You're talking about people who are academics. Certainly, I agree with you there. There are generalists and there are specialists. It is disheartening to me that those in the branch of colleges and universities which is called the "philosophy department" often don't understand the calling that their field has for them. Philosophy is a term which once meant "academia." Colleges and universities today are mostly a compilation of different trade schools. People go to college to learn the terminology of a trade, the techniques of that trade, and the current trends in thinking within that field. I would like to see philosophers expand their departments and create whole universities which teach critical thought, and art, and music, and communication skills, and entrepreneurship - these things which were so central to the curriculum of prestigious schools hundreds and thousands of years ago in europe.

The thing about the current ideas inside of academic fields is that there is the problem of "group think." That is to say people tend to err together, when their perceptions all reinforce one another.

I hope you understand, though, that I was not referring to scholars in this weblog entry of mine. I was referring to ordinary people we pass by as we walk down the street. This has turned out to be a really important realization for me to see these two kinds of reasoning in the people I talk with daily. If I can see how that person forms her or his models about the world, I can watch my tongue so I don't say things which rub the person the wrong way. Furthermore, I know who to choose as a friend, and who I want to keep at arm's length as an aquaintance. It's really making my social life a lot easier and more fun.