tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27510501.post116267318253996223..comments2023-10-15T06:34:47.483-04:00Comments on Theoretically Political: Two Moral Questions; or, Help(?) Salve Josh's Conscience! (Josh)TP Administratorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12663393145157823973noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27510501.post-83677027686245256352009-02-27T19:50:00.000-05:002009-02-27T19:50:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27510501.post-1162698166760686862006-11-04T22:42:00.000-05:002006-11-04T22:42:00.000-05:00Really interesting post. I've faced this issue fro...Really interesting post. I've faced this issue from the side of being a history PhD student and exactly the same thoughts have come to my mind as came to yours- what is the purpose of writing articles which very few people read etc.<BR/><BR/>I suppose there are two ways I thought through of justifying it:<BR/>a Firstly we shouldn't underestimate the kinds of unconscious filters that go round. Think of a popular historian or philosopher- what they do is build upon the works of others to write their broad accounts of a field- consequently their thought is informed by much of what they've read which is directed to the more elite universe. In that sense without the specialist the populariser would be sunk- their work would not be as good and consequently public debate wouldn't be as strong.<BR/><BR/>b. I suppose this maybe because I come from a university in which all the teaching is done one or two on one but I do think that academic teaching has a real value. In the UK at least kids leave school with a good sense of what knowledge is, but no real sense of how to organise it for themselves or how to acquire it themselves. Academic teaching in the best unis over here therefore takes the form of a dialectic in which the student is continually put into the situation of dealing with arguments- sometimes for the first times in theri lives. They then go on to apply those techniques of argument in other fields to other problems.<BR/><BR/>I don't know if that helps but its a start on an answer- this is a great blog by the way.Gracchihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06344262838391424797noreply@blogger.com