But what does he think of when he thinks of that sign?
This had better be a funny thread. MY's anecdote was pretty good, and I don't want any of that diminishing returns nonsense.
Ah, the threads that provide an opportunity to discuss philosophy have become increasingly rare around here.
Of course, like most new commenters, I know nothing about philosophy or philosophers, so have little to say.
In most versions of that story, Ayer actually talks Tyson out of beating and raping Campbell. This means that Ayer really has contributed goodness to the world, unlike many philosophers.
2 - Haven't the diminishing returns already begun? Labs's anecdote was considerably less amusing than Yglesias's.
There was also a great moment in Ayer's biography when his son realizes he's actually the biological child of...was it PF Strawson? Or some other pretty famous philosopher? Damn, I can't remember.
Did I ever mention that I know a successful freelance philosopher? The mind boggles.
it was written in a hurry while Ayer thought he'd have to leave the profession for want of a job.
Is that true or are you making fun of the unlearned who might ask?
Though Yglesias quotes the less entertaining version; the better one has Tyson saying "do you know who the fuck I am? I'm the motherfucking heavyweight champion of the world!"
Apparently Ayer thought he was ok because during the war he had been trained in self-defense or something like that. This equipped him to have sex with half of France.
7 - Are they independently wealthy? That's my general sense of how "independent scholars" live.
This equipped him to have sex with half of France.
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So I went out to run errands which included dropping my mail in the mailbox, when I get catcalled. "Baby, you don't need to mail me the letter, 'cause I'm right here." I should have been annoyed, but he looked so much like Bubbles on The Wire all I could do was laugh, thus promoting patriarchal norms.
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I knew a guy in college who described his professional ambitions as "mercenary philosopher."
11: No, that's the crazy thing. Their partner did work, but I think they made about the same amount, yearly.
"Baby, you don't need to mail me the letter, 'cause I'm right here."
Plus, that's pretty cute in and of itself.
Some philosophers write famous books and have sex with half of France. Others comment on Unfogged.
When they write Ben w-lfs-n's intellectual biography, we are all going to be famous.
12: I don't know why that makes me want to say"Wow"--I don't know from AJ Liebling--but wow.
I know! It's hard to be indignant when I end up chuckling!
Is it wrong to forgive sexual harassment when it is actually funny? And who gets to make that call?
A couple times people have told me stories that were meant to illicit sympathy and outrage, but wound up just making me laugh.
7: I know a philosopher who, while having a tenured teaching gig, also freelances at hospitals. He's like an ethics counselor or something. Pull the plug! No don't!
There are ads on the subway for "Practical Philosophy," which claims it can tell me "why we are all here." I'm quite happy with the impractical philosopher I have at home, who deals in ancient and Gallic obscurantism.
As I read it, it was a party for Ayer (no mention of models), and he didn't actually talk Tyson out of raping Campbell, but threw him off guard well enough to give Campbell a chance to escape. The anecdote came up when I met H-tch-ns, who said he was supposed there but had shown up late; I'm inclined to interpret that as confirmation of the rough outline, though I suppose there's the possibility that he was just subtly inserting himself into a great story.
On preview, the detail Labs mentioned in 10 was also crucial to the tale as I heard it.
ancient and Gallic obscurantism.
Is that what CA puts on his CV now?
16: I bet that guy says that about 50 times a week.
Is it wrong to forgive sexual harassment when it is actually funny?
No, it is highly recommended.
And who gets to make that call?
Black Canary, as written by Gail Simone. She seems like a good egg.
24: If you've got a good line, keep using it.
26: Definitely a better line than this.
Is it wrong to forgive sexual harassment when it is actually funny? And who gets to make that call?
That reminds me of the Chris Rock bit about Denzel Washington vs. Clarence Thomas as Anita Hill's boss. It's still harassment, but some people can get away with more than others. Sad but true.
There are ads on the subway for "Practical Philosophy,"
which annoy me afresh every day.
28: Just imagine when Denzel Washington is 95 years old. He'll be an unstoppable sexual-harassing machine.
all I could do was laugh, thus promoting patriarchal norms. the ability to distinguish between comedy and harassment.
Fixed that for you.
this one illustrating his rather austere inner life
I don't get that sense of him at all. In fact I would have expected him to respond to the query with "Part-tay!" or at least the refined, intelligent, upper class equivalent of same.
I'm trying to quantify Campbell not being raped in terms of rat orgasms. You'd have to quantify the potential trauma to Campbell, and then subtract the Tyson-organs afterdoing the relatively simple conversion into rat-units.
Any way you figure, Ayer earned a lot of slack that night.
21 - Is "Practical Philosophy" some kind of cult thing? Because that's what it sounds like.
