Will Saving Middlesex Philosophy Save Philosophy?

It is necessary to consider the wider implications of Middlesex University management’s decision to shut down its highly-regarded Philosophy Department. Students and staff at the university, philosophers worldwide, academic unions and some reporters have registered their outrage; as this is written a campaign to have the decision reversed is underway (I very much hope it succeeds); and it has been variously observed that this decision bodes ill for the Humanities generally in Britain, and will have a deleterious effect on philosophers and philosophy generally. The latter, it seems to me, call for more discussion than they have received. The closure of this Department is a symptom of something, and while it is right and necessary that the symptom be energetically addressed, that in itself can scarcely be meaningful without attention to the malaise which it is a symptom of.

To read the rest of this analysis, which tries to understand the wider implications with reference to public statements of Middlesex University management, go to the publicly accessible site:http://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/no-impact-notes (No Impact Notes)