preface to the Composition of Philosophy

Earlier, I announced plans to “live-blog” the writing of my next book. This was inspired partly by my rereading of Poe’s hilarious “The Philosophy of Composition,” which takes us step-by-step through the writing of “The Raven.” (But Poe did it after the fact, having no access to real-time readership in the blogosphere.)

It was also inspired partly by my increasing realization that the primary readership of this blog is made up of talented graduate students stalled by writer’s block, stress, or personal issues. My qualifications for addressing this readership is that I was once a member of the same demographic group, but have managed to reach the point where writing articles is about as easy as washing the dishes. This is no boast, but a sigh of relief. I was never sure if I’d get here. My dream since age 16 was to write interesting philosophy books, and now I am living that dream, and wish to share the experience with others who may have similar ambitions. I also benefitted greatly from the advice of older mentors during my twenties, and feel that I should return the favor in my own way, with my own voice.

I’ve been informed that a number of students will be reading these posts either of their own volition, or on the advice of their professors. It is for their convenience that I have created “The Composition of Philosophy” as a category in the right-hand column of this page. Return to these posts as you see fit. And if you miss a day or two, it won’t matter.