I am quite sure that this is how undergraduates in philosophy see the whole thing:
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John Wilkins is an eternal student, who thinks philosophy of biology is at least as interesting as politics or sport and twice as important. He has a PhD from the University of Melbourne and worked at the University of Queensland, in Australia, before taking up a research fellowship at the University of Sydney. After a varied career, involving factories, gardening, civil service, publishing, graphics, public relations but not, unfortunately for the CV, driving a truck, John finally completed his thesis on species concepts in 2004, which he has worked into two books.
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How undergraduates see philosophy
Category: Humor • Logic and philosophy
Posted on: February 4, 2008 11:54 PM, by John S. Wilkins
Find more posts in: 
Humanities & Social Science
Humanities & Social Science
Comments
That's it. I'm becoming a radical skeptic. There's nothing we can know or do. :)
Posted by: Brian English | February 5, 2008 12:11 AM
AHAHAHA!!! that is classic. i love it. I get it all! I received my Master's in computer science, but always had a fondness for Phil classes. This is just perfect.
Posted by: Gabe | February 5, 2008 1:14 AM
I like it!
I seem to recall, vaguely, a lengthy all-text example along that line. Something about brains in jars on moving trains, perhaps ...? I can't seem to find a link to it now. (I didn't know there would be a quiz!) Oh, well, I should get back to work in the chinese room.
Posted by: etbnc | February 5, 2008 10:51 AM
Gee, unlike Dennett's list of philosophical neologisms, I actually understood most of the references. Perhaps there's hope for me yet....
Posted by: Eamon Knight | February 5, 2008 5:58 PM
This is probably what #3 is referring to:
http://www.mindspring.com/~mfpatton/Tissues.htm
Posted by: David Canzi | February 5, 2008 10:00 PM
Wots undergrads got tuh do with it!
This is wot filosofi is about ain it?
Posted by: Thony C. | February 6, 2008 3:02 AM
Well I didn't want to criticise academics who aren't philosophers, but that is how a lot of them see it, too.
Posted by: John S. Wilkins | February 6, 2008 3:21 AM
This is the most awesome comic I've seen in the last year.
Posted by: Sophie Hirschfeld | February 6, 2008 5:56 AM
Aren't all academics philosophers? Or don't they, at least, think they have the right, as academics, to philosophize?
Posted by: Thony C. | February 6, 2008 7:47 AM
Yes.They just don't think that their philosophizing is philosophizing.
This is an especially common attitude amongst academics in the natural sciences.
Posted by: Ponder Stibbons | February 6, 2008 7:59 AM
Highly amusing.
I sincerely wish that my undergrad philosophy profs had been nearly that clever.
Rt
Posted by: Roadtripper | February 6, 2008 10:00 AM
"Philosophy" is probably something that anyone with any intelligence has a natural inclination to engage in. And everyone thinks they're an expert. Kinda like politics. Forget Searle and Hauser - maybe there's even a philosophy gene ;) I haven't checked - is philosophy defined in the basic concepts list? Might be interesting.
Posted by: jeff | February 6, 2008 2:19 PM
I kinda remember this -- those shadows on the wall of the cave were explaining the length of the flagpole, iirc, but I just don't remember where the flagpole was with respect to the train tracks!
Posted by: David | February 6, 2008 7:47 PM
This is a masterpiece. Thanks for sharing it. Though it is deplorable they left the "brain in a vat" issue.
The comics did put my brain on fire. (Now, where did I put that vat...)
Posted by: Omer Moussaffi | February 7, 2008 2:19 PM
That is excellent. It's right up there with this comic, which I loved because it combined a former embarrassing dorky pastime, role playing games, with my current one, philosophy.
http://dresdencodak.com/cartoons/dc_031.htm
Posted by: Ecpyrosis | February 7, 2008 11:27 PM