Comments on: Postcard from Siena – 2 http://www.logicmatters.net/2008/06/postcard-from-siena-2/ Logic, enthusiasms, sceptical thoughts, and a little LaTeX geekery Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:23:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: a cartesian http://www.logicmatters.net/2008/06/postcard-from-siena-2/comment-page-1/#comment-320 a cartesian Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:10:00 +0000 http://www.logicmatters.net/?p=296#comment-320 To be fair, it was an intro to philosophy of religion, not to religion, and so had to cover the material most common in the field, rather than try to reform the subject in light of religious practice.<br/><br/>Anti-religious philosophers over-intellectualise as well, often from a position of considerable ignorance. To be fair, it was an intro to philosophy of religion, not to religion, and so had to cover the material most common in the field, rather than try to reform the subject in light of religious practice.

Anti-religious philosophers over-intellectualise as well, often from a position of considerable ignorance.

]]> By: Paul http://www.logicmatters.net/2008/06/postcard-from-siena-2/comment-page-1/#comment-319 Paul Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:38:00 +0000 http://www.logicmatters.net/?p=296#comment-319 I was glad to read your remarks about philosophy of religion. It is so important, when doing philosophy of X, to study people who do X, and as much as possible to get one's own hands dirty in X. <br/> <br/>It should be no different when X is religion. The problem is that being an academic philosopher may distance one from certain communities. Can a Cambridge professor who (even jokingly) complains about only making enough from his book for a decent meal in Italy really understand how religion functions in the life of an intelligent but uneducated man in Belfast who has seen his friends murdered, labours on a building site in a struggle to provide for his family, is losing his eyesight due to a medical condition, and wants nothing more than to visit Rome and see the sights before he goes blind, but for the last few years hasn't been able to raise the few hundred pounds or so that would enable this? I'd say it is difficult. <br/> <br/>That's not a dig -- I admire your desire to get to the heart of the matter, and not to mince your words -- it's just an issue I've been thinking about, being a philosophy grad student from a working class & religious background. I was glad to read your remarks about philosophy of religion. It is so important, when doing philosophy of X, to study people who do X, and as much as possible to get one’s own hands dirty in X.

It should be no different when X is religion. The problem is that being an academic philosopher may distance one from certain communities. Can a Cambridge professor who (even jokingly) complains about only making enough from his book for a decent meal in Italy really understand how religion functions in the life of an intelligent but uneducated man in Belfast who has seen his friends murdered, labours on a building site in a struggle to provide for his family, is losing his eyesight due to a medical condition, and wants nothing more than to visit Rome and see the sights before he goes blind, but for the last few years hasn’t been able to raise the few hundred pounds or so that would enable this? I’d say it is difficult.

That’s not a dig — I admire your desire to get to the heart of the matter, and not to mince your words — it’s just an issue I’ve been thinking about, being a philosophy grad student from a working class & religious background.

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