At least, I hope so. It did make me laugh, though that’s no guarantee of anything right now:<\/p>\n
I will tell you a philosophical joke. Once upon a time, a visiting scholar presented a lecture on the topic: \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcHow many philosophical positions are there in principle?’ \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcIn principle,’ he began, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcthere are exactly 12 philosophical positions.’ A voice called from the audience: \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcThirteen.’ \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcThere are,’ the lecturer repeated, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcexactly<\/em> 12 possible philosophical positions; not one less and not one more.’ \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcThirteen,’ the voice from the audience called again. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcVery well, then,’ said the lecturer, now perceptibly irked, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcI shall proceed to enumerate the 12 possible philosophical positions. The first is sometimes called “naive realism”. It is the view according to which things are, by and large, very much the way that they seem to be.’ \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcOh,’ said the voice from the audience. \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcFourteen!’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
From a review by Jerry Fodor <\/a>in the London Review of Books, via The Philosophers’ Magazine Online<\/a><\/em>,\u00c2\u00a0via the Chronicle <\/em>quoting <\/em>The\u00c2\u00a0Guardian<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>I was actually trying to find this quotation from Fodor:<\/p>\n
Anybody who thinks that philosophers as such have access to large resources of practical wisdom hasn’t been going to faculty meetings.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The Guardian<\/em> writer calls Fodor “the leading contemporary philosopher of mind.” Bingo, I say.<\/p>\n
I still feel bad about missing UNESCO’s Fifth Annual World Philosophy Day<\/a>, however.<\/p>\n
Now I really must get back to the grading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At least, I hope so. It did make me laugh, though that’s no guarantee of anything right now: I will tell you a philosophical joke. Once upon a time, a visiting scholar presented a lecture on the topic: \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcHow many … Continue reading