JACK McGREGOR CONDIE

I am a PhD student in the Philosophy department at the New School for Social Research. My main research interests are Plato and approaches to the self. 

I take a literary approach to philosophy, with a particular interest in the dialogue form Plato employs as a philosophic method. Rather than philosophy being purely about arguments, the dialogue form seems to imply that the project of philosophy cannot rest within the domain of logical argument alone. Instead much (if not all) of philosophy must take place in the moments that happen between each of us as human beings. 

This is why the philosophy's quarrel with poetry is so crucial. Poetry's ability to deify the ordinary is in part the very same thing that philosophy lays claim to in seeking the examined life. Poetry and philosophy both seek out the doubleness of things – their appearance and nature – ultimately turning their attention to the greatest conquest: knowledge of the self.

My teaching experience reflects the breadth of my interests and approach. I've taught philosophy, the broader humanities, and art history. My approach to teaching is about attuning students to the main problems and questions that are at stake in a problem, rather than promising a solution. Solutions are important, of course, but philosophy cannot guarantee them. Perhaps, it can only guarantee the appearance of them. 

My CV can be found here.

I am also involved in union organizing, and serve on the Executive Board of ACT UAW Local 7902 as Recording Secretary. I am proudly a member of SENS UAW, and elected delegate for the UAW's Higher Education Council.