Topics Profession

Question Is it true that the professional academic philosopher is a relatively new phenomenon? If so, what have been the benefits and shortcomings of professionalising philosophy? I ask this because someone told me recently that the most significant contributions to philosophy have been made by people who never considered themselves to be philosophers as such, but who got philosophical about their primary area of interest - mathematics, science, politics or whatever.

Accepted:
November 17, 2005

Comments

I think that almost all of the central figure in the western philosophical canon would have considered themselves philosophers, though not necessarily academic. Some of them were also notable for other things -- for example Aristotle for biology and Descartes and Leibniz for mathematics. There have also been great scientists who might not have considered themselves philosophers but did some significant philosophical writing -- for example, Galileo, Boyle, Newton and Einstein.

But perhaps one shouldn't put too much emphasis on disciplinary affiliation. And even if one is in the first instance a philosopher, it is a real plus if philosophy is not the only thing you know about since (among other things), so much philosophy is Philosophy of X, where X is some other discipline.