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Eagleton on Sex and Sexuality: Fun, and Not-So-Much (Respectively)
In yesterday’s post, I offered a couple of critical remarks in response to Stanley Fish‘s review of Terry Eagleton‘s Reason, Faith and Revolution. Those remarks were directed at a pair of passages...
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On Being a ‘Professional Philosopher’
A recent post in The Philosopher’s Magazine blog set me thinking about some of the strictures on being a professional or academic philosopher, which today amount to pretty much the same thing. (I...
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On Being a ‘Professional Philosopher’, Contd.
In my previous post on being a professional philosopher, I had emphasized the scholarly world: publishing, writing, theoretical orientation etc. Today, I want to take note of another very important...
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Acts of Kindness: Writing to Writers, Especially Academic Ones
A couple of years ago, after reading Neil Gross‘ excellent biography of Richard Rorty, I sent him a short note of appreciation, telling him how much I enjoyed his book. Gross wrote back; he was clearly...
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Academic Writing In Philosophy: On Finding Older Writing Samples
Yesterday, while cleaning up an old homepage of mine, I found some old papers written while I was in graduate school. Overcome by curiosity–and rather recklessly, if I may say so–I converted the old...
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My Favorite Reader
For as long as I have been married, my wife has been my favorite reader. She reads and offers comments on almost everything I write, from the brief posts here (and at The Cordon) to my books. She...
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‘Don’t Call Me A Philosopher’
I cringe, I wince, when I hear someone refer to me as a ‘philosopher.’ I never use that description for myself. Instead, I prefer locutions like, “I teach philosophy at the City University of New...
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Self-Promotion And Failures Of Generosity
Like most authors today, I am expected to hustle a great deal–to ‘market’ my books. I am supposed to set out a shingle on social media–like a Facebook page, or a special Twitter account. I should post...
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An Amateurish And Embarrassing Oversight
Recently, much to my dismay, I noticed that on page 2 of my book Eye on Cricket: Reflections on the Great Game there are a couple of serious problems. There, the following passages appear: ‘Nostalgia’...
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An Anxiety-Provoking Description Of The Creative Process
There are many, many, descriptions of the stages of the creative process. Some have been memorialized into pithy, quasi-inspirational, meme-worthy statements that can be shared on the net, all the...
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Cioran on Academic Writing’s ‘Forms of Vulgarity’
In ‘The Addict of Memoirs’ (from Drawn and Quartered, Arcade Publishing, New York, 1983/2012), E. M. Cioran writes: Is there a better sign of “civilization” than laconism? To stress, to explain, to...
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Taming The Beast: Writing By Deleting Text
Some six or so years ago, I began work on a book. I’m still not done and the end isn’t in sight either. I’ve alluded to this state of affairs on this blog before: on my About page where I make note of...
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Freud As Writing Stylist And Pedagogy Instructor
In Freud, Jews and Other Germans: Master and Victims in Modernist Culture¹(Oxford University Press, New York, 1978), Peter Gay writes: All of Freud’s biographers devote an obligatory page to the...
View ArticleAcademia As Pie-Eating Contest
Some wag once said that academia was a pie-eating contest in which the prize was more pie. The reason this evokes rueful chuckles from academics is that, like all good jokes, there is truth in this...
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