[lit-ideas] Re: Auerbach on Mimesis
- From: Robert Paul <rpaul@xxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:48:36 -0700
John McCreery wrote
This formula draws a fine line between philosophy, the physical sciences
and mathematics. But what distinguishes philosophy from other activities
that also deal with difficult problems outside the scope of physical
science or mathematics? History has been mentioned. What of literary
criticism, anthropology, politics, marketing, haute cuisine, therapy,
jazz or art, for example? Life appears to be full of difficult problems
that do not lend themselves to performing experiments or solving
equations. Does philosophy encompass them all?
I'm a bit surprised to learn that politics, marketing, creative cooking,
'therapy,' anthropology do not make use of measurement and observation,
and that they all ignore empirical findings. Are they, then, just
thought experiments and guess-work? Philosophers do not weigh and
measure in order to obtain their results; it seems to me that one could
not perform experiments without having made at least a few observations,
and that equations make use of formulae whose variables might range over
things in our common world (as in engineering).
Yet, it's true, of course, that there are disciplines and areas of study
which do not use experimental means, etc., but are not philosophy,
simply for that reason. So, should I add that philosophy deals with a
certain non-empirical subject-matter (about which I'll then be asked,
'And what subject-matter, precisely?').
Last night in order to try to forestall definitional questions of the
sort John (and Irene) have raised, I listed a year's worth of philosophy
offerings at a small, liberal arts college. I have considerable
inductive evidence that they are typical. My purpose was to say, in
effect, 'these and similar things are called philosophy.' If you can
look at the course offerings of the Berklee College of music, or the
California Culinary Institute, and not see how they differ from these
philosophy courses, it may be that I can't be of much more help (if I
have been any).
Robert Paul
Reed College
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