World Philosophy Day

Apparently today (or yesterday, or Nov 21-23, depending on which thing you read) is World Philosophy Day, according to the United Nations, and you didn't even get me a present! (That's OK, I didn't get you anything. Here's a smidgen of history about this most holy of days

Here's an article about the big event, which was scheduled to take place in Iran, but enough people complained about it that while the event happened anyway, the U.N. removed its endorsement. Here's Brian Leiter listing some specific grievances concerning Iran's treatment of philosophers. But don't worry, the orchestra is still behind the event.

So now I see there's something at UNESCO (the U.N. organization in question) HQ in Paris, with "celebrations... organized by different academic actors in more than 80 countries..." I hope one of those "academic actors" is Tony Danza!

Here's a reflective article from ABC News, by an actual philosopher, on the use and reputation of philosophy in today's society. As usual, the user comments are more revealing than the article.

Given that the vast majority of articles I'm seeing on this are about the furor over Iran, and I'd never even heard of this "holiday" prior to this year, I'm thinking that the initial staging was a publicity stunt on the part of the U.N. to garner attention to the holiday. Well done!

-Mark Linsenmayer