The Freedom of Philosophical Labor as an Unfinished Project: In Dialogue with Tatiana Sidorina’s Thought

Abstract

The article examines the conditions of freedom of philosophical labor in the context of Tatyana Yu. Sidorina’s philosophy of labor. Starting from her analysis of labor-centrism and the crisis of leisure in contemporary society, the author shows that academic philosophy is not an exception and is subjected to the same regimes of workload, productivity, and accountability as other forms of labor. Drawing on the classical tradition and current debates, a scheme of three foundations of freedom of philosophical activity is proposed: material independence, inner autonomy of conscience and reason, and institutional guarantees of university and scholarly autonomy. Each foundation taken separately, as well as their combination, is subjected to critical analysis. The article argues for an understanding of the freedom of philosophical labor as a regulative idea and as a practice of continuous “assembling” of relations between the philosopher and the institutions of knowledge. Finally, three criteria for distinguishing freedom from well-arranged unfreedom of philosophical labor are formulated — those of time, goal, and critique — and the need to protect not only the right to speak but also the right to silence and non-productive leisure is discussed.