After empty months over the summer, you are suddenly faced with hectic weeks when there is far too much going on by way of seminars and discussion groups. I assume it is much the same in most places; but perhaps the phenomenon is exaggerated here in Cambridge, where ‘Full Term’ is so short and intense.
My coping strategy is to be hyper-selective, on the policy ‘if in doubt, miss it out’. But I do try to keep an eye on what is going on, just in case. I note, for example, that there is a philosophy of mind reading group, and wonder what it is getting up to. Reading next, apparently, Charles Travis’s ‘Reason’s Reach’ European Journal of Philosophy 2007, pp. 225-248. So I take a speculative look. Ye gods. Life is surely far too short to bother with stuff written in such a ghastly pretentious style (this sort of thing would have been straight to the instant reject pile in my editorial days!). If philosophy is worth doing at all — and of course much of it isn’t — then let’s have it in straight-talking prose with absolutely maximal clarity so we can see precisely what the arguments are. To the flames with the rest!
Obviously I agree on the maximal clarity bit but now you have intrigued me with what Travis’ book says and what exactly is so bad. The link you posted unfortunately is not accessible to plebs like us. Any chance of some samples?