[MD] The Level of Intellectual Quality

[Steven Peterson]

Hi DMB, all,


> dmb says:
> Mostly, I agree. But the sources I've used (except wiki of course) are written by scholars for scholars. That's why I find it so unreasonable to dismiss them. This doesn't mean they're right or that other scholars will disagree but it does mean that it has been evaluated by their peers in the profession. Disagreement drives the whole process, in fact. James described one of his critics, a very famous a well respected figure, "malevolent and stupid" and another he described as having the "intelligence of an inorganic body". It's fun to watch.

Steve:
The name calling surprises me. In fact, one thing to admire about
James was the way he understood his oponents positions and was able to
articulate the best forms of their arguments before arguing against
them instead of mischaracterizing and dismissing the worst forms of
their arguments. He even found better arguments against himself than
his oponents could sometimes evem think of. In other words, I think he
exemplified that philosophical virtue of charity as well as anyone
I've read.

His mode of philsophical discourse is a model that all of us here
would do well to emulate.

Best,
Steve