Robert Talisse @RobertTalisse Twitter profile

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

4 years

I defended my dissertation 20 years ago today The first questioner began, “Well, Mr. Talisse.... I’m not persuaded by any of your arguments. Reading this spoiled my Thanksgiving” He paused, and I responded, “That wasn’t a question” Things escalated

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

1 year

Kant’s moral philosophy

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

3 years

The Abyss stares back . . .

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

4 years

I need to know more

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

1 year

When I was Chair, I had to review the student evaluations for undergrad courses taught by PhD candidates. Some of the students’ comments were so offensive, I began telling Instructors not to read their evaluations. No employer gets to require you to read anonymous insults.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

4 years

Final: Vanderbilt is my first and thus far only job — I started as assistant prof straight out of grad school. When I got the offer from Vandy, I had a similar offer pending at a comparable department. I took the Vandy job almost over the phone, I think partly out of spite.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

Overheard: “My paper didn’t have an argument. I wasn’t arguing anything. I was more like . . . scattering my vibes”

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

I had a philo prof in college who told me that by the time I was finished with my PhD, I should have a 10 minute refutation of every major philosopher I saw him at the APA the year I finished. He walked up to me and said “Wittgenstein. Go!”

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

10 months

One bit of advice I give to new PhD students that I wish they’d take more seriously: Maintain your friendships with non-academics

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

Where we’re at

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

A new PhD student came into my office and said “I think I want to work in political philosophy. Can you give me a list of 20 articles from the past decade that everyone in the field needs to read?” The academic year is off to a remarkably good start

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 months

My most impactful work…

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

1 year

8% of Americans think they could beat up a gorilla. Let that sink in.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

4 years

Coda: after passing the defense, I circulated to my committee a list of the tenure-track faculty jobs I had applied to. This guy returned the list w a few schools circles in red, with the words “These places will never hire you.” Vanderbilt was circled in red.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

A few years ago, I arrived in Athens and the broader agent asked me my profession. “I’m a philosopher,” I replied Looking suspicious, he asked “Who’s the best Greek philosopher?” I responded, “Aristotle” He stamped my passport and said, “Correct. Proceed.” Cc: @GreggDCaruso

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

4 years

My profession has turned me into someone who thinks this is funny. Please send help.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

As a junior prof, I made a list of senior colleagues’ irritating behaviors at meetings. I wanted to remind my future self how not to act #28 : It’s ok not to “weigh in” when your view is identical to the one everyone has already agreed to

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

1 year

There’s a kind of philosopher who’s convinced you’re never disagreeing with them, but merely misunderstanding their position

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

20 days

I had a prof in grad school who asked at every dissertation defense “What’s the strongest objection to your thesis?” Candidates were frequently thrown off by it.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

Years ago, I bought this used copy of Randall’s CAREER OF PHILOSOPHY solely because the only thing its owner saw fit to underline in the whole book was that Descartes was French.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

6 months

All I want for Christmas is a way to convince undergraduates that B+ is a good grade.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

Checks out

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

Outside my office, a reminder that Avicenna and Duns Scotus don’t play

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

A student from a few years ago just mentioned that because they couldn’t discern my own political leanings from my Political Philosophy lectures, they assumed I was a conservative Not sure what to make of that

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

1 year

At the Bank Teller: You’re a professor? So, what do you do all summer? My Colleague: I’m writing a book T: Interesting. What’s it about? C: Ethics T: Terrific. I always thought there should be a book about that

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

3 years

OVERHEARD: “I love my philosophy class. It’s like, one guy says to another guy ‘you’re tall,’ and the other guy says ‘no, actually you’re just short’. And then they both run off to write a book.”

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

There is a kind of academic who sincerely believes that their favorite philosopher truly has solved every philosophical problem.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

A colleague once got a term paper in his Philosophy of Mind course that began with the following sentence: “In this paper, I will prove that the mind is identical to the body, but not the other way around.”

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

11 months

Years ago, there was a guy who regularly showed up at our weekly department colloquium who nobody knew. In Q&A, he’d always ask an off-the-wall question that typically involved a reference to Dr. Who. After the speaker responded to his question, he’d get up and leave.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

Job candidate: On the first day of my Ethics class, I tell students to go out on campus & take pictures of people they find attractive. We discuss the photos on day 2 Me: Are your students told they need to get permission from those they photograph? Candidate (puzzled): Huh? No

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

3 years

I was a philosophy MA student at NYU when they decided to re-open their PhD program. A distinguished faculty member announced to the grad lounge, “We’re launching a PhD program. None of you should apply. We’re only accepting people from places like Oxford.”

