America the Philosophical :: Philosophy Science Papers

America the PhilosophicalAlthough convention dictates that America is an unphilosophical contour of country, fonder of Super Bowls than supervenience, the development of philosophy away from Socratic strategies that assume eternal right answers to the classical philosophical problems signifys a second case is in order. This is particularly true if one accepts many of the notions currently in the air about post-modern or post-analytic philosophy that its roots lie in classical rhetoric and pragmatism, or that its notion of truth holds the latter to be what issues from the most wide- kick in sort of informed deliberation possible. In that case, it begins to face as if America is to philosophy as Italy is to art, or Norway to skiing a perfectly designed environment for the practice. This, at least, is the provocation intended by this paper. America the Philosophical? It sounds like Canada the Exhibitionist or France the Unassuming a mental miscue, a delusional academic tic, a Dead -On-Arrival body emitting gases of subtle intellectual wish-fulfillment. Everyone knows that Americans dont take philosophy seriously, dont know much about it, dont give in any attention to it, and couldnt name a contemporary academic philosopher if their passports depended on it. As historian Richard Hofstadter drily observed in his Pulitzer-Prize-winning Anti-Intellectualism in American Life (1962), In the United States the play of the mind is perhaps the only(prenominal) form of play not looked upon with the most tender indulgence.But if the backup phenomenon of Hofstadters classic indeed boasts a long, historical background, the peculiar attitude tell at philosophy softens that hostility by increasing the dosage of strangeness or contempt. Philosophy often seems sufficiently unthreatening to the practical on-the-go American that Arthur Schlesingers stinging old charge that on these shores, Anti-intellectualism has long been the anti-Semitism of the businessman feels ove rwrought. The American middle manager confronted with a devoted philosophy shell is most likely to recycle the old cliche, What are you going to do, open a philosophy store?, and leave it at that. If, of course, the information has been accurately downloaded. Tell your middlebrow seatmate on an commuter flight that youre in philosophy and the say is likely to be, Oh, thats great. My niece is in psychology too.The infrequent philosophy blips on Americas media screens suggest that philosophy doesnt quite register on the American psyche with the dignity professionals in the field might like. According to the Macys window of American gossip, the smart York Posts Page Six, model emeritus Lauren Hutton regards Camille Paglia, the medias 15-minute joy-toy of the 80s, as the great living American philosopher.