Notes from a Sidecar: A Philosophical Exploration of Vagueness

by John Dale

Notes from a Sidecar examines where philosophy might go after Wittgenstein and provides a light-hearted philosophical travelogue on modern philosophy. The motorcycle/sidecar rig provides grounding in reality.

Paperback

First published December 20, 2005

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book combines two of my loves: philosophy and the beauty of the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. I think most readers will find that the author's attempt to use his motorcycling tour of the Selkirk Loop as a kind of symbol or metaphor for the philosophic quest to be a bit ham-fisted, an attempt to force together two things that really have little to do with each other, but it is hard not to be engaged and impressed by the author's sense of humor, his range of reading and interests, and his humanity in encouraging joy, humility, and wonder in the face of life's enduring mysteries. Dr. Dale is not a philosopher by trade, so to speak; he is a physician who happens to have an abiding interest in philosophy.

His basic thesis, to the extent that one can be identified, is that since language is the medium of philosophy, there is a tendency amongst philosophers to believe that all of the mysteries of existence can be made to "speak", but there is little reason to believe that language is up to the task. We need language, of course, but if we are doing philosophy with the fullness of our being, we need art, poetry, music, science, all of what Cassirer referred to as "symbolic forms" to bring us to a place of wisdom. So far, so good, but from there the book becomes a bit of a hodgepodge with a nod here and there to vagueness as unavoidable and perhaps even salutary. I have a doctorate in philosophy and it has been my privilege to make a living teaching it, and it is my fondest wish that at least some of my students find themselves bitten by the philosophy bug to the extent that Dr. Dale has, but I think there is more here of suggestion than there is of sustained argument.

The biggest lacuna I see in this book is a lack of apparent engagement with those who might have been best equipped to help the author bridge the gap between his love of the beauty of the region in which he lives with the need to address those questions that seem to transcend place and even time. I am referring to the indigenous inhabitants of the region, such as the Ktunaxa Nation, the Sinixt Nation, and others, who have collectively worked for generations at, to steal one of Heidegger's essay titles, "building dwelling thinking". I think the author is right to suspect that the resources of academic linguistic philosophy are inadequate to the task he seems to have set himself, but there are additional resources he does not seem to consider. Having just returned from Kaslo (a place mentioned several times in the book), a town which plays host to a most joyful annual music festival, the resources of communal abiding have at least as much to offer the philosopher as the temptation to always be on tour.

[Marc · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had so much potential; the author squandered it all on a muddy treatise.
Some of his prose is quite thoughtful but the basic framework is unintelligible.
"...about uncertainty or rather about unstated certainty." good

Uncertainty is definitely 2 wheels not 3; physics man.

He tends to wander through statements, vague unconnected thoughts; random walks of consciousness. He seems to just write words without asking himself, "am I communicating?"
Flawed notion: degrees of truth [probably means degrees of understanding]
I think the problem is his fondness for Wittgenstein-a muddy philosopher if ever there was.

p67 Words are Philosophy's prison. [excellent phrase]
I ate breakfast in the same restaurant that he lunched at in Salmo BC. Methinks our reviews of the food are as divergent as our views about how to frame an interesting argument/story.
e.g. p65 He begins to describe Suzanne Langer's work; "she began the development of certain themes, which were, in fact, quite revolutionary in the world of thought." He ends there with no specifics mentioned, no further explanation. What good is that? He does this with every one on his tedious list of philosophers-even Wittgenstein his hero; his philosopher side bars all read like a grade 8 book report.

He claims that Pirsig would have had all truths revealed if only he had ridden in the sidecar; I don't know how one could drive yet sit in the sidecar?

p96 "Random, loose, disconnected thoughts may even be the answer." I doubt it; like expecting the random ramblings of a million monkeys will eventually say something interesting.

p121 facts!-science attempts to deliver facts ... OK now I am getting annoyed with this.
p125 "My thoughts are random ..." boy don't we know it.
He says that amateur philosophers have an advantage; they don't have to worry about criticism from the pro's; the arrogance of a physician; he would have benefited from a good editor

p142 the inside view from a sidecar vs outside view; neat idea but he fails to follow it and it goes plop!
reference to Wittgenstein book "On Certainty" Oh my god, what a muddy mess of writings this is.

p143 "Body English" =knees on the tank [very nice and says something to anyone who rides a motorcycle]

p145 Knowledge vs Belief [more lame mutterings and some incredibly bad English English to add to his many typos;

This book just barely manages to stay out of the Turd Heap; this author is sincere but mostly just muddled in his thinking, unlike Harv Damschen (Musings with Blue: A disjointed chronology of certain events. TURD HEAP archetype) who is just plain arrogant and stupid to boot.