Abstract
‘Spectacles and Eyes to See With: Two cultures in philosophy’ asks how we can explain the gulf between analytic and Continental philosophy. As a self-description, Continental philosophy is a necessary — but perhaps transitory — evil of the professionalization of the discipline. As a cultural feature, Continental philosophy goes back at least to the time of Mill. The division between philosophical traditions is the expression of a conflict that is internal to ‘Englishness’ and not a geographical opposition between the English-speaking world and the Continent. As such, the gulf between analytic and Continental philosophy is the expression of a deep cultural divide between differing and opposed habits of thought.
