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The new NYT philosophy blog gets started by calling lawyers small-souled shysters.

Simon Critchley writes:

Socrates says that those in the constant press of business, like lawyers, policy-makers, mortgage brokers and hedge fund managers, become ?bent and stunted? and they are compelled ?to do crooked things.? The pettifogger is undoubtedly successful, wealthy and extraordinarily honey-tongued, but, Socrates adds, ?small in his soul and shrewd and a shyster.? The philosopher, by contrast, is free by virtue of his or her otherworldliness, by their capacity to fall into wells and appear silly.

The title of the post is "What Is a Philosopher?" and I'm thinking somebody who pretends to be self-deprecating while running down people who make more money than he does.

Full post as published by Althouse on May 17, 2010 (boomark / email).