Philosophy that’s a Pleasure to Read
“People have been asking me: what will you acquire? In most cases I gave the obvious response about seeking new directions in these fields and at the same time furthering established dialogues scholars are already engaged in. And that answer is true, but it’s not the full story. What I’m actually looking for is clear, vivid thought.” That’s Jenny Gavacs, the new sociology and Asian studies editor at Stanford University Press, in a recent blog post entitled, “So You’re Writing a Monograph.” She adds, “when a scholar’s writing has been refined to transparency her idea shows through in all its glory.” She has a bit to say about word choice, too; I disagree that “a priori” is “just bluster” but perhaps I am part of the problem.
Meanwhile, Oxford University Press philosophy editor Peter Momtchiloff, in his interview at Aesthetics for Birds (previously), says, “Of course a lot of philosophy is hard work to read. But one thing which I tell my colleagues about philosophers is that they generally have reasons for saying what they say the way they say it rather than some other way. Philosophers’ writing tends to be considered, which is better than unconsidered.” Yes, better than unconsidered, but that on its own is kind of a low bar for readability (and yes, I know that words like “readability” only get in owing to low bars, but this is just a blog post, mkay?).
I think a lot of philosophers take readability as something they have to make a concession to in their writing. That is somewhat understandable, as comprehensiveness and fine distinctions and other aims may take us away from readability. But it is also kind of weird, since the main point of writing, one would think, is to be read. Perhaps it would be good if we had some exemplars of excellent philosophical writing to inspire us, or to emulate. Help us out. What are your examples of philosophy that’s a pleasure to read?
David Lewis’ _On The Plurality of Worlds_ is an excellent example of good philosophical writing. Sometime during his career he made a transition from filling pages up with symbols (like we see in _Counterfactuals_) to writing memorable turns of phrase that clearly explain very strange and abstruse ideas. No doubt he did this before in _Counterfactuals_, but he did more of it in _On the Plurality_.
Many of Peter van Inwagen’s papers display a similar attention to the virtues of writing, e.g. Two Concepts of Possible Worlds.
I also took a class on philosophical writing, where we interacted with Nicholas Wolterstorff’s _Justice: Rights and Wrongs_, which also had many memorable turns of phrase, felicitous sentences, and a well-formed outlined structure.
I mentioned Aaron Ridley and Arthur C. Danto a while back as having written some great papers in aesthetics: I can add that they’re also two of the best writers I know. Ridley’s writing is quick and conversational; Danto’s is not exactly a breeze to read, but is extremely witty, and has made me laugh aloud a few times. To these two I’d add Collingwood and Scruton (although Collingwood’s limpidity masks a huge conceptual complexity and sophistication; I speculate that one of the reasons Collingwood is so neglected is that people don’t understand him but don’t realise this, because his prose seems so easy to read).
This list is similar to my last one – I suppose that’s no coincidence though, even beyond the fact that I’m an aesthetician and am leaving great writing in other areas to those who know them. I’ll add though that I find most philosophers pretty dull writers, and although I prefer dull and clear to colourful but superficial, in trying to give my own writing character I look rather to such as Joyce and David Foster Wallace.
I second your recommendation of Danto – clear and engaging.
I’m a big fan of Pamela Hieronymi. There are lots of really excellent writers in ethics, but Hieronymi’s style stands out because it is a bit more restrained than most–it’s cool, economical, and comparatively formal, while still feeling rhythmic and alive. I wish I could write like that.
Gregory Vlastos
Philippa Foot… Hilarious and elegant.
Her writing is full of life in a way that really appeals to me.
Daniel Dennett
Susan Wolf, Bernard Williams, Eric Schwitzgebel, Tamar Gendler
Have to second Dennett and Wolf. Among younger philosophers Kris McDaniel has an almost uncanny ability to express extremely complex ideas in straightforward and unpretentious prose.
Rae Langton.
I second Rae Langton. She is clear, direct, and precise. She also makes good use of examples and drives her points rather forcefully. An excellent overall writer.
Oh, I’d be remiss to leave out how impressed I am with Neil Levy’s writings. Many of his reviews are exemplars of the genre.
Andy Egan strikes a distinctively conversational and unpretentious tone — even on technical ideas — without sounding cutesy or overdone.
I found his ‘Billboards, Bombs and Shotgun Weddings’ thigh-slappingly good.
This is a a great question because I wish I had more examples of fine philosophical writing to show students.
I think Cheryl Misak is one of the best writers I know: she gets to the heart of complicated questions very clearly and makes it all look easy.
I also get a kick reading anything by J.J. Thomson: something about the way she crafts her language and examples.
Simon Blackburn, especially All Souls Night.
could not agree more about blackburn, fantastic writer.
For instruction, I recommend Joseph Williams’ Style: Toward Clarity and Grace. He gives a lot of concrete examples and does a good job of explaining why reading academic prose can be such a slog. For example, the sentence that Gavacs cites as “tongue-twisting” has more specific problems. Williams would complain about its excessive nominalizing (turning verbs into abstract nouns).
Amen to this! Williams’s book is terrific.
A second on Susan Wolf. Scheffler’s “Death and the Afterlife” is also excellent stylistically. And I like Rivka Weinberg’s directness. Plus David Sussman.
Also: Everything I’ve written.
http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~jdhatley/BugbeeLife.htm
and Alphonso Lingis
No one lays it out for you, premise by premise, like Alvin Plantinga does. But for sheer pleasure in reading, David Lewis is king. I’ve also found Alan Hajek particularly adept in explaining difficult, technical ideas.
Anything by John Broome.
Nelson Goodman
Arthur Prior
David Lewis, definitely and definitively. Some others off the top of my head: Ted Sider, Adele Mercier, John Heil, Philippa Foot, and William James, very, very much him.
Schopenhauer – best non-fiction writer of all time. Dan Haybron and John Doris are, each in their own way, really good recent writers.
Seconding Gregory Vlastos. And I’m surprised Saul Kripke hasn’t been mentioned yet.
Searle.
Adam Elga all day.
Seconding Judith Jarvis Thomson and Rivka Weinberg (for her humor and not just her directness). Shelly Kagan’s book, Death, is a model of writing that aims to be illuminating to philosophers and accessible to non-philosophers. I guess I hear mixed reactions to Parfit as a writer, but I find him a pleasure to read.
I love reading Peter Railton.
Elliott Sober. Routinely turns mud into crystal.
John Greco and Julia Driver
I love the prose of Adam Smith and W.E.B. Du Bois. Oldies but goodies.