philosophy smellTag ArchiveSubscribe

Philosophy Smell #7: “Denial as a Symptom of Guilt”—The lady doth protest too much, indeed. Nonetheless, anything in the form, “that which disagrees with X is evidence of X” is a mind-prison, internment in which can sometimes be broken only by a painful collision with reality.

Philosophy Smell #5: “Astrolophizing”—making claims, or especially critiques, that aren’t necessarily untrue but that are so generic that they can be applied more or less to anything; see astrology.

Philosophy Smell #4: “Book Barricade”—To refuse to engage with people until they read certain writings. Avoid, because: 1. Useful corrections come from people who read different books; 2. If it’s that good, it’s worth summarizing; 3. Truth is sharpened in collision with error.

Philosophy Smell #3: “Definition at a Distance”—Using or insisting upon the use of novel definitions for words in discussion. Theoretically, you can use any word for any thing, but definition at distance is slower and more open to slight of hand than using the common meaning.

Philosophy Smell #2: “Cargo Critique”—deploying a critique by going through the motions of a popular philosophy without a true feel for its workings. A key tell is fill-in-the-blank philosophizing which, like a “cargo cult” plane, looks the part from afar, but won’t fly.