Given the three main examples in the philosophy blogosphere--Philosophers Anonymous, Philosophy Smoker, and Feminist Philosophers--the answer would seem to be pretty clearly 'no.' As far as I can tell, it's an 'open secret' who the main proprietors of the first and third are, and God knows lots of folks are sure they know about Mr. Zero, Jaded Dissertator, and the others at PS. By and large, folks seem to be fairly discreet with this information--I've yet to see any of it on-line, though it may well be out there somewhere--probably because both PS and FP try to keep the worst aspects of anonymous blogging and commenting in check (PA is a bit more of a free-for-all, but it's not in the habit of harassing individuals by name...except Billy Joel!). I think it's to the credit of the philosophy blogosphere (and the proprietors of the blogs in question) that its anonymous and pseudonymous blogs are both substantive and (mostly) civilized. I don't know how that really compares to other fields with significant blog presences, but I have the anecdotal impression this is less true outside philosophy.
UPDATE: Oh no, I've been outed. A reader writes:
You know, "Brian", I have often admired the dexterity with which you preserve your pseudonymity, despite running the most high-profile blog in Philosophy.
The creation of this entire "Brian" persona designed to throw off conjectures--it's clever! A brilliant exercise in misdirection, complete with ostensible personality traits, exaggerated likes and dislikes, entirely at odds with your own real identity. No one who knows you would ever think that you were the author of the "Leiter Blog", nor would anyone who reads that blog ever think that you, of all people, were its author. The disguise is masterful!
But your post today struck me as extremely bold, très provocateur. By posing the question "Is pseudonymous/anonymous philosophy blogging possible?", you were tweaking the discipline's collective nose, flaunting your success in remaining hidden, almost begging to be exposed! This is flirting with disaster, n'est-ce pas?
Mais ne vous inquiétez pas, mon cher Bernard--I shall not expose you. No one will learn from me that Bernard Henri-Levy plays such silly games as to write pseudonymously a blog as an American philosopher!
best wishes, Jean-Paul
("Jean-Paul" is, in fact, the pseudonym of Tad Brennan.)
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