To some extent, I know I’ve gotten better at philosophy simply by finding that my beliefs have changed, and my new justifications clearly seem much better-grounded than my old. This doesn’t work as a general tool (obviously it overly praises those who come to strong convictions, since they will rate their new beliefs extremely favorably), but it’s far more than nothing.
It seems to me that the regard of colleagues would, actually, be a useful signal as well (even if problematic for similar reasons).
However, I’m far more fond of mathematical philosophy, where it is easier to see whether you’ve accomplished something (have you proven a strong theorem? have you codified useful mathematical structures which capture something important? these are subjective questions, but, less so).
It sounds like you have a pragmatic perspective. By synthesizing several perspectives on philosophical improvement, you can find a more robust measure of your skill. All our suggestions so far might be more powerful in combination. We might measure exposure and command of philosophical texts; an increase in self-perception of having a well-grounded perspective over time; an increase in the regard and, perhaps, status of one’s colleagues; and the provable aspects of one’s output. In combination, these seem like a reasonable aggregate measure of improvement.
It would therefore be interesting to know which of these metrics was not showing improvement in Lance’s grad program. Were the other students failing to achieve influence? Not building a command of previous literature? Perceiving themselves as ever-more-befuddled as they studied more? Working on unprovable problems, or failing to find proofs?
To some extent, I know I’ve gotten better at philosophy simply by finding that my beliefs have changed, and my new justifications clearly seem much better-grounded than my old. This doesn’t work as a general tool (obviously it overly praises those who come to strong convictions, since they will rate their new beliefs extremely favorably), but it’s far more than nothing.
It seems to me that the regard of colleagues would, actually, be a useful signal as well (even if problematic for similar reasons).
However, I’m far more fond of mathematical philosophy, where it is easier to see whether you’ve accomplished something (have you proven a strong theorem? have you codified useful mathematical structures which capture something important? these are subjective questions, but, less so).
It sounds like you have a pragmatic perspective. By synthesizing several perspectives on philosophical improvement, you can find a more robust measure of your skill. All our suggestions so far might be more powerful in combination. We might measure exposure and command of philosophical texts; an increase in self-perception of having a well-grounded perspective over time; an increase in the regard and, perhaps, status of one’s colleagues; and the provable aspects of one’s output. In combination, these seem like a reasonable aggregate measure of improvement.
It would therefore be interesting to know which of these metrics was not showing improvement in Lance’s grad program. Were the other students failing to achieve influence? Not building a command of previous literature? Perceiving themselves as ever-more-befuddled as they studied more? Working on unprovable problems, or failing to find proofs?