interesting thread on Protevi's blog, and my thought about the real divide in philosophy
Check out the thread titled "Analytic and Continental Philosophy I, Becoming the Philosopher You Are" on the great blog of John Protevi (now linked to on the left of this page as well).
I think the real division in philosophy now is between a prioristic and non-aprioristic approaches to philosophy. I would make the division between naturalist/non-naturalist or materialist/non-materialist, but this is misleading, since many of the "naturalists" in analytical philosophy operates with an a prioristic, false conception of science that is a hangover from cartoon versions of logical positivism. I also think non-aprioristic philosophers can end up believing in supernatural entities (Popper's defense of substance dualism was in a book written with neuroscientist John Eccles).
This division runs across the analytic/continental divide. In analytic philosophy the a-priorists paradigmatically take philosophers to be in charge of what is conceivable and (for them) hence metaphysically possible. In continental philosophy the a-priorists paridigmatically take phenomenology to be in some sense prior to empirical science. Both operate as ideologies to defend armchair philosophizing and the resultant theories that kind of float in the clouds, lacking any empirical friction.
I don't think there is a principled divide between the empirical and conceptual, and hence think that philosophy that conceives of itself as non-empirical is mistaken at best.
I thought professor Protevi is a French Studies professor?
Posted by: Brandon the Iron Man | May 01, 2007 at 08:05 PM
His appointment is currently in French Studies, but his Ph.D is in Philosophy as are his publications. He's also the editor of a really great new series in philosophy/cognitive science.
Posted by: Jon Cogburn | May 01, 2007 at 08:39 PM
Eccles has a pretty elaborate theory of dualism himself. It's nice to see people go so far against the grain, if nothing else.
What book are you talking about?
Posted by: Drew Martin | May 04, 2007 at 03:20 PM
The Popper/Eccles book is I think called "The Self and Its Brain."
Hey man, I've fixed the March 11 post so that it correctly cites you. I'm embarrassed that when I originally wrote that I couldn't remember where the idea came from.
Posted by: Jon Cogburn | May 04, 2007 at 05:40 PM
Hey, thanks, I didn't even know it was on here.
I'll drop you an email as soon as finals are over and I have a chance to think again :-/
Posted by: Drew Martin | May 06, 2007 at 03:25 PM