Comments on: More Leiter

By: Anthony Paul Smith

Anthony Paul Smith — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 04:16:52 +0000

Is calling someone a liar liable?

By: marcegoodman

marcegoodman — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 01:24:20 +0000

Mr. Leiter, it is true that I should have acknowledged the possibility that you may not have received my comment. Above, I summarize the submitted comment, quote the line from your post that I was responding to, and link to your original post so you (and others) may judge whether it was tangential or not. I will concede that my tone was more critical (although not uncivil) than any other of the many responses to your post.

By: Brian Leiter

Brian Leiter — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:47:41 +0000

Hmmm, this thread isn’t quite as amusing as the other one. I did not mock Craig “for blogging about the death of his pets.” Craig is a liar (as well as a total philosophical ignoramus–anyone interested should look up some of his interactions with John Holbo on ‘Crooked Timber’). Why Craig feels the need to lie this way, I’m not sure. Anyone can visit Mr. MacFarlane’s blog to see the kind of garbage he’s written about me. What did he expect me to do: send him a note of thanks?

Mr. Goodman, if I didn’t publish your comment (assuming I even received it, I don’t always), I assume it was because it was tangential to the subject of the thread.

By: doctorzamalek

doctorzamalek — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:52:17 +0000

I’m heartened to see so many animal-lovers in the room.

He mocked Craig for blogging about the death of his pets? That’s pathetic and despicable. But following the Derrida incident, I am not surprised.

By: Craig

Craig — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:46:14 +0000

Thanks, I assumed it was that post, but I wasn’t sure. “Most moral philosophers” may not agree, but most scientists *do* agree and all people working on animals in philosophy *do* agree (including those who reject that the suffering of animals is of moral significance). This lack of agreement speaks to serious problems in mainstream ethics and moral philosophy-let’s call it the moral depravity of moral philosophy-not to mention the ethical consciousness of citizens. (Since when do the unwashed, unphilosophical plebes count for anything in Leiter’s world anyway? Apparently when it is convenient.) Again, Leiter is misinformed. Hardly a surprise! But this is beside the point (although a symptom): viz., his pattern of bullying graduate students and attacking entire disciplines.

By: marcegoodman

marcegoodman — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:33:06 +0000

Craig,

I believe we’re referring to the same post.

http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2009/04/more-strangeness-about-philosophy-in-the-ny-times.html

This was the line (definitely not a discussion) that I was responding to:

Singer and Bentham (as Mr. Kristof note) may both agree, “The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?,” but it is quite clear that most citizens, and most moral philosophers, do not agree.

My refused comment pointed out that there were ways to think about animal ethics other than Singer’s “hedonic libertarianism”, asked why current norms should constitute the last word in these matters, and referred to the collection Philosophy and Animal Life, with its contributions from Diamond, McDowell, and Hacking, as an example of real/serious/major/Leiter-approved philosophers thinking through these questions.

By: Craig

Craig — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:40:40 +0000

In which post did Leiter “discuss” animals? I recall a post taking a swipe at Singer a few months back, but nothing specific about animal ethics – except the usual canard that any concern for animals will lead to perverse consequences.

By: sdv

sdv — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:23:03 +0000

who is this brian leiter charecter |?

By: marcegoodman

marcegoodman — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:15:44 +0000

I recently had the honor of having a comment refused at Leiter Reports for deigning to point out that there are, in fact, analytic philosophers, even analytic philosophers who Leiter purports to respect, who take the notion of animal suffering seriously.

By: Mikhail Emelianov

Mikhail Emelianov — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:43:45 +0000

Who is this Brian Leiter character?