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The Examined Life On-Line Philosophy Journal

Author: Frederic Giacobazzi
Published on: June 15, 2001

One of the useful regular stops on the Internet for students of philosophy should be The Examined Life On-Line Philosophy Journal. An e-journal whose name recalls the adage attributed to Socrates that "the unexamined life is not worth living," the publication bills itself as "a communication forum for the professional, student, and amateur philosopher." It's cheeky motto is: "Because Nothing Else is Worth Reading!"

The journal's mission statement declares: "We hope that through the love of philosophy, our readers will develop a stronger appreciation of the philosophical positions of others and their own. We believe by offering a forum for the dialectic of philosophy to continue, that we will enhance and develop such an experience for the professional, student and amateur philosopher."

The journal is the collaborative effort of executive editor Mitch Hodge, and associate editors Chris Altieri, Paul Rezendes and Jean Champagne.

As executive editor Hodge put it in an article which appeared in the Amarillo Globe-News: "What we were hoping to do was bring philosophy to a wider public. So we started this journal. We actually conceived the idea in 1998. We talked about it, we tossed it back and forth, and one of the reasons why we had decided to start this was because there seemed to be a great deal of confusion about what philosophy actually was."

The on-line journal seeks to end this confusion with a combination of articles on philosophical topics, editorials, book reviews, an events calendar, a mailing list, a philosophy book club, and a thriving discussion board. The latter element provides the sort of forum for reasoned discussion which associate editor Paul Rezendes says enabled him to make ". . . more progress in my own understanding of a number of issues than I would have made by studying on my own. That experience is probably typical for anyone who is sincere. Many people go to philosophy sites just to engage in verbal guerrilla warfare. That just misses the point."

Until next time. . .

Fred