Philosophy, Objectivity and Accessibility

Bernhard Weiss

We are approaching the end of a lecture on applied ethics. The lecturer, Dr. X, has just finished rehearsing an argument against abortion. She pauses to allow students to reflect on the argument, to ask questions or to attempt to rebut it. Things however don't follow this neat plan. One of her students has recently had an abortion and she finds the topic upsetting and impossible to think about in the terms demanded by Dr. X. To Dr. X the reaction is baffling. She isn't trying to force her view on her students: she'd more than welcome antagonistic engagement. Her student seems to her to suffer from a fault or has a problem which makes her impossible to teach. (Don't be tempted to deny that there are such faults and problems: certain sorts of indolence and apathy ARE insurmountable.)

Philosophy's response to this inability to engage appropriately with some of its issues is to appeal to its sense of being objective. Philosophy demands only a kind of detachment, a willingness and an ability to reflect on an issue in neutral terms. What does neutral mean here? Only that one accepts an obligation to justify one's view to all-comers. But surely it's this that the student finds impossible or impossibly painful to accept. Her condition renders her incapable of being included in, at least this area, of philosophical discourse. So the very feature of philosophy which should enhance (and perhaps even constuitutes) its universal relevance sets up an excluding barrier.

Dr. X clearly takes her student's reaction to betray an inaptitude for philosophy since that demands clear, rational reflection WHATEVER one's personal experiences might be. But how, as a teacher, should she proceed? To avoid that particular topic might be seen as an admission of defeat. It suggests (does it not?) that we can choose only to tackle philosophically those issues which are comfortable, those topics where a bit of hard thinking isn't likely to disturb us. And this neglects the fact that philosophy matters. Should she dwell on the topic but let go of her philosophical approach? She may not have the expertise to adopt another approach and may feel that this too is an admission of defeat. Simply to bash on regardless would be callous and unproductive. Dr. X's predicament is surely genuine.


Created on: April 17th 2007

Updated on: May 18th 2007