Several readers pointed out that J. Paul Reddam, owner of the winning horse in the Kentucky Derby this weekend, has a PhD in philosophy from the University of Southern California (1982) and taught at Cal State/Los Angeles. Ben Caplan (Ohio State) writes: "His dissertation, Pragmatics and the Language of Belief, is apparently an early pragmatic defense of Millianism." And now he must be a millionaire!
ADDENDUM: Turns out he's not the first philosopher to be serious about horses! (Thanks to Matt Walker for the link.)
ANOTHER: Tad Brennan (Cornell) writes:
Oakeshott is late to the game. Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 6.1.7:
"And Antisthenes used to taunt Plato with being conceited. At all events when in a procession he spied a spirited charger he said, turning to Plato, 'It seems to me that you would have made just such a proud, showy steed.' This because Plato was constantly praising horseflesh."
Once again--all Western philosophy is just hoofnotes to Plato.
ONE MORE: James Klagge (Virginia Tech) writes:
Regarding your post about Reddam, in the Winner's Circle right after the race Bob Costas asked him if, as a former philosophy professor, he had a philosophical quote to offer. He quoted Wittgenstein: "As Ludwig Wittgenstein said: 'When all the philosophical problems are solved, nothing important will have been accomplished" so I quit philosophy and entered horse racing!"
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