22. Philosophy is considered productive in so far as it causes one man to act in a new way; that he becomes its silent example, a living beacon to other men. Some men will be sensitive to the example of his life, while others will miss it entirely.
26. Bad philosophy attempts to speak for all men. Through generality and extension it assumes its own internal calculus and often becomes the play-thing of the academic. Good philosophy, by contrast, is intended for a particular man and resists extension to other men. But do not assume that bad philosophy cannot change the world; if practiced, it simply does not change the world in the way it was intended.
30. When the philosopher generalizes about all men he is not far from attempting to redirect the world.
33. If one could speak of all men, one could speak of changing or directing them. But one only speaks from a particular form of life. To change the world is to bend other men around that form. Some bend to it easily, but many are broken.
26. Bad philosophy attempts to speak for all men. Through generality and extension it assumes its own internal calculus and often becomes the play-thing of the academic. Good philosophy, by contrast, is intended for a particular man and resists extension to other men. But do not assume that bad philosophy cannot change the world; if practiced, it simply does not change the world in the way it was intended.
30. When the philosopher generalizes about all men he is not far from attempting to redirect the world.
33. If one could speak of all men, one could speak of changing or directing them. But one only speaks from a particular form of life. To change the world is to bend other men around that form. Some bend to it easily, but many are broken.
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