Tag: Inquiry

• December 5, 2012

  Rehearsing a line of thought

  Rehearsing a line of thought has its place in philosophical life. Saying this seems, however, to present us with a puzzle. If a philosophical inquiry is “an unrehearsed genre whose principal aims are, first, to reveal to us what we don’t know but thought we did and, second, to bring us a greater sense of…
• November 29, 2012

  Goodbye, New York

  You come to New York thinking that you have a pretty good idea what it is you’re looking for, only to discover that, once you live here long enough you have no pretty good idea at all. New York is a great instructor that way. I remember speaking with a man in his early 40s…
• November 20, 2012

  The relationship between direct speech and philosophical inquiry

  Direct Speech and Philosophical Inquiry I believe we creatures of habit, we too-clever beings have learned all forms of indirect speech. To overcome indirectness, I have sought to teach direct speech. Indeed, I have insisted that a philosophical conversation cannot begun unless the philosophical guide and the conversation partner engage exclusively in direct speech. In…
• August 15, 2012

  Art of Inquiry: Interlude–Meno’s Paradox of Inquiry

  Excerpt from The Art of Inquiry. Interlude comes after Chapter 1 and before Chapter 2. Enjoy. * Interlude: Meno’s Paradox of Inquiry Is Meno fed up with Socrates? Could he be throwing up his hands when he accuses Socrates–earnestly or in jest–of being a ‘magician,’ of casting spells and bewitching and enchanting him? Or, likening Socrates…
• August 13, 2012

  Inquiry illuminated

  Excerpt from The Art of Inquiry, Chapter 1. * 1. Inquiry Illuminated What is it — Distinguishing Inquiry from Other ‘Genres’ (Methods, Theories) — Why it matters 1.1. Preliminary Definition An inquiry is an unrehearsed genre whose principal aims are, first, to reveal to us what we don’t know but thought we did and, second,…