoxication, the other one of order and
H
the lending of form. These Nietzsche associated with an aesthetic
e was interested in the enhancement of individual and cultural
disposition in which life be viewed as a work of art. He demonstrated
health, and believed in life, creativity, power, and the realities
that the Greeks had theorized the relation of the two principles in
of the world we live in, rather than those situated in a world beyond.
which art is a willed illusion and is composed of both form-giving and
Central to his philosophy is the idea of “life-affirmation,” which
intoxication, and thus, art offers one a vantage point of life. Therefore,
involves an honest questioning of all doctrines that drain life’s
life itself becomes recognizable as unknowable in terms of an ultimate
expansive energies, however socially prevalent those views might
truth, as proposed by an idealist metaphysics.
be. Often referred to as one of the first existentialist philosophers along with Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855), Nietzsche’s revitalizing philosophy has inspired leading figures in all walks of cultural
Notable work
life, including dancers, poets, novelists, painters, psychologists, philosophers, sociologists and social revolutionaries. In his first published book, Die Geburt der Tragödie aus dem
The Birth of Tragedy (published in 1872) Human, All Too Human (completed in 1879)
Geist der Musik (The Birth of Tragedy), he diagnosed that human
Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1885)
beings are subject to Dionysian instincts — unconscious desires,
Beyond Good and Evil (1886)
impulses, or overwhelmingly self-destructive tendencies. Nietzsche
The Antichrist (1888)
pointed out that the Greeks had opposed Apollonian principles of
Meet & Greet
Friedrich Nietzche
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Ian James Kidd
About
Papers
Born: 02/04/1982
Doing Science An Injustice: Midgley on Scientism
Origin: Lousiana, U.S.
Educating for Intellectual Humility Nature, Mystery, and Morality: A Daoist View
Works in epistemology, philosophy of medicine, philosophy of
Epistemic Injustice in Healthcare: A Philosophical Analysis
religion, history and philosophy of science, and the philosophical
Doing Away With Scientism
traditions of Asia and Continental Europe.
Feyerabend on Politics, Education, and Scientific Culture Phenomenology, Psychiatric Illness, and Religious Commitment
Epistemic virtues and vices (especially epistemic injustice and
Feyerabend on Science and Education
epistemic humility); the experience and value of illness; the nature of
Was Sir William Crookes Epistemically Virtuous?
a religious life; contingency and pluralism in science; scientism and
Reappraising Feyerabend
anti-scientism; the practice and nature of philosophy; and the life and
Transformative Suffering and the Cultivation of Virtue
thought of Paul Feyerabend.
History and Humility Emotion, Religious Practice, and Cosmopolitan Secularism
Founded the Durham Philosophy Department’s Gender Action Group and is committed to improving the representation of women in philosophy, and is also involved with the Leeds University chapter of Minorities in Philosophy (MAP).
Biographies
Ian James Kidd
25
Talks Illness, Virtue, and Exemplarist Ethics
Religious Beauties
Location: University of Leeds
Time: 11 AM to 1 AM
Event Date: Feb 25, 2015
Location: University of Leeds
Organization: Centre for Ethics
Event Date: Nov 20, 2014 Organization: Centre for the Philosophy of Religion
Learning from the Best: Ethical Exemplarism in Confucius’ 'Analects'
Books
Location: University of Durham Event Date: Jan 21, 2015
Science and the Self: Animals, Evolution, and Ethics:
Organization: Durham University Philosophical Society
Essays in Honour of Mary Midgley
'World Philosophies' series
co-edited with Elizabeth McKinnell Publisher: London: Routledge
Epistemic Injustice and Religious Experience Location: Durham University
The Routledge Handbook to Epistemic Injustice
Event Date: 2015
co-edited with José Medina and Gaile Pohlhaus
Organization: Epistemic Injustice and the Philosophy of Religion
Publisher: London: Routledge
Experiences of Illness and Narratives of Edification
Historiography and the Philosophy of the Sciences
Location: University of Bristol
co-edited with Robin Hendry
Event Date: Jul 9, 2013
Publisher: special section of Studies in History and
Organization: Illness, Narrative, Phenomenology
Philosophy of Science
Confidence, Humility, and Philosophy
Reappraising Feyerabend
Location: EIDOS Durham University
(co-edited with Matthew Brown, UT Dallas, in preparation as a special
Event Date: Jun 17, 2014
issue of Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 2013)
Anthropogenic Climate Change, Humility, and ‘Epistemic Activism’
Mystery and Humility
Event Date: Oct 31, 2014
(co-edited with Guy Bennett-Hunter, Durham)
Organization: Philosophy and Public Policy:
European Journal for the Philosophy of Religion 40/3 (2012).
Philosophical Activism III
Biographies
Ian James Kidd