ABSTRACT
Whether or not Heraclitus’ point is true of the cosmos, it has certainly been true of the recent history of philosophy. “War,” polemos, finds its contemporary philosophical counterpart in polemic, the lifeblood of most academic philosophical careers today and the mainstay of most philosophy journal articles as well. Philosophical warfare is supposed to be genteel, “sparring” or “scrimmaging” rather than out-and-out bloodshed. Yet it too shows “some…as gods, others as men”; to the victors go the spoils-whether these are a silenced student, an impressed lecture audience, a “downed” opponent, or an appreciative reader who enjoys the spectacle of intellectual carnage.
