Cogburn on Twardowski

That wedding was remarkable, with more spectacle than is normally seen in 10 average weddings in a row. The dervish covered with flashing lights was a new one for me, there was a sailor dance, about 7 other dances, and the old “multiple humans dressed up as a single horse” routine. One of my former students was getting married tonight.

Cogburn adds ADDITIONAL ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY CONTEXT to my earlier post on Twardowski.

Anyone who is interested in the Austrians can learn a fair amount just by reading Barry Smith’s nice book, Austrian Philosophy. (Husserl isn’t included; it’s Brentano and a bunch of lesser-read figures.)

A number of interesting points are made in the introduction to that book. One potentially huge point is that Kant never loomed as large in Austria as in Germany. This was due at least in part to the fact that Kant was on the Papal Index for awhile.

But there’s no real substitute for reading Brentano himself. His voice is so strong and original. His charisma as a philosophical author is off the charts. Just reading a few dozen of his pages immediately makes clear why his students all seem not only fascinated by him, but also afraid of him.