Comments on: Philosophical Cranks aka Continental Philosophy

By: Delphine Sucgang

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By: peli

peli — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 05:05:24 +0000

I agree a departmental split deserves consideration, but the concept of a ‘crank’ doesn’t make as much sense in a field where there’s no widespread agreement on criteria (which, given the fact that both Continentals and Analytics are part of the field, there isn’t). It’s not like Continentals are claiming to be using a methodology extensive with that of science, or with that of common-sense, which they can then be exposed as failing to adhere to. Continental philosophers have their own (sometimes explicit — ‘negative dialectics’, ‘deconstruction’ — sometimes de-facto) method of determining what makes sense, what’s a good argument, et cetera. It’s not one that I understand or respect, but the point is, physics cranks falsely claim to be adhering to the same methods as other physicists (at the very least they’ll be claiming to use proper math) , but Continental philosophers do not claim to be adhering to the same methods as Analytic philosophers. I think the situation is much closer to if theology and philosophy never split-up, and Analytic philosophers were sharing a department with theologists: it might still be a good idea to call for separation, but ‘denouncing’ theologists as fake Analytic philosophers wouldn’t be a very effective tactic, and maybe not even an honest one (just like Dummett does at least respectable Analytic philosophy and also occasional theology and knows the difference, one sometime runs into people who are competent at Analytic philosophy and also do Continental philosophy, and known when they are doing which).

By: Ken

Ken — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:19:21 +0000

I think the great continental philosophers carry the tradition of asking the Big Questions of Life. These include Kant, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Marx, Sartre, and Camus. They focus on the human condition and what it means to be a human being.

However, I agree with you that the bad continental philosophers, or cranks as you call them, with no knowledge of science or mathematics try to discuss them as if they were experts. I'm looking directly at Irigaray's feminist physics and Lacan and his mangling of topology.