The state of philosophy For those of you interested in the current status of philosophy as a profession, there's an interesting discussion afoot at Crooked Timber, Crooked Timber: Specialization and Status in Philosophy.

One might think that this discussion would be of serious interest to a 20th Century Philosophy class, especially considering that most of the philosophers being discussed were active back in the wild days of the 20th Century. And indeed you may find it very interesting.

Two warnings however, 1. This is a sociological discussion, that is its a discussion of results derived using sociological methods. 2. You'll see that some of the divisions that we've discussed in class (philosophers should work with scientists vs. Philosophy is a pure humanity for instance) are still very much alive while others have become somewhat less active with a consensus opinion accepted by most philosophers constrasted with a pretty significant number of dissenting voices. What you read here will reflect the consensus opinion, not that there's anything wrong with that.

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