In his autobiography, the English philosopher (and historian) RG Collingwood brags that as an eight year old child, he picked up a book by Kant, and immediately understood it to be of utmost importance that he understand it. "I felt that the contents of this book, although I could not understand it, were somehow my business: a matter personal to myself, or rather to some future self of my own." When I was a nosy eight year old, I built snow castles and admired the velvety voice of Joey Tempest & Tommy Nilsson. I played with dolls and had troubles apprehending the arcane principles governing expressions such as "twenty past eight". Now I'm a nosy xx year old, and on my way home from work I'm plagued by the following internal dialogue:
- So you're having a difficult time grasping Marx' critique of Hegel, eh?
- ---
- At your age, you should be more familiar with the thinking of Marx. Jesus.
- I've been busy reading other stuff...
- Busy? You're lazy. Lazy!
- Philosophical texts should not be read in a rush.
- Bullshit. That's just because you've got a slow brain. Or lack of work morale. Both.
- Wittgenstein...
- Shut up, go watch some Teletubbies!
2 comments:
"I protest allegiance to nobody; I regard myself as free to learn what I can from all the philosophers whose writings I can read, and the only sin to which I confess in this matter is that I have not read as widely or as intelligently as I ought"
-Collingwood in a letter to Gilbert Ryle 9/5/1935.
Even the Great Scholar felt despair.
Collingwoodianen.
I'm glad (should I be??) to hear that. But I suppose his standards of what counts as "being well-read in philosophy" are somewhat different than mine... I suppose he is simply saying: "Ah! I haven't read that letter Schleiermacher sent to his mother at the age of 15 (I have a copy of it, of course), that's why my reading of his philosophy of religion is quite incomplete. And neither have I read that interesting periodical which was published by the radical socialists in Paris in 1830. Such a shame."
--- I'm an ANTIscholar.
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