"They muddy their waters to make them seem deep" - Nietzsche on poets, but it applies here.
I work in a university with a variety of faculty from various departments. It's common for faculty in the arts, humanities, and social sciences to write this way. They have to do research to keep their jobs. They have nothing to say, but can't admit to themselves. They have dedicated a lot of time and money to obtaining their degrees. They have built up an identity around it. It would be too painful for them to admit they've been wasting their time. They believe every word they write.
These faculty are also the most difficult to work with. While some are very nice, all the faculty problems I encounter at work come with these departments. They have zero social skills and are the biggest hypocrites among faculty. They are the most vocal about helping those who have less in society, yet they treat staff who make considerably less than them very badly.
There was a conference of private school presidents a few years ago. The speaker complained that the general public was criticizing higher ed. His speech was about how to make the dumb peasants understand how great higher ed. He never once considered the possibility that an ounce of their criticism could be correct. This is actually how many faculty and higher ed administrators think. They really do live in an ivory tower. They hate you.
Thank you, that offers some great insight. I studied at McGill and had the grades to go to graduate school probably anywhere in just about anything, but I didn't really like school all that much. Four years was just right, anymore would have made me very unhappy. I have always related more to pragmatists and empiricists rather than theoreticians or philosophers. I could see the snobbery in academic 'intellectual' circles, and it turned me off. It is obviously alive and well, and even thriving in the modern woke academy.
"They muddy their waters to make them seem deep" - Nietzsche on poets, but it applies here.
I work in a university with a variety of faculty from various departments. It's common for faculty in the arts, humanities, and social sciences to write this way. They have to do research to keep their jobs. They have nothing to say, but can't admit to themselves. They have dedicated a lot of time and money to obtaining their degrees. They have built up an identity around it. It would be too painful for them to admit they've been wasting their time. They believe every word they write.
These faculty are also the most difficult to work with. While some are very nice, all the faculty problems I encounter at work come with these departments. They have zero social skills and are the biggest hypocrites among faculty. They are the most vocal about helping those who have less in society, yet they treat staff who make considerably less than them very badly.
There was a conference of private school presidents a few years ago. The speaker complained that the general public was criticizing higher ed. His speech was about how to make the dumb peasants understand how great higher ed. He never once considered the possibility that an ounce of their criticism could be correct. This is actually how many faculty and higher ed administrators think. They really do live in an ivory tower. They hate you.
And yes, they hate you (you meaning not them, that is, ordinary people). Perfect.
Thank you, that offers some great insight. I studied at McGill and had the grades to go to graduate school probably anywhere in just about anything, but I didn't really like school all that much. Four years was just right, anymore would have made me very unhappy. I have always related more to pragmatists and empiricists rather than theoreticians or philosophers. I could see the snobbery in academic 'intellectual' circles, and it turned me off. It is obviously alive and well, and even thriving in the modern woke academy.