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Query from a grad student

In our most recent "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

I'm a junior grad student, planning to give a talk about the philosophy of a prominent political philosopher. I emailed him to get feedback on my talk notes, which was critical of his position. He responded with some helpful comments, which I appreciated. But he also seemed to think my own position could be seen as cruel to certain minorities and insensitive of their concerns/problems, and urged me to rethink it. Of course I was horrified, since the theory I suggested was meant to help that very minority. Needless to say I quickly rewrote my paper to make it much clearer that I wasn't advocating for anything bad, since I evidently didn't make it clear enough. But now I am worried that he will think of me badly and remember my name in that context, and since he's prominent in the field, I worry word will get around and I'll have a bad reputation. Am I overthinking this?

I'm optimistic the OP is overthinking it, but if they are worried and they haven't done so already, I guess I would suggest that they share the rewritten version with the prominent political philosopher to see what they think. At the very least, this may signal that the OP took their concerns to heart. But beyond this, I don't know. 

What do other readers think?

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6 responses to “Query from a grad student”

  1. Michel

    I don’t think you need to worry. This person took the time to read your paper, comment on it, and point out what they thought was a potential issue. They wouldn’t have taken the time if they didn’t understand you’re a student, and if they weren’t interested in helping.

    Reply
  2. Bill V.

    I think a note to say thanks for the helpful comments and that they led you to reframe part of your paper would do the trick.

    Reply
  3. Another Grad Student

    From your description, it sounds like he pointed out those implications on the understanding that you both agreed they were bad. That suggests he doesn’t think you developed the view to be intentionally cruel, rather that you just overlooked something. These kinds of mistakes are common, and they’re easy to make – it’s one of the reasons getting feedback is important.

    Reply
  4. Juan

    My sense is that there are certain areas of philosophy where objections of this sort are commonplace, where the effect of the criticism is supposed to show a view to not only be false, but immoral.
    Absent other details about the story, this makes me think the student shouldn’t worry, both because it is commonplace, and because people who press such objections would in most cases distinguish between the morality of the view, the morality of the author, and their intellectual capacities. Indeed, I’ve seen the objection pressed between friends, with each arguing that it was the others’s view that was immoral. And, as the previous poster noted, pressing the objection to the student seems to presuppose recognition that the student shares the moral outlook from which the alleged immoral aspects would be seen as such.
    Fwiw, I seldom find these objections convincing. Often they are based on so-so causal stories, or misuse-applications of the idea that make it unclear why the alleged facets are in any way relevant to their truth. That’s not to say the objection lacks a place; but just that in my experience it is overused.

    Reply
  5. Trust your instinct

    I do not think the student should worry themself much with the professor’s objection.
    A grad student isn’t going to give a talk that actually harms the people in question, and I think there’s a good chance the student is making a good point that the professor is trying to pre-emptive with a powerful objection.
    Don’t just assume the professor is right. You seem to have a belief that quite the opposite falls out of your view (that the marginalized community may be benefitted rather than harmed).
    Trust your instincts here.

    Reply
  6. ChastenedAuthor

    I think the others are right that the student shouldn’t worry.
    I also second Bill V’s suggestion that, if the student is still worried, a simple note of thanks will do the trick.

    Reply

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