jason stanley and the role of philosophers in society
In an article for InsideHigherEd.com, Rutger’s Philosopher Jason Stanley reflects on what he calls “The Crisis of Philosophy” (which I believe indicates the purported neglect of philosophy among the humanities). The article (link) is worth reading in it’s own right, but a particular comment I think deserves singling out.
The Positivists, like Descartes and Spinoza before them, played the role that philosophers are supposed to play in society – challenging powerful social forces that appeal to mysticism and faith for support.
I should note here that my interest in this sentence is not in the historical comment regarding the Positivist movement, but rather in the latter comment regarding ‘the role philosophers are supposed to play in society.’ Regarding this latter claim: I am a bit skeptical of this conclusion. For one this connotes a rather anti-religious characterization of philosophers which does not match the history of philosophy. Many of the greatest minds in the history of philosophy have held positions which appealed at some level to ‘mysticism and faith for support.’ But then again, perhaps a more generous reading of Stanley would point out that ‘challenging powerful social forces’ does not entail supplanting or opposing any idea or institution which appeals to mysticism and faith for support, but rather might simply offer a corrective to such. Regardless of the specific meaning of Stanley’s comment, his words provide food for thought.
(N.B. The above quote is slightly edited, eliminating the word “be” which preceded “play”. This seems to have been a typo.)
