provide more models for our ongoing effortsrnat modeling. But whether the subjectrnis the claims of Self as pitted againstrnthe requirements of Society, the folly ofrnaulting ambition, or the tensions thatrnset sons against fathers, one generationrnagainst another, we have yet to improvernon the question Socrates posed so longrnago—namely, how should a good personrnlive? Finding the answer is the work ofrna lifetime, one spent in the pursuit ofrntruth, even as one knows, in the wordsrnof poet William Stafford, that “truth hasrna long and complicated name.”rnThose heav’ with theory and convincedrnabout the wisdom of their socialrnagendas go through texts with an enviablerncertainty; but I do not often feelrnthat stories and poems go through them.rnAnd w hen thev boast about how intellectuallvrnexciting life is on the humanities’rncutting edge, I have my doubts, not onlyrnbecause they have swapped human richnessrnfor a mess of pottage, but also becausernthe humanities give us reason tornpause rather than occasions to crow.rnSanford Pinsker is Shadek HumanitiesrnProfessor at Franklin and MarshallrnCollege in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, andrnexecuti^’c editor of Academic Questions,rna publication of the National Associationrnof Scholars.rnThe Music ofrnChance—^An APArnDiaryrnby John E. MacKinnonrnAny oung philosopher who aspiresrnto an academic career must, especiallyrnin these days of fiscal restraint andrnfeminized privilege, include in his plansrna trip to the annual American PhilosophicalrnAssociation (APA) Convention, arncurious hvbrid of frenetic job-huntingrnand highbrow hobnobbing widely reviledrnas “the meat market.” AlthoughrnPacific and Central Divisions of the APArncon’ene annual meetings, the EastrnCoast gathering is especially crucial, followingrnas it does on the heels of the firstrnsignificant round of job announcements.rnThe 1994 session was held in Boston atrnCopley Place, December 27-30.rnArrangements run roughly as follows:rnphilosophy departments with positionsrnto fill advertise in the APA publication,rn”Jobs for Philosophers,” Young candidatesrnreview these positions and apply forrnthose for which they are suitably qualifiedrnin the hope that they’ll be interviewedrnat the convention itself. Theirrnturkey barely digested, they travel tornBoston on the 27th, cheek into a prebookedrnroom, register, and are assignedrnindividual numbered files, located, alongrnwith a couple of thousand others, in thernso-called Placement Centre. Ordinarily,rninterviewing institutions will have contactedrnthose candidates whom they intendrnto interview prior to the conference.rn1 lowever, such arrangements are sometimesrnmade at the conference itself, byrnmeans of completed forms placed in therncandidate’s numbered file.rnIt is with a certain giddy anticipation,rnthen, that the young philosopher, Ph.D.rnin pocket, first approaches his file. Willrnhe launch his career in Vermont or Arizona?rnWill he wow them in Lincolnrnor Poughkeepsie, Ann Arbor or SouthrnBend? Only too soon will this conjuringrnof options strike him as fatuous. And, asrneach visit to the Placement Centre turnsrnup not even so much as a nibble of interest,rnhis giddy anticipation gloomily turnsrnto wishful thinking and sickening swellsrnof self-doubt.rnThe APA Convention serves the importantrnpurpose of ensuring that candidatesrnand department representativesrnare together in one place for a period ofrnseveral days so that the arduous andrnexpensive job of interviewing can bernhandled with relative dispatch. In otherrnrespects, however, it constitutes a gruesomernspectacle—worthy, I thought, as Irnboarded the Boston Express out of Portland,rnMaine, of some surreptitious notetaking.rnDecember 27th, afternoon: I arrive inrnBoston by noon or so at the Greyhoundrnterminal near South Station. I ask directionsrnof a young man, and he points mernin the right direction. I am carrying arnheavy rucksack with a makeshift plasticrngarment bag that protects a suit I boughtrna year ago, mainly with job interviews inrnmind. I have yet to wear it, but am confidentrnI will be breaking it in here inrnBoston.rnMy friend Emmitt, who is teaching inrnKansas, has booked a room under bothrnour names at one of the hotels in CopleyrnPlace, the site of the conference. Ernmittrnwill be here both to be interviewedrnand to conduct interviews on behalf ofrnhis department. Therefore, his expensesrnwill be paid by his university, includingrnthe room that I will share with him.rnSince I am broke, this is a great help.rnWithout an ally like Emmitt, the APArnwould prove all the more daunting.rnBy 3:00 P.M., Emmitt arrives by taxirnfrom Logan Airport. I have not seen himrnsince an evening three years ago at arnfriend’s room in Christ College, Cambridge,rnwhen he returned from Kansasrnfor a visit with his wife, Haimah, andrntheir newborn baby girl. He looks well,rnslimmer than I remember him. Whilernhe changes and freshens up, I pace thernroom, stopping occasionally to gaze fromrnour 24th-floor window at the Bostonrnskyline. We compare notes on mattersrnboth personal and professional.rnI wrote my doctoral thesis on aesthetics,rna rich and challenging, but sadlyrnneglected, subdiscipline of philosophy.rnThis makes aesthetics my “area of specialty,”rnor “AOS,” in APA-speak, evenrnthough there is much else that I havernstudied, taught, and that commands myrninterest. Of all the positions advertisedrnthroughout the United States and Canada,rnonly two are looking for a youngrnscholar with such a background.rnOr so I thought. Emmitt tells me thatrnhe has heard that one of these positionsrnhas fallen through, funding having beenrndenied. “As for the other,” he adds, “Irnhear they’re actually looking for someonernwith a degree in fine arts who hasrndabbled in philosophy.” The secondrnuniversity, apparently, has close ties tornsome ceramic institute, I momentarilyrnpicture a ponytailed potter-cum-philosopherrnearnestly declaring to a roomful ofrnundergraduates, “You become the clay!”rn”So they want a philosopher who’ll berngracious enough not to trouble his studentsrnwith philosophy,” I say. “It seems,”rnEmmitt replies. This does not augurrnwell. I have applied for another 20 positionsrnor so, but none of them stipulated arnpreferred AOS. Instead, the positionsrnwere declared “open,” which means thatrncompetition will be especially intense.rnDecember 27th, evening: Havingrnpreregistered, Emmitt and I collect ourrnname tags and conference programs andrnhead over to the Placement Centre inrnthe Westin Hotel. This is only a scoutingrnexpedition, to get the lay of the land, tornanticipate tomorrow’s movements. Onrnthe back of our name tags is stamped arnnumber that corresponds to individualrnmanila file folders reserved for us at thernPlacement Centre. We both find ourrnSEPTEMBER 1995/41rnrnrn