Hard texts to read

[Melusine]

Originally posted by Sazerac: 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.

You're so right about those textbook writers Saz!! It is pure incompetence/arrogance/ignorance or a combination of the three LOL!! Hilarious: I once followed a course that had a textbook called "Communication" We laughed ourselves silly because the book was so badly written it could be taken a a prime example of how NOT to communicate!! Needless to say, it was written by the guy who taught this class

I don't agree however that there is no merit in a theory that isn't universally understandable by everybody. Considering the basic level of intelligence of some people, that would leave us with almost nothing!!
I think theories of Gadamer, Derrida and the like are and have been extremely important to philosophy, even if most people will have to press hard to understand them. However, unnoticed their ideas will trickle through, translated through others and will make their impact still. There is part "ivory-tower-ness" in it, I agree, but I do not think that language needs to be oversimplified so that all can understand it. Part of the beauty of the philosophies comes from the intricate way in which they are phrased.

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Melusine, High Queen of Fluffies, Archbabe of the OHF, the LH,
the HADB and the SPAE(Society for the
Prevention of Acronym Extinction) &
Sultry Elflet

Your voice is ambrosia
Amy Brown Fantasy Art

[Aelia Jusa]

Of course they should write according to their audience, i.e. people with some knowledge of the topic, but a lot of philosophers feel they need to show how smart they are by being ridiculously verbose. Kant springs to mind. You'd think if they have these great theories they would speak for themselves.