Should Philosophy be written poetic and engaging, or should it

>>9622989
It should be as you want it to be.

>>9622989
Funny, I read that book in both Spanish and English (I don't know French) and thought the Spanish translation sounded way clearer but that the English translation was more lyrical.

>>9622989
I think they should use many small words carefully arranged so that the text cannot possibly be misinterpreted and to prove their reasoning beyond all doubt in the same sentence that they explain it.

>>9622989
It should be whatever the writer intended to do. I personally prefer a poetic text but I can understand some writers preferring static and clear texts to have their audience understand their philosophy better.

>>9623241
Kek

Depends on whether you're French or German. If frog, use the most beautiful and untranslatable eloquence possible. If German, make up words that precisely describe your ideas, and never define them.

>>9622989
Depends on the content. Philosophy aimed at deriving some kind of "truth" should be written for clarity so the argument comes across. Philosophy that seeks to advocate a certain way of life should be written beautifully, with an aesthetic that corresponds to the lifestyle it advocates.

>>9624021
>>9623141

I'd be interested to read it in French. The English translation is flowery to the point of absurdity in parts, and I don't know if that's just the nature of the French, or the nature of the language, or what.

I don't need it laid out in logical proofs but damn

>>9624048
so that's why Nietzsche's prose is shit

You pose a false dichotomy, as most philosophical writings are spread on a spectrum between the two polar extremes - Kant's Critique of Judgment, for instance, is fairly dry but contains numerous beautiful and explicatory "vignettes": you wouldn't say it's poetic in the same way Cioran or Stirner are, but neither it's the gormless, infinite schematic metastasis of the Principia Mathematica.
There's no necessary tension between clarity and emotional relevance or between beauty and logic (ESPECIALLY between beauty and logic, one should say): most of the time is just down to an author's ability to use a language (which is often, but not necessarily, correlated to "philosophical intelligence/ability") or, as says, >>9624048 the text's purpose.

>>9624367

While the two qualitiess aren't mutually exclusive, I do feel like Camus, under the constraints of his own abilities, sacrificed clarity for poetics in the OP text.

The two ideas aren't opposite directions on some line, but they inevitably will pull against each other; a writer of immense skill may be able to achieve one without sacrificng the other (and in fact, I would rank te ability to do that as one of the most important watermarks of a good writer), but I feel like most mere mortals we'll have to choose when writing any given sentence.

>>9622989
Going to be a fanboy here and say Marx manages to show that both can be balanced.

I'd argue most works that are considered difficult or obscurantist are mostly so because (out of academic need) they're targeting a very specific audience. Take D&G for example, with a basic understanding of anthropology and Freud it's quite easy to understand (rather, the question is: why would you read if you're not already interested in either?).

>>9622989
You can do both.

Russell is fairly straightforward and is usually good at covering his bases when presenting an argument, but he was also a great stylist who could have a joke here or there, a sharp barbed sting at an opponent, or even a line that was pretty.

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>>9624340
>to the point of absurdity

>>9622989
>Should Philosophy be written poetic and engaging
maybe
>should it be written straightforward and easy to understand
no
>Is it more important for a philosopher to choose a word that is emotional and beautiful and stirs emotion
no
>or a word that is accurate and precise and stands up to scrutiny
yes

>>9625740

Unintentional but I'll take credit for it anyhow.