October 10, 2004
Norman,
I don't know how long your paper 'Philosophy as a Blood Sport'
has been up on the web, or how long ago the last comment was
posted, but allow me to add one of my own (of course, you have my
permission to post it, if you should so wish).
I'm an undergraduate at Oxford, studying philosophy and politics,
and embarking upon a PhD in philosophy next year. As a keen
philosopher, I have attended graduate seminars since the end of
my freshman year, and I have also had the good fortune to be
allowed to attend one or two conferences. Let me tell you that
you are dead right about the attitude of many philosophers in
academia. At graduate seminars, and particularly at conferences,
a flawed argument in a paper is invariably met with hoots of
derision, as, smirking, one of the faculty slyly makes the
speaker feel two centimeters tall with a putdown. Note that, in
my own seminar series that I run strictly for undergraduates,
courtesy reigns supreme, and, as a result, we end up covering
much more ground than any of the more 'advanced' meetings I have
attended.
The viciousness of the worse fellows [i.e. tutors –NS] even extends
into tutorials
which, at Oxford, usually involve two students and one fellow.
Although many of my tutors have been wonderfully civil, and
extremely encouraging, I have encountered one or two who were
very happy to pounce on any mistake I, or my tutorial partner,
might happen to make and couple a (perfectly legitimate)
refutation with a wave of gratuitous ad hominem. Of course, I
have heard horror stories far worse than mine. A (female) friend
of mine once came out of a tutorial crying because her tutor had
made her feel so insignificant. She was on a scholarship, so was
clearly intelligent, although she was far too polite for the
ruthless world of philosophy tutorials.
The intellectual arrogance of those who have the self-confidence
to hold their own in the sphere of philosophical academia has to
stop. I have seen countless friends of great philosophical talent
put off the subject by a tutor whose tongue was too quick and too
barbed. The fact you can express yourself better than another,
and perhaps even think quicker than them, does not entail that
you are justified in belittling them: let's not forget Aesop's
tortoise. If we continue to alienate potential philosophers who
might well excel, we are only setting ourselves back (although I
suppose it might make it easier for us to get jobs...)
Thanks for the article!
David Doe
Oxford
Note: the author's surname has been withheld at his request. —Norman Swartz
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