Quote:
Originally Posted by TGS
I always had the impression that the US education system was much broader than in the UK and that kids graduating from high school could quote James and Peirce! But what about Dan Dennett and John Searle - they are seen as the pop stars of philosophy this side of the pond - always good entertainment, (but probably not at the same time). Douglas Hofstadter, George Lakoff? Are they not well known over there?
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That's funny, because I was under the assumption that European countries had much better educational systems. Many kids here are fortunate if they can make make change from a dollar without a calculator when they graduate. Only rarely can one quote Pierce, and if they've heard of William James, they probably have a very simplistic and wrong conception of what Pragmatism really teaches. Dan Dennet is a familiar name, but he's more widely known for his atheistic writings than his work as a philosopher. (I like Dennet, but I think his advocacy of the term "Brights" is off-base. But that's me; if others want to use it, fine. I just think it's counter-productive.) Most people in this country have probably never heard of John Searle, and if you mentioned his Chinese room argument it would probably only bring to their minds images of kung-fu fighting, floor mats, and bamboo decor.
To be fair, I'm speaking of the general population; among whom there's not a great deal of interest on this side of the pond in philosophy. I have no idea about Denmark, but I suspect British students are much better versed in the subject than American students. I couldn't imagine American comedians coming up with a comedy sketch such as Monty Python's Philosophy Football and having the general population relate to it. If they did, it would probably only be appreciated by a niche audience.
George Lakoff is not a household name, but there is a good
review of his
The Political Mind: Why you can't understand 21st-century American politics with an 18th-century brain at newscientist.com. They also have an interview with Douglas Hofstadter you can read
here.