{"id":72655,"date":"2017-06-28T14:49:48","date_gmt":"2017-06-28T12:49:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/?p=72655\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:48","slug":"afgekraakt-worden-is-pijnlijk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2017\/06\/28\/afgekraakt-worden-is-pijnlijk\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Getting savaged is painful\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I f I had had to work through this book at secondary school for my exams, I wouldn\u2019t have read a single line of philosophy ever again afterwards.\u2019<\/p>\n

Not the greatest response to read in the newspaper Trouw as author of the textbook for pre-university philosophy. But the author in question, Fleming Tim de Mey, was able to laugh it off. \u2018Superficial remarks like this are so vague that they really don\u2019t bother me. It gets tougher where the substance is concerned. To be honest, I have found that annoying at times.\u2019<\/p>\n

Dump<\/h3>

De Mey really hadn\u2019t expected his book The benefit of the doubt to cause such a stir when it was published. In fact, after completing the writing of his book on scepticism and the importance of doubt, he thought the worst was behind him. \u2018Because this was going to be examination material, a committee took a look at it. Some ten to fifteen fellow-philosophers were allowed to dump all over my stuff. That wasn\u2019t nice, especially as the criticism wasn\u2019t consistent. What one liked, another thought was useless, and so it went on.\u2019<\/p>\n

The storm didn\u2019t blow over. Far from it: after the book\u2019s publication in late 2014, the reviews came pouring in. \u2018There was a lot of discussion about it. In the end, I think that a third of the reviews were positive and two-thirds had comments about aspects of the book.\u2019 In his mind, the Fleming divided the negative reviews into two categories. \u2018On the one hand, there\u2019s the general criticism. Of my writing style, the form of the book or the use of certain terms. I\u2019m perfectly happy with that. I take all those points on board and really try to do something with them.\u2019<\/p>\n

Flight of fight<\/h3>

It became harder when reviewers discussed the book\u2019s content and hence De Mey\u2019s philosophical thinking. \u2018That\u2019s when the criticism is quite a lot harder to take. Because you yourself are well aware of what the weak points are in your own work. If you get really savaged about those, it\u2019s painful. It touches on your own deeper insecurities.\u2019 There is one review that De Mey has never even managed to read through to the end. \u2018My ideas were doubted so fundamentally in it that I couldn\u2019t take it anymore. It became too personal.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018That\u2019s also my advice to colleagues who face negative reviews. Learn what you can from them and let the rest go\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

The tactic De Mey uses in dealing with reviews is always the same. \u2018You can choose flight or fight. I always opt for the first of these, and have never responded to a review. Including the review I was unable to read all the way through. There\u2019s no productive outcome once you start reacting. You\u2019ll never come out of it well, so I always just let it go. It\u2019s hard, especially when it gets personal, but I think it\u2019s best in the long run. That\u2019s also my advice to colleagues who face negative reviews. Learn what you can from them and let the rest go.\u2019<\/p>\n

This attitude has ensured that he has not lost any of his pleasure in writing. \u2018I can put aside comments like \u2018He who reads this will never read about philosophy again\u2019, because I also received many enthusiastic reactions from students and teachers. Of course, substantive criticism is still difficult. Your own insecurities are reinforced, and I can tell you that nobody enjoys that. But I don\u2019t get discouraged. I\u2019ve got the hang of it now.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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