摘要：Eric Olson won the hearts of my graduate students by dedicating his book ¡°to the
unemployed philosophers.¡± (The students subsequently got fine jobs, but it¡¯s the thought
(or rather the sympathy) that counts.) As appreciated as the dedication was, however, I
doubt that it was responsible for the wonderful reception that Olson¡¯s book, The Human
Animal, has had. Rather, the cleverness of his arguments, the vigor with which Olson
writes, and the new interpretations of old thought experiments and arguments have
deservedly captured a great deal of philosophical attention in the past ten years. Despite the
fact that I hold significantly different views from Olson¡¯s, I am happy to be here today to
help celebrate the tenth anniversary of his important book.
