tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post3666284085768028356..comments2024-03-18T23:49:35.716-07:00Comments on The Splintered Mind: Philosophers' SpousesEric Schwitzgebelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11541402189204286449noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-35275680749696794442008-05-29T12:35:00.000-07:002008-05-29T12:35:00.000-07:00Good point!Good point!Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11541402189204286449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-89538487244578619272008-05-28T15:20:00.000-07:002008-05-28T15:20:00.000-07:00Here's my personal data point, as a philosophy gra...Here's my personal data point, as a philosophy grad student who's getting married in the fall:<BR/><BR/>My non-academic fiancée is not at all disdainful of the <I>study</I> of philosophy. However she <I>is</I> disdainful of philosoph<I>ers</I>, and of academics generally.<BR/><BR/>If one were going to investigate this matter further, one would do well to keep this distinction in mind.Michael Hoffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07967403492174943337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-5287893239350091212008-05-15T08:48:00.000-07:002008-05-15T08:48:00.000-07:00Thanks for all the comments, folks! I agree with ...Thanks for all the comments, folks! I agree with you, Hallq, and if you're describing yourself accurately, anon, I admire that! That's a clever quip, Scott, but I wonder how it plays out if you try to unpack it....<BR/><BR/>Jonathan: I know you know that I think it's an interesting and problematic issue, exactly what the relationship is, or should be, between philosophical moral reflection and actual moral behavior. But I do think the most straightforward view favors such a connection. I imagine the spouse saying, "Humph! My partner a renowned expert in ethics? Let me tell you a few stories."<BR/><BR/>Bryan: It would be interesting to do such a comparison. It's an empirical question, and my impression could be mistaken. My claim, of course, is only about averages.Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11541402189204286449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-19063721317030392462008-05-15T06:51:00.000-07:002008-05-15T06:51:00.000-07:00I think it would be interesting to compare how man...I think it would be interesting to compare how many partners of attorneys, businesspeople and medical doctors also think that those respective fields are just b***sh**.<BR/><BR/>I'm the child of a businessman, and I learned from his stories about work that many people in that field get paid tons of money for doing absolutely nothing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-90879864932210638332008-05-14T10:13:00.000-07:002008-05-14T10:13:00.000-07:00I almost burst out laughing because of how well th...I almost burst out laughing because of how well this describes my partner and I. His disdain for philosophy is actually one of the features that attracts me to him. As a philosopher, of course I'm going to want someone who's willing to challenge my most cherished ideas and assumptions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-71481545277055338712008-05-14T08:23:00.000-07:002008-05-14T08:23:00.000-07:00My wife, who is also an academic, always stuffs he...My wife, who is also an academic, always stuffs her fingers in her ears and starts chanting "I can't heeeear you" whenever I start talking about a philosophical subject. The terrible irony in her case is that <I>she</I> is a <I>classicist</I> of all things.<BR/><BR/>The world will simply never understand Aristotle's point: if it weren't <I>useless</I> it wouldn't be <I>worth doing</I>!Vitae Scrutatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12808120163472036743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-25690449970796853652008-05-13T20:06:00.000-07:002008-05-13T20:06:00.000-07:00In my experience, philosophers are more likely to ...In my experience, philosophers are more likely to spend time worrying about the value of philosophy than anyone else. At the very least, they worry about what other people think of them, not realizing in most cases the answer is "they don't." This may or may not be indicative of something ;)The Uncredible Hallqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09565179884099473943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-1519121944565832402008-05-13T15:44:00.000-07:002008-05-13T15:44:00.000-07:00I'm not seeing the step between 'thinks ethicists ...I'm not seeing the step between 'thinks ethicists are no more likely than other people to behave ethically' and 'disdains the value of philosophy'.<BR/><BR/>I wouldn't guess that that astronauts, shortstops, or master chefs (or ethicists!) are more likely than the average person to behave ethically -- but I have tremendous respect for the value of all of these fields (including ethics).Jonathan Jenkins Ichikawahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05260245860017778409noreply@blogger.com