[lit-ideas] Re: What is philosophy? Susan Langer writes....
- From: joerg benesch <jgruel@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 16:04:34 +0100
Robert Paul schrieb:
(...)If turns out that this is the only criterion perhaps the True
Scotsman needs to be taken out of his case in the British Museum so
that he can be seen to be stuffed with straw. Let the light shine upon
him. If however there are other criteria, for philsophical
seriousness, would it really hurt to list one or two of them?
(...)
Now would one say the following piece of modern philosophy is about
showing the straw, or about some other criterion? -:
"Listen to the witty [sic!] manner in which one played once upon the
shallowness of this pride. A certain man once bitterly attacked another
who had taken to himself falsely the name of philosopher, not for the
purpose of true virtue, but for pride of fame; he added to his attack
that he would know soon whether he was a philosopher, when he saw
whether the other bore with meekness and patience the insults he heaped
upon him. The other showed patience for a while and took the insults as
though he scoffed at them, until he said, " Do you now see that I am a
philosopher? " " I should have, had you kept silence," said the other
stingingly. But we are speaking of great men: and I ask, what do they
gain from fame..."
http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new?id=BoePhil&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=2&division=div
, Boetius' original here:
http://www.perseus.org/cgi-bin////ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0121&layout=&loc=2.P7
Given the calm ataraxia amidst floods of obnoxities that's exposed so
often on this list, Id say that, if anywhere, true philosopers can be
found at least here (Yet are they also necessarily Serious?).
barba non facit philosophum
joerg
clean-shaven in Suebia
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