Comments on: On the Differences between Philosophers http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/ Chris Brooke's Weblog Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:50:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.4 by: Sjoerd http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-159502 Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:43:52 +0000 http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-159502 I remember reading somewhere (I think it was a profile of Williams in The Guardian when Truth and Truthfulness had just come out) that Iris Murdoch once suggested Williams write a play. It is tempting to go with the suggestion that his stylish emphasis on the particular had a great deal to do with his opposition to neat theories in moral philosophy. I agree with you, then, that this thought comes in somewhere, but I also think one should resist the notion that a refusal to be boring somehow equals a lack of philosophical commitment. I remember reading somewhere (I think it was a profile of Williams in The Guardian when Truth and Truthfulness had just come out) that Iris Murdoch once suggested Williams write a play. It is tempting to go with the suggestion that his stylish emphasis on the particular had a great deal to do with his opposition to neat theories in moral philosophy. I agree with you, then, that this thought comes in somewhere, but I also think one should resist the notion that a refusal to be boring somehow equals a lack of philosophical commitment.

]]> by: Jimmy Doyle http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-158819 Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:27:39 +0000 http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-158819 I agree. I agree.

]]> by: Sjoerd http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-158757 Mon, 04 Feb 2008 18:17:49 +0000 http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-158757 Who was it said being too clever by half is perhaps the ultimate English put-down? One reason Bernard Williams is not just another boring logic-chopper, surely, is his style. Who was it said being too clever by half is perhaps the ultimate English put-down?

One reason Bernard Williams is not just another boring logic-chopper, surely, is his style.

]]> by: Jimmy Doyle http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-158658 Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:50:04 +0000 http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-158658 Rob: Right. There's a line somewhere in Ethics & the Limits (I don't have it to hand) where he says something about how ethical principles (I think) should "hang together, like conspirators," and I was torn between admiration and a thought along the lines of "you just couldn't resist it, could you?" It's a bit like Kingsley Amis's complaint about his son's writing, that he could never just finish a chapter with "They finished their drinks and left." I had thought you were standing up for his opposition to the 'neat formulations' (in another sense) of Kantianism, utilitarianism, materialism etc; this I acknowledge. Rob: Right. There’s a line somewhere in Ethics & the Limits (I don’t have it to hand) where he says something about how ethical principles (I think) should “hang together, like conspirators,” and I was torn between admiration and a thought along the lines of “you just couldn’t resist it, could you?” It’s a bit like Kingsley Amis’s complaint about his son’s writing, that he could never just finish a chapter with “They finished their drinks and left.”

I had thought you were standing up for his opposition to the ‘neat formulations’ (in another sense) of Kantianism, utilitarianism, materialism etc; this I acknowledge.

]]> by: Rob http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-158208 Sun, 03 Feb 2008 23:16:28 +0000 http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-158208 Nah, I was agreeing. Williams was too addicted to the neat formulation. A lot of the time, if you couldn't put it pithily, he didn't bother saying it, which meant that he got some things wrong and didn't always fully explain what he meant when he seemed to be getting things right. Nah, I was agreeing. Williams was too addicted to the neat formulation. A lot of the time, if you couldn’t put it pithily, he didn’t bother saying it, which meant that he got some things wrong and didn’t always fully explain what he meant when he seemed to be getting things right.

]]> by: cliche guevara http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-157201 Sat, 02 Feb 2008 20:26:48 +0000 http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-157201 I don't understand what is going on, at all. I don’t understand what is going on, at all.

]]> by: Backword Dave http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-155801 Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:49:38 +0000 http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-155801 Feh! I know <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=7M-cmNdiFuI" rel="nofollow">this</a> has been on Crooked Timber, but that's a difference between philosophers. Feh! I know this has been on Crooked Timber, but that’s a difference between philosophers.

]]> by: Jimmy Doyle http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-155551 Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:05:03 +0000 http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-155551 Sorry; I meant stylistically neat or cleverly put; a lot of the formulations seem right or plausible. I guess I'm complaining that he wrote too well. Sorry; I meant stylistically neat or cleverly put; a lot of the formulations seem right or plausible.

I guess I’m complaining that he wrote too well.

]]> by: Rob http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-155532 Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:01:02 +0000 http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-155532 Bernard, too addicted to neat formulations? Never. Bernard, too addicted to neat formulations? Never.

]]> by: ejh http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-155451 Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:45:13 +0000 http://virtualstoa.net/2008/01/30/on-the-differences-between-philosophers/#comment-155451 So does that mean that Taylor only scores 2/3? So does that mean that Taylor only scores 2/3?

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