Tuesday 9 November 2010

Why do we need to justify philosophy?

Below is a link which explores the rationale behind the appointment of Dr Angie Hobbs (University of Warwick) as the UK's first Senior Fellow in the Public Understanding of Philosophy in 2009.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/oct/02/philosophy-public-understanding-hobbs

Mark Vernon suggests that, in contrast, Europe has no need for such a post, since philosophy is accepted as having value in its own right by the public, as a discipline as well as an activity relating to everyday life.

Angie Hobbs, an expert on Ancient Greek philosophy and ethics, frequently appears on Radio 4's In Our Time philosophy debates, and most recently can be heard discussing the nature and relevance of heroism on the Radio 3 iplayer link below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vf5gy

Ruth

1 comment:

  1. This is because the UK is the 'quintessential capitalist nation'! Markets prevail here and as a consequence philosophy is valued to the extent that it is 'marketable'.
    In this context economics becomes the 'queen of the social sciences' - philosophy is largely subordinated to economics and business studies.

    However, the recent crisis has exposed the flaws in contemporary economic models and theories. Maybe economics needs the rigour, depth and precision of philosophical thinking if it is to make sense of markets and human systems of exchange!


    Neil Turnbull

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