Extras archive

Lelle:rs Dear Editors Jerry M Cohen in his discussion of Roy Edgley’s article ‘Reason and Violence’, presents himself as both a victim of, and propagandist for, a brand of doublethink increasingly popular amongst our so-called radicals. on the one hand, he argues that we should have no truck with the meaning of words (a pursuit […]

A note on R. S. Peters Bob Borsley ” The ideological character of academic philosophy is much clearer in the work of some philosophers than others. One philosopher in whose writing it is particularly clear is R S Peters. In his ‘Social Principles and the Democratic State’ (written with S I Benn) , and ‘Ethics […]

The Story so far: Professor Witticus von-Etzdorf never went anywhere without his copy of The Critique of Pure Reason. The Critique was on his desk and the Prof. ~s missing. With the Logical Positivist Meeting in Vienna only two days away fast talking philosopherdetective Jean Paul Sauvage needed all his wits’ about him when Athene […]

noTES A REACTION TO RADICAL PHILOSOPHY J.M.Hinton No one, I believe, can yet say with any confidence to what extent the ‘mere’ attempt to uproot perennial forms of falsehood from our ways of thinking may itself change the world. If only for this reason, it is a mistake to reach the conclusion that contemporary British […]

“I know, I was planning to attend. Do you have the keys to his place?” She reached into her coat and took out the keys and a well-thumbed edition of The Story of Philosophy. “What are you doing with that?” I asked. “Just boning up for Daddy’s lecture. Phone me when you find out anything.” […]

–: I Social and Philosophical Understanding – an example John Paley it is genetically unsound? Meanwhile, belief in the moral reprehensibility of masturbation continues, despite the fact that we have so far been unable to provide a replacement for the view that it causes insanity. Research, however, continues. Warnock’s “The Object of Morality” As far […]

his way of obviating the “victories of an excessive relativism” was to resort to the possibility of explaining diverse views. But if ‘explanation’ is to be understood as legitimation, he is no better off. The ‘relativist’ is perfectly prepared to admit differenc&,f of legitimation and characterisation co-ordinate with differences in moral view. Finally, he might […]

noTES A REACTION TO RADICAL PHILOSOPHY J.M.Hinton No one, I believe, can yet say with any confidence to what extent the ‘mere’ attempt to uproot perennial forms of falsehood from our ways of thinking may itself change the world. If only for this reason, it is a mistake to reach the conclusion that contemporary British […]

Letter Thetask of the translator In his misplaced and surely excessive response to a footnote in Theresa Orozcoʼs essay on Gadamerʼs ʻphilosophical interventions under National Socialismʼ (RP 78) Andrew Bowie (Letters, RP 80) is not content to point out that Orozco has quoted a sentence from Manfred Frankʼs Stil in der Philosophie out of context, […]

55 Letters Lesbians, gays and mainstream politicsFor Radical Philosophy, Angela Masonʼs commentary on lesbian and gay politics in the 1990s was remarkably un-radical. The piece, which is little more than an electoral apologia, charts ʻourʼ progress over the last twenty or so years and weds our future ʻliberationʼ and equality to the antics of politicians, […]

informal basis, and asked how their procedures could be improved so as to prevent departmental chairs and university appointments panels acting as a force for conservatism in the belief that this would reap RAE rewards. In pursuing these goals it was agreed that SWIP would be working jointly with all those who felt that their […]

Letter Critical social science and psychological explanationI would like to thank Andrew Collier for his interesting review (ʻMind, Reality and Politicsʼ, RP 88, pp. 38–43) of my book Agency, Health and Social Survival (Taylor & Francis, 1996). There is no space here to acknowledge all I have learnt from it, or to address more than […]

Letter Blindspot on raceJohn Macmurray 6–9 April 1998, Aberdeen This, the first conference to be held on John Macmurrayʼs philosophy in his native Scotland, reflects a revival of interest in his work on both sides of the Atlantic – an interest which predates the publicity given to him as Tony Blairʼs favourite philosopher. Indeed the […]

Letters Ideology is everydayJohn Kraniauskasʼs ʻGlobalization is Ordinaryʼ (RP 90), on cultural studies and the recent Media, Culture and Identity series (OU course D318), provides a welcome synopsis of the trajectory of cultural studies, particularly in its emphasis on the problematic nature of a critical idea of culture. It is, however, difficult to understand why […]

to see such conduct as a fitting counterpart to the purity and intensity of his philosophical vision. István Mészáros referred, in his eloquent funeral tribute, to pregnant remarks Roy made when very ill towards the end of his life. Perhaps it may be excusable to offer a personal recollection from that time. In our last […]

Letters Levinas and the Right Itʼs amazing what can pass for a ʻradicalʼ philosophy nowadays. Howard Caygillʼs article, ʻLevinasʼs Political Judgement: The Esprit Articles 1934–1983ʼ in RP 104 raises a number of questions about Caygillʼs own political judgement, and, indeed, about the judgement of the RP collective. Caygill tells us that ʻit is necessary first […]

Letter Institutional critique-by-numbers A reply to Esther Leslie What would count as an effective ʻinstitutional critiqueʼ of Tate Modern? If it is, as one says, a new kind of art museum, we need to ask what new strategies it uses to organize knowledge and experience, and what forces shape those strategies. So far these questions […]

Robert Bernasconi’s article in RP 117 has harsh and important things to say about some philosophical heroes of the Enlightenment, especially Kant, and it deserves serious critical attention. [1] This response is not directly concerned with the central claims of the article but with a marginal, though still significant, aspect: its treatment of Hegel. It […]

Letter Where does meaning get its fix? A response to Rachel Malik’s ‘Fixing meaning’ The questions of pragmatic and intertextual accounts of communication raised in Malikʼs ʻFixing meaningʼ (RP 124) are not answered by suggesting a kind of complementarity between them or their complexification via the ʻhorizon of publishingʼ. This is arguably because, as the […]

of being both black and poor. However, anyone with even a little experience of boats knows that when you tow an unstable and heavily laden vessel through heavy seas it is virtually guaranteed to sink. The British MAIB investigators more or less admitted as much in their initial report. There may thus be some grounds […]

Letters Critical views of South AfricaIn ‘Beware Electocrats: Naomi Klein on South Africa’ (the Commentary in RP 150, July–August 2008), Ronald Suresh Roberts plays sophist with your readers. First, Klein’s Shock Doctrine chapter can and should be read directly. Second, Roberts makes repeated interpretive mistakes. If, as he claims, the African National Congress (ANC) government […]