Yes. I agree with your criticisms—“philosophy” in academia seems to be essentially professional arguing, but there are plenty of well-reasoned and useful ideas that come of it, too. There is a lot of non-rational work out there (i.e. lots of valid arguments based on irrational premises) but since you’re asking the question in this forum I am assuming you’re looking for something of use/interest to a rationalist.
So my question is: What philosophical works and authors have you found especially valuable, for whatever reason?
I’ve developed quite a respect for Hilary Putnam and have read many of his books. Much of his work covers philosophy of the mind with a strong eye towards computational theories of the mind. Beyond just his insights, my respect also stems from his intellectual honesty. In the Introduction to “Representation and Reality” he takes a moment to note, “I am, thus, as I have done on more than one occasion, criticizing a view I myself earlier advanced.” In short, as a rationalist I find reading his work very worthwhile.
I also liked “Objectivity: The Obligations of Impersonal Reason” by Nicholas Rescher quite a lot, but that’s probably partly colored by having already come to similar conclusions going in.
PS—There was this thread over at Hacker News that just came up yesterday if you’re looking to cast a wider net.
Yes. I agree with your criticisms—“philosophy” in academia seems to be essentially professional arguing, but there are plenty of well-reasoned and useful ideas that come of it, too. There is a lot of non-rational work out there (i.e. lots of valid arguments based on irrational premises) but since you’re asking the question in this forum I am assuming you’re looking for something of use/interest to a rationalist.
I’ve developed quite a respect for Hilary Putnam and have read many of his books. Much of his work covers philosophy of the mind with a strong eye towards computational theories of the mind. Beyond just his insights, my respect also stems from his intellectual honesty. In the Introduction to “Representation and Reality” he takes a moment to note, “I am, thus, as I have done on more than one occasion, criticizing a view I myself earlier advanced.” In short, as a rationalist I find reading his work very worthwhile.
I also liked “Objectivity: The Obligations of Impersonal Reason” by Nicholas Rescher quite a lot, but that’s probably partly colored by having already come to similar conclusions going in.
PS—There was this thread over at Hacker News that just came up yesterday if you’re looking to cast a wider net.