Posted by alexandra_k on January 8, 2006, at 14:28:46
In reply to Re: Too bad attending no longer appeals to me. » alexandra_k, posted by zeugma on January 8, 2006, at 12:56:14
> where people feel free to judge and abuse you?>>
> I think you are making too strong a link between civility and absence of judgement and abuse.
> A has expressed the judgement that Mr. X is no good at philosophy while conforming to accepted principles of civil discourse.I don't think he has 'expressed the judgement' so much as having implied the judgement. I think that it is worth bearing in mind that in the context (of writing someone a reference for a job application) the very point of for the referee to express a judgement (either positive or negative) about the suitability of the applicant. that tends to be why references are anonymous, so that the referee can feel free to express a judgement without worrying about the hurt feelings of the person they are writing the reference for.
the reference was not supportive.
but that was the point.
the person could equally have said 'i do not support this persons application'.
because... it is implied that while they can speak english and attend tutorials they are able to do very little else (ie have a grasp of appropriate philosophy concepts / terminology and participate actively / thoughtfully in tutorial discussions)
i wasn't meaning to say that everything that is civil is supportive. not at all.but the idea of an 'uncivil' party...
(as opposed to an 'a-civil' party...)i would have thought that would mean that one should feel free to say things that are uncivil (ie that explicitly attack, accuse, judge another)
i know we can't avoid ALL negative judgements...
either explicit or implied...but don't you have some sympathy for the ideal of a civil society?
poster:alexandra_k
thread:5509
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20051205/msgs/596626.html