[Sazerac]

Originally posted by Melusine: What I find really hard to read are modern philosophical texts (thnk Gadamer, Lacen, Derrida). You read them twice and still you have no clue what they're saying, simply because they choose to put it so difficultly. However if you start realising what they're actually saying you'll notice it isn't so hard at all. I'm still suspecting philosophers of purposely writing so unintelligibly so us laymen won't realise philosophy isn't as hard as they make it out to be!!

Melusine, agreed fully! I think the best philosophies are the ones so simply stated that a child can understand. There is a bit of "ivory-tower arrogance" that does go with certain academic studies of philosophy. Many profs write works that are readable only to a college-level graduate or above, because they (a) are unwilling to write in a manner that is intelligible for most of the population because of a degree of acadmeic arrogance, (b) they themselves don't fully understand the topic enough to be able to explain it simply, and so bury the parts of their ignorance in a flurry of obfuscation, or (c) they simply have forgotten how to write simply. A good reading of Strunk & White's "Elements of Style" would be recommended in the last case.

With few exceptions, most "ivory-tower" level philosophical treatises never reach popularity. The most timely ones are the ones that are reachable to all levels of humanity.



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