Profession

How much does a philosopher read per day? How long do you read each day?

Comments

This varies enormously from person to person, and from day to day., and on how hard the material is. When I'm working intensively on a paper, or trying to develop a new course, I might read one or two very challenging articles a day, or I might try to "blitz" through the relevant literature and read four or five. It generally takes me a week or so to read an entire academic philosophy book. If I'm developing a new course, I'll try to read six or seven pieces for every one I assign (exclusive of essays I know I want students to read.)

Then there are novels and political magazines and knitting books The New Yorker. I read about one of these every week. My line is that I'm engaging with popular culture in a way that will ultimately enrich my philosophy

Some philosophers, like David Chalmers, read about 17books a day. Linguist and political critic Noam Chomsky writes about 17 books a day.

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