True mettle

Elizabeth Kiss assures us that, compared with welding, philosophy “cultivates habits of reflection and self-examination” (HE&me, News, 8 March). A philosopher who would have had an interest in this assertion was Rush Rhees (1905-1989), a pupil of Ludwig Wittgenstein. In 1940, Rhees worked in a factory as a welder, but what we also need for a test of the assertion are examples of philosophers who become competent and professional welders.

R. E. Rawles
Honorary research fellow in psychology
UCL

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