[lit-ideas] Thank You, Mister Chips
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2012 09:17:47 -0400 (EDT)
In a Greek context, the philosopher was a bit like a paidagogos. There was
a personal relation. It was a monogamous relation, in that while a tutor
could have many tutees, a tutee would only have one tutor.
To mention a case in point: HARDIE was H. P. Grice's tutor at Corpus
Christi (hence the idea of 'alma mater') and he was always thankful to him
("Gee. He taught me to play golf, too").
In a message dated 8/6/2012 4:48:45 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
"The Thanks List in Phd versus thanking in wider culture"
Indeed, the "PhD dissertation" is a specific cultural phenomenon -- they
didn't have it in Plato's ACADEMY. The first institution to supply PhD was
BOLOGNA, in Italy -- and that's because they wanted 'physicists' mainly.
"cultural paradigms - the Oscar 'thank' and the Starbucks 'thank'".
Note that strictly, in the PhD dissertation it is an "ACKNOWLEDGment" or
'acknowledgEment'. To 'acknowledge' is not strictly to 'thank' -- in that you
don't "you're welcome" an acknowledgement.
---
"issues of inclusivity and magnitude; inclusivity and magnitude of Phd
'thank'; limits to inclusivity: dealing with friends, parents, spouses and
children"
---- 2.2.3. The case of the 'in memoriam': acknowledging a dead friend,
parent, spouse, children, or professor, etc.
"the dedication; limits to magnitude:"
Should the dedication be in verse and rhyme? Should the dedication be in
Latin?
"use of appropriate language, irony and sarcasm; why 'thanked' bear no
responsibility for errors"
Errour.
The reason: it would be otiose to _acknowledge_ someone for your errors.
"why no 'thanks' for those whose work cannibalised in thesis"
By the same token, you seem to be proposing that a cannibal should thank
you (before he eats you). Bringing in cannibalism (cfr. Flanders/Swann,
"Eating people is not wrong") is to ethnoeccentric to count.
"extensive 'thanks' as smokescreen for unoriginality; generosity of
'thanks' as diversion from meanspirited, pernickety 'what follows'; historical
overview: the genesis of Phd 'thanks' - 'Who did Plato thank?'"
Well, his 'tutor' (to use Oxonian parlance) was Socrates. He couldn't thank
him enough, and had him as character of all the rambling dialogues he
later composed as a result of the "Socratic" effect. Aristotle tried to write
dialogues having Plato (his tutor) as character, but FAILED.
----
Note that Strawson, who was Grice's tutee, thanked him (more than once)
even if he never wrote a play about him.
But the genesis pre-dates Plato. It goes back to THALES. The first
philosopher surely couldn't thank an earlier philosopher. This gave some (e.g.
Adriano Palma) the idea that philosophy (Western) as we know it belongs in the
Middle East.
But since Thales, all philosophers are chained to each other in 'tutor'
links down to Witters and beyond. In current parlance, "thesis advisor" can do
for 'tutor' -- and even if you don't THANK explicitly, the uni keeps
records of who your thesis advisor was.
"a revisionist view of contemporary practice - 'Thanking Re-Assessed'.
Addendum I: Tractatus and Investigations as culturally deviant in their
'thanking' - 'Why does Wittgenstein thank no one?'"
Well, The Tractatus originated as notes while he was fighting the Allies in
the trenches, so the least thing you think is _THANK_. The Investigations
is posthumous, and it would be otiose, for a posthumous book, to come
complete with a neat "Acknowledgment" section. Plus, he was an engineer --
never
had a TUTOR as such.
"Addendum II: The Festschrift as 'Thank-fest'". At one time, festscrhfits
were commissioned by the teaching institution upon retirement.
In "Foundations of Illocutionary Logic" Searle provides an extensive
analysis of 'thank'.
He thinks that 'thank' is otiose in that
"I thank" is something that I KNOW. So it's the point of COMMUNICATING a
thank that is at issue. But to say, "I communicate a thank" sounds redundant.
""Thank you" goes hand in hand with "Please"" as in
"Please, sir, I want some more -- gruel".
"Here".
"Thank you, sir".
----- The first use of "You're welome" is French, and introduced in England
by William the Conqueror. In French, 'welcome' gets modified as to gender
and number. In the case of kings, and queens, a 'majestic plural' is
preferred, so that if it's a queen/king that is being 'welcome' for a regal
'thank', a plural is expected.
There is no need to produce any conversationa move after the 'You're
welcome' ("Gee -- conversations would be eternal otherwise" -- Finch, "The
Eternal Conversation").
Cheers,
Speranza
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