The Philosopher's Demise: Learning French - Hardcover

Francophiles and Francophobes alike will take pleasure in Descartes scholar and novelist Watson's meditation on his decision, at age 55, to learn to speak the language he had been reading (and occasionally translating) for several decades. Asked to deliver a paper in French at a Paris conference, Watson spent six months in tutoring sessions with a friend in St. Louis (where the author teaches philosophy at Washington University) and then set off for the City of Lights, where he devoted most of his time to an intensive course at the Alliance Franc{‡}aise. His goal became an obsession; Watson was convinced that conversational fluency would win him entre{‚}e to the elite circle of Cartesian scholars in Paris. For the first time in his life, however, the distinguished professor did poorly in school. Could he ever learn to speak French? Blending confession with observation, The Philosopher's Demise is full of fascinating commentary: on the charms (and din) of Paris, on Watson's French friends and the teachers and multicultural students he encountered, on Americans abroad, and on the nature of language itself. A small delight. Mary Carroll