A priori as applied to *knowledge* is perhaps what Durkheim had in mind (whether he solved the problem correctly or not). A priori knowledge is usually *analytic*, that is, it is given by the terms of a proposition. "My brother is male," is a classic example.
I do agree with Shane about the appropriation of philosophy by social scientists, though. At least, WS is not justified in treating the issue of what is innate and what as learned as anywhere near settled!
On Thu, Nov 7, 2013 at 4:25 PM, Chuck Grimes <cagrimes42 at gmail.com> wrote:
> I liked this. I can really understand what a huge step it is for a east
>> european intellectual to see that laughing at a farm boy's idea of freedom
>> is a shameful thing.
>>
>> But this....
>>
>> "because intellectuals stopped identifying themselves with people who
>> work for a living, and instead became lackeys of the money grubbing
>> entrepreneurial class, begging for scraps from their tables and aping their
>> manners and their speech."
>>
>> ....makes me wonder: when did intellectuals as a whole ever identify
>> themselves with people who work for a living? It seems to me that's mostly
>> what they have always done.
>>
>> Joanna
>>
>> -----------
>
> I also liked the essay, but realized at somepoint, Wojtek over thought the
> exampl which is much easier to understand on simple human terms. The catch,
> is you have know something about fishing, gone fishing, and enjoyed
> it---caught fish and gratefully eat them. One of my former bosses, the best
> one, had a boat and we went out on Sundays, the only day he didn't work, to
> go fishing for salmon. It was great to lay around the boat, drink a beer or
> three and watch the poles as we slowly trolled over likely areas where the
> salmon were schooled somewhere below.
>
> Rather than philosophy or sociology to explain, I'd choose literature. We
> have some great American literature on fishing. Anyway, imagine you are
> stuck in the office or on the job at ten in morning, go get in the car and
> drive out to one of piers around the bay and toss in a line, crack open a
> beer and start talking to your comrades, mostly immigrants who don't speak
> English, maybe trade some snack or a beer ... could any of us actually do
> that in this society without the need for a great lie? So the rural kid had
> a point.
>
> CG
>
>
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