March 18, 1998
Hi there,
I want to commend you on your 'philosophy as a blood sport' paper. It
provides an insightful and timely observation. However, I believe that
to some extent an explanation (though not necessarily an excuse) for
the phenomenon can be given.
In their 1980 book, Metaphors We Live By, Lakoff and Johnson note that
the concept of an argument is structured according to the conceptual
metaphor that ARGUMENT IS WAR. They cite several examples to support
this claim. For example,
- Your claims are indefensible.
- He attacked every weak point in my argument.
- His criticisms were right on target.
- I demolished his argument.
- I've never won an argument with him.
- You disagree? Okay, shoot!
- If you use that strategy, he'll wipe you out.
- He shot down all of my arguments. (p. 4)
Given that philosophy, when done correctly, proceeds by the
presentation of arguments, it should be no surprise that there is a
warlike sub-text to philosophical engagements. Of course, this is not
to say that this is a desirable quality. In addition, if one examines
the Socratic dialogues, one often encounters examples taken from sporting
and military contexts. This too may offer a partial explanation of the
phenomenon.
All the best,
Istvan
Istvan S. N. Berkeley Ph.D.
Philosophy
The University of Southwestern Louisiana
USL P. O. Box 43770, Lafayette, LA 70504-3770, USA
Tel:(318) 482 6807
Fax: (318) 482 6195
http://www.ucs.usl.edu/~isb9112
email: istvan@USL.edu
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