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

1 year

Call me nuts, but I think that if we taught high-schoolers a basic epistemology course, our democracy would be better off

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 months

Me, 1st year grad student, minding my own business in the library, reading Aristotle (actually: struggling to read him in Greek)…. Famous philosopher: Whatcha reading? Me: Aristotle FP: Aristotle? What for? I’ve never read a word of Aristotle. It didn’t hurt me any

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

3 months

Overheard in a Philosophy Department: “Let’s assume that I have hands. Just what am I supposed to believe about my hands?”

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

Mastered Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason? Endured Hegel’s Phenomenology? Big deal. Try a 744-page book on Greek particles. Over 40 pages devoted solely to γάρ (“however,” “indeed,” “although,” or “actually”). Then you’ll know what pain is.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

@christapeterso Not if Zeno is correct

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

In my 2nd year as faculty, my dept was hiring. Interviews were at the APA. At the a smoker, interviewees had to jockey for the attention of search com members One candidate mistook me for a grad student, & spent 15 mins telling me my dept should “never have hired Robert Talisse”

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

1 year

@Cat_Eat_Burger At the time, over 50% of the PhD students in my department were women. And the comments about appearance, wardrobe (and worse) were staggering.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

1 year

THE EPISTEMOLOGY OF DEMOCRACY. Fantastic new volume edited by Hana Samaržija and @QCassam , out in April with @Routledge_Phil . Pleased to be included in this fabulous lineup.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

3 years

Democracy is a political ideal and a moral aspiration My bit for the #RenewDemocracy series. The challenge is to say in 90 secs what democracy means to you. I’m a Ramones fan ( @RamonesOfficial ), so did it in 77. Your turn: @myishacherry @rinireg @GreggDCaruso @Renew_Democracy

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

1 year

My most influential philosophical work…

Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

1 year

Kant’s moral philosophy

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

Wittgenstein isn’t as bad as his fans make him out to be.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

10 months

Me: Here’s the syllabus for an intro to political theory undergrad course I teach every Fall. Randos in my DMs: You fool! You can’t teach political theory without assigning all of my favorite books. You must not know what you’re doing. Your poor students learn nothing!

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

It’s Arthur Schopenhauer’s 234th birthday. Please celebrate by reflecting on the fact that his own mother closed a letter to him with these words: “If you were less like you, you would only be ridiculous, but thus as you are, you are highly annoying.”

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

A Coda: later in the conversation he said, “You’re here looking for a job, right? You’re going to get one. That means you’ll have roughly 9 months between now and when you start. Go and read al the books your profs in grad school told you to ignore.”

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

4 years

A student starting their PhD dissertation asked for advice on how to begin I reverted to something I was told when I began: Your dissertation isn’t your magnum opus. It’s not the compilation of every worthwhile idea you’ve got. And it’s not your final chance to speak.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

6 months

Finalized the reading for my spring grad seminar on Liberalism. (It’s more nuts-and-bolts/background than cutting-edge)

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

4 years

By the way, this is a work of art

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

1 year

I feel like Philosophy peaked with this observation by G.A. Cohen

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

Philosophy weddings are the weirdest weddings. A gathering of badly-dressed people who can talk only about the paper they’re currently writing. Just like an APA conference, but with terrifying dancing.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

10 months

Back in 2001, I turned some notes into a tiny intro book on Rawls. The book isn’t great, but it did prompt a lovely letter from Mrs. Rawls. Apparently she read it to John (he was too ill at the time to read it himself), and he enjoyed it.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

1 year

John Rawls at his best

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

3 years

A drunk rando in a coffeeshop just had a freak out because he overheard me talking to a student about Habermas, but thought we were talking about Hamas. When I explained we were talking about a German philosopher, he insisted Habermas was an Arab. What a world.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

8 months

Unsolicited writing tip: Shorter sentences.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

8 months

Certain things about academia begin to make sense once you realize that a number of faculty in other departments think of themselves as philosophers, but have no training in the discipline

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

10 months

Overheard on campus: “I’m taking a philosophy course. I thought it was gonna be just vibes…. But it’s …. not”

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

@TwoTonguesPod I started developing a reductio of the “family resemblances” thing, he interrupted (I think satisfied) and asked for my refutation of Frege. A few sentences into that, he interrupted again and asked for a refutation of Schopenhauer.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

A year after Rawls’s death, a shady guy at an APA meeting, who told me he wasn’t an academic, offered to sell me John Rawls’s copy of Sidgwick’s *Methods of Ethics*. In a whisper, he emphasized that there were “tons of handwritten notes in the margins” I’m not making this up

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

As a junior prof, I made a list of senior colleagues’ irritating behaviors at meetings. I wanted to remind my future self how not to act #8 : It’s ok to have an unexpressed thought.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

1 year

Happy 427th birthday to Rene Descartes (upper left)

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

3 years

Rest In Peace, Bot

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

Best man just gave a speech about Kant on love and duty. NOT JOKING

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

3 years

Thrilled with the cover for SUSTAINING DEMOCRACY: WHAT WE OWE TO THE OTHER SIDE. It’ll be out with @OUPPhilosophy in September. Please have a look. The painting is by Ian Thuillier.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

4 months

Me, whenever a undergrad tells me they’re applying to philosophy PhD programs….

