The MC Hammer school of philosophy

(Image credit: Illustrated | Getty Images, iStock)

published 24 February 2021

Twitter is probably the last place most of us expect to find thoughtful conversations about epistemology and the philosophy of science. But not all users of the popular social media platform are MC Hammer.

On Tuesday, the rap legend behind "U Can't Touch This" and "2 Legit 2 Quit" shared a link to "The visibility of philosophy of science in the sciences, 1980–2018," an article recently published in the academic journal Nature, with his followers. When a user replied with a comment questioning the value of philosophical inquiry, it was Hammer Time:

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Many readers of the now-viral exchange were surprised to learn that Hammer has been engaged in public conversations about philosophy for several months. One of his most frequent interlocutors has been Zena Hitz, a tutor at St. John's College and the author of Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life, a book Hammer has described as "amazing." The rapper and the philosopher are set to continue their conversation on Friday with a public chat on the Clubhouse app.

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Matthew Walther is a national correspondent at The Week. His work has also appeared in First Things, The Spectator of London, The Catholic Herald, National Review, and other publications. He is currently writing a biography of the Rev. Montague Summers. He is also a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow.

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