Is There Really Someone Who, Searching For

When I Was 15 Years Old, Or 16, I Carried Around On The Streets Of Brooklyn A Paperback Copy Of Plato's Republic, Front Cover Facing Outward. I Had Read Only Some Of It And Understood Less, But I Was Excited By It And Knew It Was Something Wonderful.

Examples One Finds In The Philosophical Literature Are Somebody Who's Seen The Trial Of A Child Of Theirs, Where They're Being Proved Guilty Of Some Crime That Would Drive The Parent Into A Depression, Maybe A Suicidal Depression.

Philosophical Argument, Trying To Get Someone To Believe Something Whether He Wants To Believe It Or Not, Is Not, I Have Held, A Nice Way To Behave Towards Someone; Also It Does Not Fit The Original Motivation For Studying Or Entering Philosophy. That Motivation Is Puzzlement, Curiousity, A Desire To Understand, Not A Desire To Produce Uniformity Of Belief. Most People Do Not Want To Become Thought-police. The Philosophical Goal Of Explanation Rather Than Proof Not Only Is Morally Better, It Is More In Accord With One's Philosophical Motivation.

It Is, From Another Angle, An Attack On Requiring Proof In Philosophy. And It's Also The Case, I Guess, That My Temperament Is To Like Interesting, New, Bold Ideas, And To Try And Generate Them.

The Trouble With Government Regulation Of The Market Is That It Prohibits Capitalistic Acts Between Consenting Adults.