Why: here’s what I wrote on your article’s COMMENTS field:

Philosophy: A Survival Guide says:
March 30, 2012 at 10:27 PM

Hello,

I saw your post via a philosophy Twitter feed and believe it or not, I am quite empathetic with your stance despite earning my BA in Philosophy and hosting a philosophy podcast. I was so moved by your position and comments that we discussed your article in our latest episode.

While I (and my co-host) would disagree that philosophy in itself is “bull crap,” we absolutely have no issue calling some (most?) philosophy “bull crap;” we’d even go further to say some are destructive, dangerous, or poisonous. Your negative response to studying potentially harmful philosophies was just and valid. You SHOULD feel negatively to negative philosophies! With that said, we believe that is exactly why studying philosophy is more essential than ever.

Yes, philosophy for philosophy’s sake could be viewed with validity as “bull crap.” We believe philosophy must have some reference to reality, or a real-world situation. It should be a tool to help a person discover principles to understand the world and how to live in it. Problem is, many take philosophy to be a mind game and spend the rest of their lives pondering instead of living, further removing themselves from reality. Seems like you had a bad dose of this in your class and it’s unfortunate that you had such a bad first impression. I too had similar classes, had a similar response, and even dropped out of school (only to come back a few years later). You can see why I am empathetic to your stance.

While I empathize and agree with your position on the bad philosophies, I do believe that philosophy itself needs to be defended, especially amidst a growing trend of apathy and pragmatism. Our podcast is dedicated to helping those in your situation discover the link between philosophy and real-life situations. Our podcasts work both ways: extracting philosophical ideas out of real-life situations and relating philosophers/philosophies to real life. Unlike most philosophy teachers and podcasters, we call out the “Bull Crap” when we see it. (my co-host refused to finish Nietzsche, calling it unreadable, although I disagreed). It should also be said that we try our best not to promote a specific philosophy as we encourage the listener to come up with their own conclusions (for a full mission statement, see our “about us” page on the site).

I want to state once more that philosophy is ESSENTIAL. You, in fact, demonstrate in your article how essential it is to establish and define a good philosophy: the existentialists ended up miserable and suicidal. Their philosophy was destructive in nature and their followers lived accordingly. This is why it’s essential to identify the trappings of a bad philosophy, to avoid its principles, and to seek out one that promotes a healthy, happy life instead.

Anyway, I am sincere in stating that this is not meant as a plug for my site or podcast, I merely wanted to say that as a graduate with a philosophy degree, I do agree that some philosophies indeed can be bull crap. I do urge you to try to discover that philosophy is an essential tool to live a healthy life with defined principles. If you don’t think, who will do it for you?

If you’re interested, our podcast tries to be an informal, fun discussion between two friends about philosophy and tries to remain grounded and far away from the guru’s mountain. Your article is discussed in Episode 7, if you’re curious (my co-host and I were empathetic about your position) and we do discuss it first, so you don’t have to listen to the other “bull crap” that follows if you don’t want to

Lastly, my main motivation for writing a comment here is to thank you for writing this article. Your position epitomizes my motivation for starting up my (hobbyist) podcast on philosophy. When I started it last December, I had your exact position in mind for my target audience. Seeing this position in print gave me even more motivation to continue. It was a brave move to put your name in print with such a bold stance and to invite the criticism seen in the “comments” section.

Thanks for hearing me out! Good luck in your studies!

Also, Tony wants to mention that your Intro to Logic class was not only one of his personal fav’s, but it also was a game-changer. He mentions this very briefly in Ep. I that he was dabbling in philosophy classes to get some math credits. Your Logic class pretty much set the hook. Thanks again!

I’ve got those Tulane four-lane philosophy blues
As down the highway I cruise.
I’m a philosopher trucker doin’ logic in my head;
My thoughts are made of gold, my foot is made of lead.