Following The Archer Pelican‘s suggestion, I took one of those “which philosopher are you/which philosophy best describes your own” quizzes. Does that fact that such a quiz returns unsurprising results add further support to my own self-assessment? Does it mean that the quiz was designed well? I guess the question really is, does this quiz (or the perception of accuracy in its results) produce new knowledge or evidence to support pre-existing beliefs? Or is it just a coincidence that it returned results that I have pre-existing reasons to accept? Your mileage may vary.
| Which philosopher are you?
Your Result: Sartre/Camus (late existentialists)
The world is absurd. No facts govern it. We live well once we truly accept the world’s absurdity. YOU give our life’s meaning, and YOU control your world. (see Nietzsche for very closely tied beliefs) –This quiz was made by S. A-Lerer. |
In the late 90s, when I was between colleges, I worked in an office of lawyers who represented individuals on South Carolina’s death row in their appeals claims. I was just a lowly paid intern at first but proved my mettle through investigation in a certain conservative county’s courthouse. As a token reward for my work, a colleague designed for me a nameplate. Everyone else in the office had nameplates outside their offices or on their desks, so this became mine. It was a touching gesture, the kind you can appreciate only if you work in the non-profit world. And I thought the job title she gave me spoke volumes about the things people pick up on through casual conversation. It’s not like I came to work dressed in a Kafka T-shirt and beret (at least not every day).
