Philosophy Department

A foreigner visiting Stetson’s Philosophy Department for the first time is shown a lounge, an administrative desk, faculty offices, a seminar room, and a coffee pot. He then asks “But where is the Philosophy Department? I have seen where the faculty teach, where they write, where they store their books, and the rest. But I have not yet seen the Philosophy Department in which these activities and objects can be found.” It has then to be explained to him that the Philosophy Department is not another collateral institution. The Philosophy Department is just the way in which all that he has already seen is organized. When they are seen and when their coordination is understood, the Philosophy Department has been seen. (see Ryle 1949, 17-18)