Question How does who’s doing the philosophy influence how philosophy is done? I read an essay on how the mostly white publishing circle hinders the full expression of diverse voices. “Minority students may be told to scrap what is striking to them in favor of what is striking to the dominant perspectives of their workshops.” I agree. Writing always comes with personal elements. Philosophy in contrast seems more general and impassive. Is philosophy not supposed to be sensitive to racial, class, gender or personal perspectives?

Accepted:
January 22, 2021

Comments

You raise a very important

You raise a very important topic today, and an interesting topic any day. Maybe it would help for me to respond with some questions that I have on this issue: Why should what's striking to students matter in determining curriculum? Is what's "striking" a sound criterion for either professors or students in selecting texts and topics? What makes you think philosophy is about what's "striking"? Should we ask what reasons a teacher might have for telling a student to scrap their work, if and when that happens; or is it sufficient to note their racial identities? What are the "personal elements" that "always" come with writing? Are they relevant to philosophy? How? Is the claim that "writing always comes with personal elements" personal for you but not others in philosophy? If it's just about you personally, what bearing does it have on philosophy and writing more generally? Why should anyone else care? Should maths be "sensitive to racial, class, gender, or personal, perspectives"? Should the (other) sciences? If philosophy is different from the empirical and formal sciences, how so? Is logic somehow personal? Is truth? Is wisdom? How do you know? Is the fact that a group of philosophers belong to the same race sufficient reason to conclude that their work somehow reflects their race and that their students are improperly limited in their inquiries? I don't know if these questions are at all meaningful to you, but thanks for helping to raise them for me.