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These comments speak for themselves. What is perhaps not evident is
Ferrater Mora's response to them. He took serious criticism seriously
and tried to learn from it. One can see this in his correspondence
about the
Dictionary of
Philosophy when it was thought that it
might be translated into English. Similarly, when he was learning to
film, he sought out Nestor Almendros, the son of a friend and an
internationally known professional cinematographer, precisely to ask
for criticism. Ferrater was eager to hear the comments, however
critical they might be, from a professional, from someone who "knew
what he was doing." Ferrater Mora listened to criticism from various
sources, his one criterion being that the critic must know what he was
talking about. Sometimes, however, he made exceptions to this
rule. For example, a student once attacked his philosophical ideas in
an essay examination. His reaction was bemused interest, not annoyance
at her audacity. On the other hand, he did not always react so
generously to fools and in particular, to pompous fools.
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