America the philosophical

by Carlin Romano       (Get the Book)
Romano, currently a critic at large for the Chronicle of Higher Education, jabs provocatively at the notion that philosophy is largely irrelevant to American culture by arguing that American culture is actually the planet's most vibrant and important marketplace for ideas. America the Philosophical, he argues, deserves its name precisely because it is a place where anyone can be a philosopher, but all philosophers must prove the relevance and utility of their ideas lest they be shredded, ridiculed, or simply ignored by the pluralistic, cosmopolitan, and unfailingly skeptical American public. To illustrate this, Romano presents a vast and diverse panorama of influential American thinkers everyone from John Dewey and Susan Sontag to Robert Fulghum and Hugh Hefner and reminds readers that the academy has considerable but far from complete influence over American thought, and this is probably a good thing. Like the ancient Greek thinker Isocrates, America the Philosophical rejects esoteric and systematic thinking in favor of truths that emerge through consensus, however elusive or messy it may be in our diverse and opinionated land. Part love letter, part hand grenade, Romano's commentary is sure to delight and infuriate in a way that will underscore its thesis. --Booklist