You might think, from my last post, that I would condemn the way Jonathan Bennett does history of philosophy. But Bennett is an exception. Bennett’s critics often charge him with historical insensitivity and anachronism. To exaggerate a bit, they say something along the lines of “Bennett treats historical texts as if they were published yesterday.… Continue reading

When I was in grad school, I remember there being some discussion among my professors about interpretive charity. The basic idea is simply good sense: try not to interpret what you hear or read as coming from a moron. The background assumption is that most people are not morons, and so if there are two… Continue reading

We had to put down our dog Annie today. Fifteen years old. She was a real sweetie. Continue reading

It is really a delight to be invited to a place where people have no choice but to listen to your ideas and give the impression of being interested. Everyone should have that experience from time to time, and if they are lucky the place will be Columbia, SC. The couple of days I spent… Continue reading

Looking for comments. I will be presenting it at U South Carolina next week. [UPDATED: it has an end now.] Nietzsche’s natzschuralism Continue reading

It is a little-known fact, but the phrase “small potatoes” actually stems from a practice among state universities in the middle ages. Every year, the medieval administrators would pass out awards to the faculty, and the award in each case was a very small potato, which was useful in its own way, and tasty, but… Continue reading