Overview

Taking Philosophy Seriously initiates a meta-philosophical dialogue that challenges the division between academic and practical philosophy. In contradistinction to the perfectionist tradition of philosophy, it offers a melioristic view of philosophy that rethinks the approach to philosophy, reinvigorates its academic teaching and secures the respectability of its practitioners outside the academe. It addresses the neglected topic of philosophers' education through a subtle analysis of the mentor-apprentice relationship and the remedies philosophers have found to its tensions. It reveals the problems inherent in emulating past practical philosophies from Alexandrian times, the Enlightenment or the 19th century, and the necessity of reevaluating the tools, reconsidering the means, and rethinking the methods of the contemporary practice of philosophy. To that purpose, it problematizes the notions of dialogue, self-knowledge, and self-transformation, and questions the feasibility of autonomy and self-integration as well as the differentiation between philosophy and psychology. It offers original solutions to the problems it highlights and points to unique benefits in the practice of philosophy that contribute to resolving the contemporary crisis of philosophy. This book combines high academic standards and an accessible style, and will engage academic and practical philosophers alike, professionals in education and the helping professions, and the general public.

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9781527508965

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Lydia Amir is currently Visiting Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Tufts University, USA, Associate Professor at Beit Berl Academic College, Israel, and President of the Israeli Association for the Practice of Philosophy. Throughout her academic career, she has promoted philosophy both within and outside the academe, using her expertise in both to reflect on each other. Her work on various ethical subjects, on humor, and on the practice of philosophy in everyday life has been translated into many languages and includes over eighty peer-reviewed articles and essays, as well as various books and anthologies. She authored Rethinking Philosophers' Responsibility (2017) and Humor and the Good Life in Modern Philosophy: Shaftesbury, Hamann, Kierkegaard (2014), edited Practicing Philosophy (with Aleksandar Fatic, 2015) and Philosophical Practice: New Frontiers, Expanding Boundaries (2017). She serves as board member of various journals of philosophy and humor research, including Philosophical Practice: Journal of the American Philosophical Practitioners Association and Journal of Humanities Therapy. In her capacity as Founding-President of the International Association for the Philosophy of Humor, she is Editor of The Israeli Journal of Humor Research: An International Journal, and Founding-Editor of the forthcoming journal Philosophy of Humor.

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