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

Around this time every year, I get a phone call from a colleague who retired shortly after I joined my department When I pick up the phone, he doesn’t say “hello” or “how are you?” Instead, he simply hollers, “Talisse! Tell me . . . are any of my enemies dead yet?”

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

3 years

I recently climbed out a window in my office to avoid running into a colleague in the hallway. Not joking, by the way.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

I realize that I commonly express a cynical view of philosophy on here. But I just spent a 30 minute Uber ride talking to a 20 year-old about the Trolley Problem, and his mind was, in fact, blown.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

8 months

Periodic reminder that Iggy Pop once published a short essay in a Classics journal…

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

10 months

My favorite perk of academic life is being left alone

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

John Rawls died 20 years ago today. I spotted this tribute not long after in the men’s room of a Nashville bar…

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

3 years

Side Two of Dead Kennedys’ *In God We Trust, Inc.* cassette. My 15 year-old self thought this was the greatest thing in the world. @PunkRockStory

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

Long flight? You don’t want anyone to talk to you? This can help.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

When I was Chair, I was tasked by the administration with reviewing undergraduate classes for grade inflation. I found a colleague who routinely gave every student in their class an A. I asked my colleague about this. Their response: “I’m a great teacher.”

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

9 months

Remember when Tom Nagel became a famous philosopher by “musing on whether we could still be human if we had bat-like features”? Good times, good times….

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

9 months

Unsolicited writing tip: Create a “spare parts” document where you paste all of the lovely stuff you’ve written that doesn’t fit and so must be deleted Tell yourself that you can always go back into the “spare parts” to recover what you deleted if need be. But never do that

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

Made it to 52. My 22 year-old self would be astounded

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

4 months

The true mark of a philosopher’s cultural impact…

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

3 years

Back in college, a friend turned in a paper for a philosophy class, and hadn’t noticed that he mistakenly inserted a blank sheet between pages 8 and 9 He got it back, and the prof wrote on the blank page “best page so far” We’re both philosophy professors today.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

Rawlsian flight attendant: “We’re beginning our final descent. Everything must go back to the original position”

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

Good news for pessimists

CNN

@CNN

2 years

Do optimists live longer? Of course they do

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

His best essay. Maybe his best work.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

1 year

Rawlsians explaining the public reason doctrine in terms that no one could reasonably reject

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

11 months

Checks out

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

1 year

At A Restaurant Server (sits down): I overheard you talking. You’re a philosopher? Me: yes S: So… what’s your view about lab-grown chicken? Me: I’m a vegetarian, and don’t like the taste of meat, but I guess it’s ok S (whispering): But what about lab-grown *human* meat??

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

5 months

OVERHEARD IN A PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT P1: Hey… your jacket is just like mine! P2: Huh? Mine’s black wool, yours is tan corduroy. They’re nothing alike. P1: Well… they’re both material objects…

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

7 months

Ugh… I just got hit by a car. I think I’m ok — maybe my foot is broken. But that’s very likely the worst that happened. I’m in the ER….

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

Undergrad: What *is* this thing? Me: It’s a vintage landline telephone Undergrad: Oh. Ok. Have a nice weekend.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

1 year

In 2011, undergrad students in one of my courses compiled a 3-page list of things I said in class that they found odd…

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

10 months

Syllabus for my Fall undergrad Justice course…

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

I once had a colleague who claimed that PhD students needed to learn German or French because “some important ideas can be thought only in those languages” I asked this colleague what they made of Davidson. “Who?” was the reply

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

1 year

There is a kind of academic whose claim to fame is being the world’s authority on a topic no one else in their discipline cares about

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

Every year, I teach Hobbes to undergraduates. Every year, I read aloud the sentence that ends: “…and the life of man: solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” Every year I add “yeah, sounds like me in my 20s” The joke kills every damn time.

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

1 year

Found this receipt hiding in the final pages of my old copy of Rawls’ A THEORY OF JUSTICE

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 years

My college epistemology prof dramatically pulls a tissue out of his pocket & then puts it back in Prof: “Did I just prove that I have a tissue in my pocket?” Student: “Yes” Prof *screaming*: “Ugh… a PROOF is a FORMAL RELATION between PROPOSITIONS! You’re all JACKASSES!”

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

2 months

At The Airport Bar: Dude A: What line of work are you in? Me: I’m a philosopher A: Huh. Interesting Dude B (drunk): A philosopher? You know what’s great about philosophy? Aristotle don’t change! Me: Yes. But Heraclitus is another story Dude B: True, so very true…

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse

9 months

I hate Rousseau so much I’ve gotten really good at teaching and defending him….

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Robert Talisse

@RobertTalisse