"An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable than an incompetent philosopher.
The society which scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy.
Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water."
"An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable than an incompetent philosopher.
The society which scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy.
Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water."
Good question. Might "incompetent philosopher" be redundant?
Dr. Thomas Sowell addressed this best when he said:
"It is so easy to be wrong-and to persist in being wrong-when the costs of being wrong are paid by others."
ThatтАЩs a really good question. I think your question concerns LATENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, and, ultimately, self-honesty, and the desire for contentment.
When a diesel truck mechanic fails to do a competent job, he (REAL diesel truck mechanics are ALL men) risks 80,000 pounds of fully-loaded tractor-trailer rig going 55 mph running out of control on a heavily-trafficked interstate. Should something go wrong, there are records of who last worked on the truck and who signed-off on their work. In other words, LOW LATENCY and HIGH ACCOUNTABILITY.
When concert pianists, diesel truck mechanics, jet fighter pilots, etc., make a mistake, feedback has low latency and high accountability. Either they improve quickly or they are forced to do something else, or they die, possibly taking others with them.
With philosophers, it takes years, decades, even generations for people to find flaws in their thinking.
--> Because of this, I suspect that "the life of the mind" might attract those who fear accountability, who actively yet subconsciously desire to rush past Truth with averted eyes straight to the wine and cheese, avoiding self-honesty and depriving themselves of the opportunity to achieve contentment.
Which might explain why many ancient philosophers (whose ideas have been VERIFIED by subsequent generations) tend to emphasize action.
Thanks for your question. It made me get off my ass, if only briefly.
"An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable than an incompetent philosopher.
The society which scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy.
Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water."
~ John Gardner
"An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable than an incompetent philosopher."
Sedgewick,
Incompetent Philosopher? How could you tell?
Exactly. The world divides here. Some of us can see which ideas hold water and some of us can't.
"Incompetent Philosopher? How could you tell?"
Good question. Might "incompetent philosopher" be redundant?
Dr. Thomas Sowell addressed this best when he said:
"It is so easy to be wrong-and to persist in being wrong-when the costs of being wrong are paid by others."
ThatтАЩs a really good question. I think your question concerns LATENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, and, ultimately, self-honesty, and the desire for contentment.
When a diesel truck mechanic fails to do a competent job, he (REAL diesel truck mechanics are ALL men) risks 80,000 pounds of fully-loaded tractor-trailer rig going 55 mph running out of control on a heavily-trafficked interstate. Should something go wrong, there are records of who last worked on the truck and who signed-off on their work. In other words, LOW LATENCY and HIGH ACCOUNTABILITY.
When concert pianists, diesel truck mechanics, jet fighter pilots, etc., make a mistake, feedback has low latency and high accountability. Either they improve quickly or they are forced to do something else, or they die, possibly taking others with them.
With philosophers, it takes years, decades, even generations for people to find flaws in their thinking.
--> Because of this, I suspect that "the life of the mind" might attract those who fear accountability, who actively yet subconsciously desire to rush past Truth with averted eyes straight to the wine and cheese, avoiding self-honesty and depriving themselves of the opportunity to achieve contentment.
Which might explain why many ancient philosophers (whose ideas have been VERIFIED by subsequent generations) tend to emphasize action.
Thanks for your question. It made me get off my ass, if only briefly.