Philosopher's Zone Style wars pt 2: Scandals and hoaxes
Apr 16, 2025
Joe Hughes, a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne, and Elliot Patsura, a postdoctoral research fellow, dive into the world of academic hoaxes. They discuss the implications of publishing a paper filled with jargon intended as a satire, questioning the value placed on superficial trends in the humanities. The duo examines infamous scandals like the SoCal Affair, revealing how such events challenge scholarly integrity and spark vital discussions about the state of knowledge production and peer review in academia.
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Necessity of Complexity in Humanities
- Humanities are expected to be accessible because they reflect on universal everyday questions about the good, true, and beautiful.
- But the complexity of these questions makes specialist language and conceptual tools structurally necessary in the humanities.
Obscurity as Intellectual Engagement
- Obscurity in humanities can serve pedagogical purposes, compelling audiences to engage deeply with language.
- This challenges facile understanding and resists the expectation for simple explanations in intellectual work.
Sokal Hoax Revealed Intellectual Risks
- Sokal's hoax exposed how cultural studies journals could publish nonsensical papers if they suited ideological beliefs.
- It highlighted a perceived disregard for scientific rigor within certain humanities circles in the 1990s.