Standing Up for Philosophers

Many people don’t understand and therefore disrespect philosophy

Created by author in Midjourney

I’m used to people dissing philosophy. I get dren from anti-intellectuals who think philosophy is worthless. I also get antagonism from right-wingers who hate university professors in general and philosophers in particular. Then there are the egotists who imagine they are smarter than everybody and take pot shots at those who try to think deeply about matters. Whatevs.

Haters are going to hate. Just have to let it go because it’s not the indictment the haters want it to be.

But I was stunned and appalled to receive an e-mail from someone insulting the writers on Original Philosophy. That’s the Medium publication I helped establish in the summer of 2022 to promote writing about philosophy. It publishes peer-reviewed articles by writers who write about philosophy but don’t have the connections necessary to be considered by the professional philosophy journals.

I and another PhD on-faculty philosophy professor review articles submitted. We reject more articles than we publish. Of course, we aren’t a professional journal but that’s not the point. It’s an opportunity for intelligent people to write about philosophical ideas and share them with others.