Paul Asman

Aristotle says that conclusions of practical syllogisms are actions that occur εὐθύς, which is normally translated to indicate temporal immediacy. Both aspects of this—that the conclusions are actions, and that they occur immediately—seem wrong. Interpreting εὐθύς as atemporal, specifically as indicating that nothing more is needed to explain the action, makes better sense of practical syllogisms and solves the problems raised by calling their conclusions actions.

This letter to the editor responds to excerpts published from Karen Gaertner's report "Non-Academic Careers of Doctorate Recipients in the Humanities" (Proceedings, Volume 61, Number 1, 130-13). It argues that the excerpts show misunderstandings of the influence of philosophical training and how someone uses that training outside academia.