"a laughing stock, an absent-minded buffoon.... the one who is silly"

Simon Critchley, chair of philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York, attempts to answer an immortal question - what is a philosopher? - in the newest section of the New York Times.

The freedom of the philosopher consists in either moving freely from topic to topic or simply spending years returning to the same topic out of perplexity, fascination and curiosity.

And of course, it takes money to enjoy all that time. Which is why you'd be hard-pressed to find professional philosophers outside academia.

"I don't believe in racism... sexism.. or any ism."

I just saw a commercial that included the above quote. I didn't really understand what the commercial was trying to say, other than to tell me - the viewer - to click on the site of the TV channel on which the commerical was airing.

But it led me to think:

1. The commercial was ripping off a line from Ferris Bueller: "Isms in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an ism - he should believe in himself."
2. If you reject theism, atheism, and agnosticism, where are you left?