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Letters

Letters to the Editor

The Philosopher as Politician? • Whose Right? • Waugh Cry • Classical Misunderstanding • Existential need • Nietzsche Trail • But is it wrong to commit howlers?

The Philosopher as Politician?

Dear Editor,

With regard to Colin Harper’s article in Issue 5; likening philosophy to detection is illuminating and I too have used this analogy in an article on the metaphysical significance of the detective novel, published some years ago. I also agree with Harper’s suggestion that philosophy differs from spying in significant ways. His philosophic mistake is not to appreciate that analogies have limits beyond which they become unhelpful or even nonsensical. When the poet likens his love to a red rose he does not imply that she could profit from being fed manure. Philosophy is neither spying nor detecting but can be illuminated by various analogies.

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