on Camus, Sartre, Sokal, post-modernism and pseudo-intellectualism
WARNING: this blog entry contains language which may offend some readers.
Back in February 2005, I wrote that, in my opinion, post-modernism is a load of crock.
Well, today was Albert Camus' birthday (born 7 November 1913, died 4 January 1960). He was a French author and philosopher best known for his work on absurdism, existentialism and his books, L'Étranger (1942) and La Peste (1947). Camus' work is actually quite interesting.
Camus was a friend of Jean-Paul Sartre (also an existentialist) until they fell out over views about communism.
Anyway, my human told me that while was working in the city some years ago, there was a colleague who'd always sit in a cafe, downstairs from their building, reading Sartre's Nausea with a cup of coffee so that everybody could see what he was reading, as he held the book up. Well, my human had read the book ages ago and thought that this colleague was a pretentious wanker. Not only was this guy showing off, it took him too long to actually read the book.
Speaking of pretentious wankers, we do like Alan Sokal (Professor of Physics, NYU) who publicly exposed the real lack of intellectualism in the humanities, cultural studies etc (i.e. he showed that a whole bunch of them were actually pretentious wankers).
What Sokal did was to write up a paper that was intentionally gobbledygook (but understandable to real physicists as a parody) and had it published in a reputable cultural studies journal, Social Text - Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity
At the same time, Sokal wrote to another journal, Lingua Franca (which folded in 2001) exposing his own hoax - A Physicist Experiments With Cultural Studies.
Sokal also did a great interview with NPR and you can read the transcript here.
Basically Sokal's concern was the use of scientific jargon, or coverage of scientific matters by those not educated in such matters, quoting scientific concepts totally out of context. Here is an example which Sokal cited:
Here is Jacques Derrida, famous French philosopher talking about Einstein's Theory of Relativity -
'The Einsteinian constant is not a constant, is not a center. It is the very concept of variability. It is finally the concept of the game. In other words, it is not the concept of some thing, of a center starting from which an observer could master the field, but the very concept of the game.'
Now, what the hell does that mean?
Exactly!
If you have a scientific training (cats and humans alike) and want to read more, check out Sokal's book, Intellectual Impostures .
Even Baudrillard (who is a pompous fool) gets a serve, for his referencing of 'non-Euclidean geometry' way out of context. What a wanker!
My human attended an academic conference a few years ago on literary studies, cultural studies etc and he found the use of chemistry terminology completely out of context very frustrating. Of course he thought they were idiots - academics who try to come across as highly intelligent just sounded like pretentious wankers and morons.
[please note - the use of the term 'wanker' is meant to be derogatory and not intended to imply activities of a sexual nature]
*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.
........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........
Mondays... what's to like? I didn't feel too well this morning and didn't eat anything and just sat on the couch, which got my human all worried.
For dinner tonight, he has left a buffet for me of (1) raw chicken wing, (2) cooked chicken meat, and (3) tinned tuna.
Wait, there is something good about Mondays, it is Numb3rs and a nice long brush of my fur.
keisercat@wildmail.com
Back in February 2005, I wrote that, in my opinion, post-modernism is a load of crock.
Well, today was Albert Camus' birthday (born 7 November 1913, died 4 January 1960). He was a French author and philosopher best known for his work on absurdism, existentialism and his books, L'Étranger (1942) and La Peste (1947). Camus' work is actually quite interesting.
Camus was a friend of Jean-Paul Sartre (also an existentialist) until they fell out over views about communism.
Anyway, my human told me that while was working in the city some years ago, there was a colleague who'd always sit in a cafe, downstairs from their building, reading Sartre's Nausea with a cup of coffee so that everybody could see what he was reading, as he held the book up. Well, my human had read the book ages ago and thought that this colleague was a pretentious wanker. Not only was this guy showing off, it took him too long to actually read the book.
Speaking of pretentious wankers, we do like Alan Sokal (Professor of Physics, NYU) who publicly exposed the real lack of intellectualism in the humanities, cultural studies etc (i.e. he showed that a whole bunch of them were actually pretentious wankers).
What Sokal did was to write up a paper that was intentionally gobbledygook (but understandable to real physicists as a parody) and had it published in a reputable cultural studies journal, Social Text - Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity
At the same time, Sokal wrote to another journal, Lingua Franca (which folded in 2001) exposing his own hoax - A Physicist Experiments With Cultural Studies.
Sokal also did a great interview with NPR and you can read the transcript here.
Basically Sokal's concern was the use of scientific jargon, or coverage of scientific matters by those not educated in such matters, quoting scientific concepts totally out of context. Here is an example which Sokal cited:
Here is Jacques Derrida, famous French philosopher talking about Einstein's Theory of Relativity -
'The Einsteinian constant is not a constant, is not a center. It is the very concept of variability. It is finally the concept of the game. In other words, it is not the concept of some thing, of a center starting from which an observer could master the field, but the very concept of the game.'
Now, what the hell does that mean?
Exactly!
If you have a scientific training (cats and humans alike) and want to read more, check out Sokal's book, Intellectual Impostures .
Even Baudrillard (who is a pompous fool) gets a serve, for his referencing of 'non-Euclidean geometry' way out of context. What a wanker!
My human attended an academic conference a few years ago on literary studies, cultural studies etc and he found the use of chemistry terminology completely out of context very frustrating. Of course he thought they were idiots - academics who try to come across as highly intelligent just sounded like pretentious wankers and morons.
[please note - the use of the term 'wanker' is meant to be derogatory and not intended to imply activities of a sexual nature]
*As always, please check out Cooper and Camilla who always have interesting things to say.
........ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo........
Mondays... what's to like? I didn't feel too well this morning and didn't eat anything and just sat on the couch, which got my human all worried.
For dinner tonight, he has left a buffet for me of (1) raw chicken wing, (2) cooked chicken meat, and (3) tinned tuna.
Wait, there is something good about Mondays, it is Numb3rs and a nice long brush of my fur.
keisercat@wildmail.com
posted by Keiser at 20:25
7 Comments:
Well said Keiser, the term wanker is very appropriate for these gits. How rigorous are some humanities departments when these charlatans are lauded as great thinkers? I guess hostility to the 'tyranny' of clear thinking, an obsession with subjectivity (as if noone realises that an inquirer needs to be aware of their own biases) and the equally obvious limits to what we can establish as absolute truth can lead to such rubbish being produced. I think your point about pretention is most important Keiser. But if an 'intellectual' rejects clear thinking and objective truth, has no discernible method, and makes statements that are undecipherible and untestable - then they can write virtually any crap and earn a living from gullible disciples and even more gullible institutes that give them tenure.
Thanks Declan.
On a very important topic (also), I ended up having the cooked chicken meat for dinner, eventually.
Most of these academics don't even know about Okham's Razor (see earlier blog entry), and if they did, I imagine their treatment would be completely paradoxical.
My favourite post-modernism is the term "self-identical". Apparently some things are and some aren't. It may have to do with denying an essentialist view of the world - something isn't self-identical if it has an existential element. But I can't be sure because whenever the term comes up it annoys me soooo much I have to stop reading or listening and run out of the room. From my mathematics training (which predates my philosophy dabblings) it just can't make sense....
Unrelatedly: What's soft, and comfy and slippery?
a pair of slippers? ha ha ha ha!
Yes! Slippers. It is in the style of "what's brown and sticky? (a stick)" but I thought that was a bit doggy for you. Actually, moving upbrow a little, "What's enlightening and silly?"
Enlightening and silly?
Mozart's The Magic Flute of course.
I had thought 'a window' - but your response is of course deeper and truer ...
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