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What makes a philosopher a Philosopher? Isn't a philosopher just an opinion of someone who happens to get published?
Accepted:
March 25, 2010

Comments

Louise Antony
April 22, 2010 (changed April 22, 2010) Permalink

Nobody owns the word "philosopher." It's used in many different ways, including "someone who ponders important, fundamental questions" and "someone who claims to ponder important, fundamental questions, but actually just screws around." In the use most common among academics, "philosopher" means someone who practices seriously the discipline of philosophy, whether published or unpublished, employed or unemployed. Merely having an opinion doesn't qualify you.

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