I found this quote in a combox on the Leiter philosophy blog; it seems right to me.
"I think pragmatism is very important to success at publication. Know which journals publish what kinds of articles. Master the style of a philosophy article. Understand which topics are current. Know what literature you'll be expected to discuss if you write on a given topic. Don't try to say everything in one place -- learn how to break your work into article-sized chunks. Don't wait for a paper to be perfect (it never will be) before submitting it to a journal."
Does anyone have any particular suggestion about where to find more information related to the italicized section of the quote with regard to our ancient and medieval studies? It seems like interminable labor finding relevant conferences and calls for papers sometimes. Has anyone found a particular blog or site which list topics of interest to us? Etc.? Much thanks. -HM
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I understand the point of your post, and appreciate it. However, I am going to take this opportunity to not answer you understandable and well-meaning question. Rather, I would like to express my disgust with journals.
I think it may be safe to say that they are the antithesis of the intellectual life. Most journal articles are made up of so much intellectual refuse. Pseudo-Philosophers who specialize in regurgitating claims of other Pseudo-Philosophers; all of whom find it offensive to make any objective claims about reality.
That being said, there are some legitimate thinkers that publish things, and occasionally you might find a useful article, like an undigested, nourishing grain of wheat buried in a pile of dung. Be careful though! You need to clean that grain off thoroughly before you consume it. Who knows what kind of disease you can get! What is more, be careful you do not forget yourself and your dignity as you wade through the piles of feces in search of these grains. Few things are as dehumanizing and a philosopher that loses himself therein may find that he has only begun to contribute to the ever growing pile. He will then be revered as a "Scholar" and we will praise his many "publications," and ask him to come give meaningless lectures about topics that sound so important and interesting, like "the hermeneutics of open-textured moral concepts in determining the ontology of human freedom." We will ooh and ahh with empty minds as he continues to drone on. Afterwards, we will criticize him over cocktails and sneer as we comment on his inability to incorporate the objections presented by Heidegger's Dasein. We will make counter assertions based on Almighty Doubt, and praise the post-modern development We will then all go home, empty.
Being at TAC I've heard my share of opinions shared about the impoverished state of philosophy, but for me that is all the more reason to undertake those things which will best enable us to shape and change out situation.
Not to mention that there is genuinely good scholarship out there. Most of the articles in say for example The Thomist are fodder for real thought even if they turn out to be wrong. How would we know about Ralph McInerny or Steven Long had they not published? I'd say that of the articles I've found and decided they were worth the read, a good 1/3 of them genuinely help my understanding.
Disgust cannot be a principle which governs the intellectual life. There were plenty of times as a student where I saw Berquist reading something in Phronesis or McAuthur reading National Review (or sleeping over it). There is a place for greater outreach with the greater scholarly community in our life, and we have to deal with it.
And FA, after thinking about this for day, I wanted to let you know that at some level I DO identify with the emotion behind your comment. At the level you were proceeding from, I feel like a stone-cold assassin...we're on the same team.
I believe that Nietzche said something like the following, that those who gaze too long in the abyss must be careful of the monsters within, lest they become one of them.
That web site is great though. Thank you Frater Edmund.