ABSTRACT
Those who have done extensive work as professional philosophers, particularly in an English-speaking environment, have developed expectations about the sort of writing that best serves as a vehicle for the discipline. At its most elegant it is clear in syntax, direct, burdened with a minimum of jargon, blessed with diction in other respects economical, simple and precise. Above all, despite some contributors’ conversational and informal use of ‘‘I’’ and ‘‘we,’’ the writing is essentially impersonal. One could make it grammatically impersonal at no cost beyond loss of grace. These expectations suggest standards: the prose of the professional philosopher should be directed to issues, theories, systems, problems. It should not be about an individual except when, and to the degree that, it serves in a commentary on that person’s work.
