June 3, 1999
Dear Professor Swartz,
I recently had occasion to read your "Philosophy as a Blood
Sport" when it was posted on the Philosophy News Service.
"Blood Sport" appeared alongside a paper entitled
"Philosophy as a Service Industry" by Saarinen and
Uschanov.
Your paper brought to mind an event I had not thought about for
many years, namely, the 1965 Chicago APA meeting. I too was
present when Imlay read his paper. Although I do not recall
B***'s exact words, their tenor fit what you have reported.
I was an impressionable first-year
graduate student and I distinctly recall B***'s rude remarks and
his storming out of the room after he completed them.
Now for the last twenty-five years I have been a prosecuting
attorney (but not because of this incident). In my occupation I
have been in the courtroom on nearly a daily basis. Although my
profession is quite commonly seen as a blood sport, I have never
experienced like conduct by any lawyer.
Tim Blackwood
email: tjb@timblackwood.com
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