Event Detail
Thu Nov 7, 2019 Howison Library 4–6 PM |
Philosophy Colloquium Agnes Callard (University of Chicago) Is there such a thing as being good or bad at philosophy? |
Suppose we define being good at an activity in terms of the kind of talent or skill that would ground comparative decisions about who to assign the activity to: if you need someone to do some musical composition, you should choose Mozart over me. He’s more talented, and will therefore do a better job. Some people are clearly better at musical composition than others. Likewise, if you need someone to diagnose your illness, you should choose your Doctor over me: she is better at medical diagnosis than I am. Are there people who, in this sense, are better at philosophy than others? My answer is: no. There is no such thing as being good or bad at philosophy. I also explain how, given that this is true, it is nonetheless possible for us to make principled decisions as to whether a given individual should be the student or the teacher of a philosophy class.