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Created: July 21, 2003
Latest Update: July 21, 2003
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

Playing with Social Theory and Harry Potter

Site Copyright: Jeanne Curran and Susan R. Takata and Individual Authors, July 2003.
"Fair use" encouraged.

Sometimes we speak academese as arrogant jargon, but sometimes we speak it in good, clean fun. This lecture is on some of the good, clean fun reflected in a New York Times article by Patricia Cohen on Saturday, July 17, 2003: "The Phenomenology of Harry, or the Critique of Pure Potter." Backup.

First, the puns in the title require that you have some understanding of philosophical and/or social theory to recognize that we speak of the "phenomenology" of certain theorists, in this case, Harry. And the second pun lies in the "Critique of Pure Reason" by Kant, but in this case the "Critique of Pure Potter."

The knowledge and ability to use certain words and theories lends social status. The very title of Patricia Cohen's article tells you that she knows all about phenomenology and philosophy, whether she really remembers very much of it or not. But others who studied philosophy and social theory recognize her puns and nod knowingly.

At the same time, "What's phenomenology?" kind of gives away that one hasn't ever come across that branch of philosophy, which is an integral part of the canon of learning. Trust me, lots who studied it have forgotten it; but they do know how to play the game. Same thing with Critique of Pure Potter, and Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. Such language, such recognition of concepts and the ability to nod knowingly are status badges that identify "those who know" to each other, and they are often the means through which discrimination operates in the 21st Century. That tells us that there's an ugly underbelly to our good clean fun of plays on words that recall our liberal arts training in higher education.

Hot clue: Be alert to such games. And when you have a few free moments use the Internet search facility to clear up the lacunae. It's not about being a scholar. It's about assuming the cloak of learning in the old liberal arts sense.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is phenomenology?

   Phenomenology "a profoundly reflective inquiry into human meaning"
   From Phenomenology online at Phenomenological Inquiry. Site compiled by © Max van Manen, 2002, University of Alberta, Canada.
   

   The keyword, reflective, tells us that this kind of inquiry will fall on philosophical, interpretive, aesthetic grounds, not postivistic empirical grounds. Phenomenology sees the world as interpretable through the mind, and does not trust the provability of any "reality" out there.

2. How do we conceptually link phenomenology to Harry Potter?

   Consider that Harry is a wizard. Now that's about as transcendental as you can get. Certainly not empirical. So Harry's phenomenology might look at how the world is constructed through the minds of those at Hogwarts. That's not so far from W.I. Thomas' "If men believe situations to be real, they are real in their consequences."

3. What is Kant's Critique of Pure Reason?

   Kant's Critique of Pure Reason answers the questions of what can I know? how can I know it? what should I do? and who is man? Well, know, that's just what I remember off the wall. Professor Cavalier gives the answer in detail in one of his lectures. It all sounds a lot to me like Socrates' How Shall I live my life?

4. Why would I care if I could define the phenomenology of Harry?

   Consider that if I play puffed up bull frog and fake it, I might lose my status badge at some point. I figure honestly earned disciplined knowledge counts for more than puffed up bull froggery. Besides it's good exercise for my mind.

5. Why would I read Kant's Critique of Pure Reason to be sure I got it right?

   First of all, I can't be sure I got it right. I hope, that thanks to Prof. Cavalier at CMU, I did. But it my attempt to get it right I did go more deeply into the philosophy and understanding of why liberal arts matters. If there are people out there who can play these games because they've read more widely than I have, just maybe there might be some of that knowledge worth having for whatever comes in the future. What a shame that I got to be 68 without reading and understanding it.