tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post6013101019906486429..comments2024-03-28T01:17:42.336-04:00Comments on The Philosopher's Stone: PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVERS, IRWIN WRENCHES, AND THE WRONG WAY TO DO PHILOSOPHYRobert Paul Wolffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-50646506175712464352020-08-16T15:12:06.613-04:002020-08-16T15:12:06.613-04:00Was it Newton who, after he had introduced his ref...Was it Newton who, after he had introduced his reflecting telescope, was asked where he got his tools, and responded that he had made his tools himself and that had he had to wait for his tools would never have build anything?<br /><br />Moreover, I know first hand that at least some of your own arguments have been put to uses that I don't think you had anticipated. There must be at least one dissertation out there with that sort of genealogy? Also, your piece on narrative time puts at least some of Dilthey's observations and arguments to work to explain the perspectival character of historical time? N'est pas?Andrew Lionel Blaishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01976034095806583387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-18988164889339655842020-08-15T17:38:21.713-04:002020-08-15T17:38:21.713-04:00I think the point of the first commenter re prosec...I think the point of the first commenter re prosecco is that both champagne and prosecco are sparkling wines and the differences in price don't necessarily reflect differences in quality - they may be due to market demand, the perception that one is better than the other, etc. (I think much the same is true of Spanish cava). Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-50579182115608794572020-08-15T15:28:51.294-04:002020-08-15T15:28:51.294-04:00I learned an important lesson from this post- don&...I learned an important lesson from this post- don't ask a philosopher about actual tools. You did get it right about home repair though- it can be an unending process, so there is not necessarily any beginning or middle or end to it.<br /><br />Just in case you misplace the wrench, sometimes you can use the claw of the hammer to pry the cap off. Works on beer bottles at least for me.Jerry Brownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-6242229934762089752020-08-15T10:43:04.880-04:002020-08-15T10:43:04.880-04:00Geeze you guys. Prosecco is just a sparkling Itali...Geeze you guys. Prosecco is just a sparkling Italian wine, while Champagne is one that is produced in Champagne region of France. Not too complicated, even for us non-wine drinkers.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-55024449597285923512020-08-15T09:29:51.922-04:002020-08-15T09:29:51.922-04:00Is "Irwin" a brand name? It sounded lik...Is "Irwin" a brand name? It sounded like a pipe wrench to me, and when I google it, I get a bunch of pipe (and other adjustable) wrenches that seem to be "Irwin brand" pipe wrenches. (I might have called this a "Monkey wrench", but wikipedia tells me that actual "monkey wrenches", though similar in style superficially, had a different design that was less easy for changing the grip, although "non-trades people" (such as myself, I guess) sometimes use the term for pipe wrenches more generally.) <br /><br />Thinking a bit more about Prosecco, I'll add that, in my experience at least, it is somewhat easier to find a satisfying bottle at a lower price point than with champagne, although it's possible to spend too much without more satisfaction on both. Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01446428606119200980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-90873255284746438732020-08-15T08:41:00.076-04:002020-08-15T08:41:00.076-04:00An Irwin wrench is a plumbing tool. It provides g...An Irwin wrench is a plumbing tool. It provides good grip on round pipes. Which I know because I paid a good portion of college fees at a UC working in maintenance. As to Prosecco -- well, you are entitled to that mistake. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-30419396192370979282020-08-15T08:02:24.049-04:002020-08-15T08:02:24.049-04:00Bob offers a fuller account of the 1986 conference...Bob offers a fuller account of the 1986 conference here: <br /><br />https://robertpaulwolff.blogspot.com/2014/03/here-it-is-part-one.html<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-17004749479222103682020-08-15T01:55:07.748-04:002020-08-15T01:55:07.748-04:00Speaking of tools and toolboxes, is there such a t...Speaking of tools and toolboxes, is there such a thing as "unskilled labor" when it comes to value? If capitalists insist on retaining a labor category as unskilled, we need an appropriate category for unskilled capitalists too. If you've filed for bankruptcy three times or more, you should not only get an approriate title, but also a dunce cap to go with it.<br /><br />-- Dave F.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-40017694724620698782020-08-14T22:43:26.154-04:002020-08-14T22:43:26.154-04:00I'm no expert on such things, but I've alw...I'm no expert on such things, but I've always thought of prosecco as "the Italian version of champagne". But, maybe it's a style of making a sparkling wine? In any case, it can be very nice, and my wife and I enjoyed a modestly priced (by Australian standards) bottle last night. Good stuff! <br /><br />On Kant and the law, no doubt a lot of law professors do, and have, used him in just the way you describe, but there is a good amount of very sophisticated work these days, too. The gold standard is usually taken to be Arthur Ripstein's _Force and Freedom_. https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674035065 It's a very good book, I think, sophisticated on both the law and on Kant. Another person doing good work in this area is Jacob Weinrib, a young legal philosophy at Queens University in Canada. (I think Weinrib was a student of Ripstein's, but I'm not 100% sure on that.) I thought his paper "Sovereignty as a Right and as a Duty" was particular good. That's here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2976485 (It appeared in a volume where I also have a paper, but mine has nothing to do with Kant.) A number of Weinrib's other papers deal with Kant, but I haven't read most of them. You can find them on his SSRN page, if anyone is interested. Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01446428606119200980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-30102233849893087912020-08-14T20:17:54.749-04:002020-08-14T20:17:54.749-04:00I remember seeing a remark attributed to Schopenha...I remember seeing a remark attributed to Schopenhauer: An argument is not like a cab; you can't take it as far as you want to go and then pay it off. Charles Pigdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01131765562671298571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-15724951886236296482020-08-14T18:41:56.336-04:002020-08-14T18:41:56.336-04:00'At first, I was mystified as to what possible...'At first, I was mystified as to what possible interest first rate legal theorists could have in the philosophy of Kant'<br /><br />..noting that you are still mystified. Or, that is to say, you come off really sardonic about it that first rate legal theorists, in your words, would bother with the philosphy Kant. Even though Kant was the most forceful exponent of natural law theory in modern days, and the most coherent and persuasive critic of legal positivism, which, at least, he is by acclimation I suppose, and if not then who is? Really -- are legal theorists supposed to just sit down and shut up? I guess your reaction would be the same if some first rate legal scholar cites the ancient Greeks, although I am just guessing here.. that your point is not really about Kant or aboutt 'first rate legal scholars' as opposed to any other kind of scholars, first rate or otherwise, but just 'such an endlessly sardonic charade', and all these fictional fruits such as sour grapes, that come out of the groves of academe. The plantings of the academic vine, the prun ing, cutting and nurturing of the plant, University life, a natural hunting ground for the satirist or somesuch. The perennial, the trivial, the quadrivial, the advancement of knowledge, supposedly, but also, the advancement.. the loftiness of the pursuit.. don't bring up Kant with your flippant demeanor cuz he's a proto-Marxist this is serious buzness!Dannyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11915977609430813824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-922405101995828062020-08-14T18:28:07.088-04:002020-08-14T18:28:07.088-04:00'I have no idea what its inventor intended it ...'I have no idea what its inventor intended it to be used for'<br /><br />A wrench or spanner is a tool used to provide .. nvm, file this under: Why on earth am I telling you this?Dannyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11915977609430813824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-57841009999182734042020-08-14T15:53:23.529-04:002020-08-14T15:53:23.529-04:00"But arguments are not tools, although studen..."But arguments are not tools, although students and some young aspiring philosophers seem to imagine that they are....<br />A philosophical argument is not a home repair. It is like a story. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end and if the story makes sense then the argument proceeds comfortably from start to finish."<br /><br />Well, what if someone agrees with a general framework of philosophical argument that has been laid out by someone else and wants to build from that foundation, but disagrees with where the originator took the argument? What if, for instance, someone agrees that there is a natural right to life, health, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but argues further that this is a right to which all races of human beings, male and female alike, are entitled—and which is wholly incompatible with holding other human beings in bondage?<br /><br />I fully agree with your criticism of those who wield the names of philosophers without any indications of understanding of their actual arguments. But that seems different than repurposing parts of others' arguments to suit one's own viewpoint.Eric Cnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-14975803308171724992020-08-14T15:10:13.489-04:002020-08-14T15:10:13.489-04:00The way things are going I doubt not that, if Trum... The way things are going I doubt not that, if Trump wins in 2020 future historians of American politics will begin their hagiography with something like, "As Donald Trump said...".jeffrey g kessennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-60670012278018376182020-08-14T14:30:05.481-04:002020-08-14T14:30:05.481-04:00As Mark Twain recently observed, most of the bon m...As Mark Twain recently observed, most of the bon mots attributed to him or his friend Einstein are falsely so attributed.DDAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04563878282038308662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-58816561320994598382020-08-14T14:27:48.418-04:002020-08-14T14:27:48.418-04:00R McD, worthy of Epimenides, if I may invoke an au...R McD, worthy of Epimenides, if I may invoke an authority ...Robert Paul Wolffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-79837821670932752392020-08-14T13:20:41.895-04:002020-08-14T13:20:41.895-04:00What you say about the attempt to use Kant's n...What you say about the attempt to use Kant's name as a weapon reminded me of my--perhaps mistaken--response to so many academic articles and presentations: E.g., "As Hegel said," with no precise reference to any of Hegel's actual words or any demonstration that what he may have said was germane to the actual argument being made. I've always wondered just how many of those references to past intellectual heroes were necessary and how many were just vague appeals to authority. Also way up there, to my mind, are all those listed eminences in the "Acknowledgements" at the front of a book.<br /><br />I guess in future when I encounter such assertions I'll just say, "As Robert Paul Wolff said, "All such name claims are likely to be phony."R McDnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-60035382774099798312020-08-14T10:22:33.934-04:002020-08-14T10:22:33.934-04:00Prosecco as a poor woman's champagne? Such a c...Prosecco as a poor woman's champagne? Such a capitalist way of looking at it... Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com