Dan Hicks has a PhD in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, and is taking up a tenure-track position at the University of California, Merced this year. Congratulations to him! But for reasons known only to his therapist, or perhaps known to no one, he decided to attack Robert Paul Wolff (at Professor Wolff's blog) for having dinner with me. Seriously. Let me explain.
In June, I was giving seminars on my realist jurisprudence at the EHESS in Paris for several weeks. A reader of my blog and of Wolff's e-mailed me that Wolff had indicated on his blog that he would be in Paris in June as well. Although I've read his blog with pleasure for years, and corresponded with him via e-mail, I had never met him. I reached out to Professor Wolff and we set a dinner date.
Professor Wolff mentioned in passing on his blog that we would be meeting for dinner. Out of the blue, Dan Hicks appeared in the comments to express his "disappointment" (!!!) that Professor Wolff would have dinner with me. Why? Apparently because I had been insufficiently appreciative of criticisms of the Philosophical Gourmet Report, such as Brian Bruya's fabrications (seriously, that was one of the examples Hicks actually gave) or his colleague Carolyn Jennings's work on job placement. Also, I had called out badly behaving adults in their late 20s (like this one), even though they possessed the "I'm a graduate student, I get out of jail free" card.
For these sins, I was not a fit dinner companion according to Dan Hicks.
I posted a brief comment in reply, which sums up how bizarre (and creepy) I find deranged displays like this:
Here's a question for Dan Hicks: what's wrong with you? Why would you decide to attack Robert Paul Wolff for having dinner with me, a person you've never met? Seriously, are you such a bitter and impotent person that you have to launch this kind of attack just because I'm a real human being having dinner with another real human being?
I suppose if I were consumed with impotent rage like Professor Hicks, I would declare that no one should have dinner with him, or shake his hand, or invite him to give a talk, or smile in his direction. But that would be a crazy reaction, so I won't declare any of those things. I can imagine that, despite this tasteless and bizarre behavior, Dan Hicks is a lovely person in other aspects of his life. But this performance--attacking an admirable man, Robert Paul Wolff, now in his 80s, for having dinner with someone Hicks disliked for silly and trivial reasons--is beyond belief.
(I am not linking to Professor Wolff's blog, since a person of his stature and dignity does not deserve another invasion of maniacs.)
UPDATE: Philosopher Michael Wedin (UC Davis) sent an amusing e-mail, which he kindly gave permission to share: "Regarding the Hicks idiocy, you do get under their skins! In my book that redounds to your great credit." Indeed, I do have all the right enemies.
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