Founder Professor Fredrik Haraldsen: Prime candidate for his own Encyclopedia of American Loons
When Fredrik Haraldsen (Ph.D., Philosophy University of Miami, 305-284-4757, Email: f.haraldsen@miami.edu) co-authored the Encyclopedia of American Loons, his most important omission was in not entering himself its #1 now-American (he’s an immigrant) entry.
Of course since becoming a professor of philosophy, and a very poor one at that (see student review of his dismal talents below), Haraldsen assumes that he is an expert in all fields, including medicine, religion, regional politics, etc. a dangerous if not delusional preoccupation, especially when mixed with his splintered philosophical concepts. (He defended his dissertation on the semantics of proper names in May 2013 and his current research focuses on, among other things theories of two-dimensional semantics).
On 4/4/13, a student reviewing how well he did his job as Professor of Miami U’s Philosophy 10 course offered that Haraldsen’s course was of poor quality with a “helpfulness” and “clarity rating” of 1 out of a maximum of 5... the perfect ingredients for a lunatic major originator and contributor to the Encyclopedia of American Loons. The student said:
“The class is an interesting subject but he makes it painfully boring. The lectures he gives are repetitive and dragged out with his accent. Online notes are most helpful, but you have to read the text book and teach yourself. He is an extremely opinionated grader and vague on assignments. Don’t recommend to take this class.”
“Extremely opinionated” and “vague” are the take-home regarding Haraldsen’s talents. And a sample of this imported lunatics tortured mind can be found just below:
Russellian Two-Dimensionalism (V-J)
By Fredrik Haraldsen (University of Miami)
“I argue that treating names as bound variables lets us capture the “two dimensional”
behavior of certain names in a semantic framework consistent with a Russellian treatment of names. While I doubt that all proper names behave like bound variables, there are reasons to think that certain proper names, such as so-called descriptive namesand perhaps empty namesexhibit this behavior, and I point out that recognizing a certain diversity in our theory of proper names does not require that one give up what is, essentially, a unified theory; names are still structurally simple expressions that require individuals and nothing else as semantic values.”
A blurb about Professor Fredrik Haraldsen can also be viewed on http://www.as.miami.edu/phi/people/faculty/ at the very bottom of a page, where all of the faculty have included a picture of themselves
.except, of course, Fredrik. Perhaps a quick visit to look at the one on his Facebook page tells you why.
No doubt Peter D’Adamo has here summed things up best:
“In an idiots-on-stilts blog known as The Encyclopedia of American Loons, Haraldsen appears to be working through the alphabet, documenting what he believes to be the best in American loonery. Perhaps it’s because Mr. Haraldsen appears to have no scientific credentials whatsoever, but rather seems to be pursuing post-graduate studies in philosophy; a noble profession, for sure, but (last I checked) one devoid of graduate level biochemistry.”
And so, a parting word of philosophy to the obviously unhappy and quite loonie philosophy professor Fredrik Haraldsen: “What goes around comes around” or “as you sow, so shall you reap”. Get it Fred? Good.
