Commodification of Philosophy: Professors vs Influencers | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Philosophy Tube's presenter coming out as a trans woman sparked a discussion on the commodification of philosophy, which is an age-old topic in the field. The video addresses comments about the commodification of philosophy and highlights the differences between commodification in the education system and on the internet.

Key Insights

• 🥺 PhilosophyTube's presenter coming out as a trans woman led to increased attention on their videos, including a response to critiques on the presentation and commodification of philosophy.
• 🤕 Commodification of philosophy is an age-old topic, with ancient philosophers like Socrates criticizing the commercialization of philosophy by the Sophists.
• 🎓 The commodification of philosophy differs between the education system and the internet, with public funding and affordability in some countries compared to the data-driven commodification on social media platforms.
• 🤩 Critiques within a system often perpetuate it, but critical reflection on the conditions and structures is still a key task in philosophy.

Transcript

we posted another video on philosophy tube's presentation of khan's philosophy more particular about his critique of pure reason and we were pointing out some what we think are pretty obvious errors in how philosophy 2 presented that philosophy interestingly enough one day after we posted that video philosophytube posted another video where the pre... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: How does the presenter respond to comments excusing PhilosophyTube for not being experts in philosophy?

The presenter acknowledges that academic philosophy is also a form of commodification and that critiques regarding commodification are valid. However, they argue that it's important to examine the differences in how philosophy is commodified in the education system and on the internet.

Q: How does the video address the criticism of PhilosophyTube's videos being a commodification of philosophy?

The video highlights that while PhilosophyTube presents philosophical education for free, the internet and social media platforms still commodify viewers as products through data mining. The emphasis on attracting views and profiling the presenter's identity becomes the main product, potentially overshadowing the content.

Q: How does the video compare the commodification of philosophy in the education system and on the internet?

The video argues that publicly funded education systems, where philosophy is not highly commodified, offer an alternative to the more aggressive commodification on the internet. It suggests a more socialist approach to education would be preferable. Additionally, it explains how the highly presentation-focused nature of social media commodifies philosophy differently than the traditional academic system.

Q: Can critique within a system perpetuate that system?

The video acknowledges that critique often takes place within the structures it critiques and therefore perpetuates those structures. However, it argues that making these structures obvious and critically reflecting on them is still a valuable task in philosophy.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The video responds to comments on the previous video critiquing PhilosophyTube's presentation of Khan's philosophy, focusing on errors and the commodification of philosophy.

• It explores the differences in how philosophy is commodified in the education system and on the internet, emphasizing the public funding and affordability of philosophy education in some countries.

• The video acknowledges that commodification exists in both contexts and discusses the shift of emphasis to presentation in the social media era.