Monday, February 9, 2009

Leiter-icious

So I checked out Leiter Reports this morning and discovered a post about a survey of the philosophy profession of which Leiter disapproved (anti-Leiter, anti-PGR, anti-analytic philosophy, anti-pedigree, anti-etc.). Presumably because of his disapproval, Leiter didn't provide a link to the survey. But using my astute web skills (i.e., google) I was able to track it down and started taking it -- I can't resist a survey. It was, as Leiter noted, filled with disapproval of all things Leiter and approval of things that even I can't stomach like greater influence of literary studies on philosophy. Literary studies!?!

But all of a sudden, as I was filling in a section of what I read and how regularly I read it -- embarrassing b/c apparently I only read newspapers, blogs (including the dreaded Leiter) and the odd philosophy article regularly -- the survey was declared terminated. And then I went back to Leiter Reports and the aforementioned blog post had, like Snowden before him (it?), disappeared as well.

What the fuck happened? A secret deal, maybe? Too many Leiterites followed my lead and took the survey -- frustrating Leiter's desire that we not do so and skewing the results of the survey in a direction the surveyor didn't desire. A negotiated legal settlement? Both Leiter and the surveyor took/ threatened legal action against the other and their respective lawyers recommended they remove their contributions until the whole thing was settled. A happy (or unhappy) coincidence? Or maybe the whole thing was in my head all along? Oh dear, it's back to therapy for me.