34: From the Wikipedia entry, it sounds like it could be argued as such. Apprently a lot of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky.
From the details of the course of study there is this: 5th Year - Specific courses for women emphasising their subservience to men. Is this a better way to do it rather than spreading it through all 4 years like in most colleges?
JP, perhaps that's in addition to spreading it through all 4 years like most colleges.
35 - Wow, that's an awful wikipedia article.
If it allows one to prevent Mike Tyson rapes, it is practical philosophy.
Buh? What wikipedia article are you people reading?
38: School of Practical Philosophy.
That wikipedia article's talk page has some creepy removed material by someone who apparently took a class from them -
The perspective spelled out in the attached link/website located under the Criticisms category above is pretty accurate as compared to my own personal experience with the school. I attended their introductory course and while I did learn much, and enjoyed my time there, at the same time, I had this very strong underlying sense that the school was not being completely forthright with the students, and that there was an underlying, ulterior agenda, that they did not want to make readily apparent to us. The 2-hour or so evening classes included a 30-minute meal break, which I always found rather odd. (After a long day of work, wouldn't most people just rather get the 2-hour class over with so they can head back home? Why add a 30-minute break to it?) During the 30-minute break, the students were expected to go down to a cafeteria of sorts, where a buffet-style meal was available for a nominal fee. It seemed that every time we went to the cafeteria, there seemed to be non-students (or "members" of the school it seemed, wearing either suits and ties or long flowy dresses) already randomly seated at various tables, as if they were "awaiting" us. They would always start very innocent-seeming, casual conversation with the students, but would never come out and identify themselves as being affiliated with the school. (I think they hoped we'd just assume they were students just like ourselves.) I believe that they were trying to "feel out" the different students, to see who might be most receptive to perhaps further "training" by the school.
Funny. I distinctly remember buying LT & L in a used book store in north central Dallas on a sunny. Bought a copy of the Tao Te Ching at the same time. I remember that I did read both.
I can't remember when or where I bought the Tractatus.
On Ayer talking about being trained in hand-to-hand combat, that was actually one of the funnier parts in the book. He was talking about being trained for working behind enemy lines in France (and Spain) and said he as trained in hand-to-hand combat which meant he could kill someone with his bare hands but that, as far as he could tell, that was contingent on the object of his attack holding still and not fighting back. It wasn't at all self-aggandizing but quite the opposite.
For some reason bob's 42 puts me in mind of this achewood strip. The laptop of my mind is not a part of the world.
45 - oops, yes, link, it's just not visible.
46 - no, in fact, no link. This time I'm certain of it.
For you youngsters, the Quadrophenia album liner notes referenced in 48.
49: Our Mums and Dads are all very nice and live in bungalows which we bought for them in the Outer Hebrides.
Thnks pf. I remember loving that line, but had entirely forgotten where it came from.
Swords do Furnish a Room ...Ross Douthat
"This has nothing to do with anything, but I must take exception. Schoenberg is the musical opposite of Will Wilkinson and liberal individualism in general." ...Brendan in comments
Once you renounce the liberal fascism, I guess political theory gets really tough.
IIRC: So this journalist turns up at Ayer's house to interview him (it's the 1950s), and a woman in capri pants and a tight sleeveless top (whom I understand you Americans would refer to as a 'hot tomato') answers the door, smoking a cigarette.
Journo: "Er... Mrs. Ayer, I presume?"
Woman (blowing smoke in his face): "I wish, honey, I wish..."
14: I knew a guy in college who described his professional ambitions as "mercenary philosopher."
He's probably working for Blackwater now, driving round Baqubah wearing Oakleys and an assault vest, randomly stopping innocent Iraqis and brutally undermining their hitherto-unquestioned ethical postulates.
Regarding Ayer's wartime training, it's worth remembering that the Special Operations Executive was full of people like that; communists, philosophers, ancient historians, young historians of ancient civilisations, scholars of odd languages. Who could also deglove a Vlasov Cossack sentry's occiput with one hand tied behind their back and no weapons but a stolen chasuble.
He was probably planning to remove Tyson's head with a loop of cheesewire if he had to resort to wetwork.
You think I jest; consider the case of Bill Deakin, classicist, hired amanuensis to WSC, first British agent into Yugoslavia...
I think that a big part of the story is that lethal powers are a lot less important in intelligence than the movies tell us they are. It's not like the people already there in Yugoslavia needed someone to teach them how to kill people.
Look, man; I give you chasubles and Vlasov Cossacks and Dijlas and Churchill an stuff and this is the gratitude I get?
Awww, Alex. Don't be like that. We love your lethal SOE-trained Oxford philologists.