The students of Prof. Paul Weiss at

The students of Prof. Paul Weiss at Catholic University of America had to be careful about where they sat in his classroom. Too far from the podium and Professor Weiss, who is a bit hard of hearing, might not catch their questions. Too close and they risked getting an errant whack from his cane. But over the years the students kept coming back because Weiss taught them to think. "He runs the class by throwing out a series of theses. Then he basically says, 'Attack me'," recalls a former student, Father Robert Spitzer, 39, now a philosophy professor at Seattle University.

Paul Weiss, 90, is a world-class philosopher, an emeritus Sterling Professor at Yale and author of a score of books. He was once regarded as a prize catch by Catholic U., a financially pinched school of modest reputation in Washington, D.C. But last summer Weiss was told that he was being demoted to teaching graduate students part time. The reason, according to the university, was "shifting priorities." Weiss's highly personal brand of metaphysics no longer suited the needs of the university's philosophy department.

But the real reason that Weiss was shoved aside, according to a report by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, was his age. When an EEOC investigator asked a university official what factors, other than his salary and 20-year employment, went into the decision not to renew his teaching contract, the official answered, "He's 90." Undergraduates should not be taught by someone like "a grandfather," the official told the EEOC; Weiss should make way "for a younger man." Earlier this month, the EEOC gave Catholic a year to work out a settlement with Weiss. If the university fails, the agency will sue for age discrimination.

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When is a teacher too old to teach? Airline pilots start losing their reflexes as they age, and senility and infirmity can be incapacitating in any profession. But philosophers are supposed to just get wiser as they get older. Bertrand Russell worked into his 90s, Kant into his 70s and Socrates until he was about 70 and the Athenian tenure committee chose not to renew his contract. Weiss believes he's another wise man handed a goblet of hemlock. He's determined to get his job back, even if it means a messy lawsuit.

Indeed, Weiss can't wait to go to court. A gnarled little man who lurches about his book-filled apartment with the aid of two canes, the professor loves confrontation. A high-school dropout (his father was a tinsmith, his mother a maid), Weiss took boxing lessons before going to night school at City College of New York. In 1929 he took his Ph.D. at Harvard, which he called "an advanced prep school for rich kids in raccoon coats." Teaching philosophy at Yale in the late '40s, he ran into strong anti-Semitism, which he defied by giving lectures like "What It Means to Be Called a Jew." (Upon the urging of his colleagues, he did go to a voice coach to lose his heavy lower East Side accent, but the teacher pronounced him incurable.) Weiss became the first Jewish faculty member at Yale College. He notes, gleefully, that a history of the school "devotes a whole chapter to the anxiety and disturbance of hiring me."

Father William Byron, Catholic's president, insists that the university went out of its way to care for Weiss. He says that Catholic allowed Weiss to teach students out of his apartment after he was slowed down by a back operation two years ago. Such an arrangement is "absolutely unprecedented," Father Byron told The Washington Post. "False!" cries Professor Weiss. "Wittgenstein had students come to his rooms at Cambridge," he declares. "Alfred North Whitehead had students to his rooms at Harvard. I know. I was one of them." Weiss is not modest about the company he keeps. He also compares himself to Plato ("who was out in left field, too"). In testifying before the EEOC, Catholic administrators alluded to Weiss's "fading reputation." "Reputation!" exclaims Weiss. "They have no reputation. I was in Who's Who in the World. They're not. They teach philosophy. I'm a philosopher."

Weiss admits that he has a poor memory. For a scholar, isn't that somewhat of a liability? "I've always had a bad memory," he snaps. "I'm not haunted by what I know. I think every issue afresh. A philosopher," he continues, "is an arrogant man who asks himself fresh questions." Weiss is delighted by the publicity his case has attracted. Columnist William F. Buckley Jr., who studied under Weiss at Yale, accused Catholic of "shabbily" treating a "truly eminent" man. But Weiss was mildly offended when The Washington Post described him as a "manic lizard." "What are they trying to convey by these references to reptiles?" he asks a visiting journalist, who doesn't quite have the heart to tell him that he looks like one. "That your movements are quick?" the visitor suggests. "Hmm," he ponders. "Makes sense." He raps his cane.

Weiss shows off his latest manuscript, "Being and Other Realities," 500 pages of typescript covered with metaphysical chicken scratches in black ink. "Revise! Revise!" he growls. "I am constantly revising." He works on the book from morning until night but says he misses his students. "I cherish teaching," he says. When will he be ready to give it up? "When I'm vague and puttering," he barks, in a tone that defies anyone to suggest that he is either.

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 2:

Para siswa dari Prof. Paul Weiss di Catholic University of America harus berhati-hati tentang di mana mereka duduk di kelas nya. Terlalu jauh dari podium dan Profesor Weiss, yang agak sulit mendengar, mungkin tidak menangkap pertanyaan-pertanyaan mereka. Terlalu dekat dan mereka mempertaruhkan mendapatkan mendera bandel dari tongkatnya. Tapi selama bertahun-tahun para siswa terus datang kembali karena Weiss mengajar mereka untuk berpikir. "Dia berjalan kelas dengan melemparkan serangkaian tesis. Lalu ia pada dasarnya mengatakan, 'Menyerang saya'," kenang mantan mahasiswa, Pastor Robert Spitzer, 39, sekarang menjadi profesor filsafat di Universitas Seattle. Paul Weiss, 90, adalah kelas dunia filsuf, seorang Profesor emeritus Sterling di Yale dan penulis skor buku. Dia pernah dianggap sebagai hadiah menangkap dengan Katolik U., sekolah mencubit finansial reputasi sederhana di Washington, DC Tapi musim panas lalu Weiss diberitahu bahwa dia sedang diturunkan ke pascasarjana mengajar paruh waktu siswa. Alasannya, menurut universitas, adalah "pergeseran prioritas." Merek yang sangat pribadi Weiss metafisika tidak lagi cocok dengan kebutuhan departemen filsafat universitas. Tapi alasan sebenarnya yang Weiss telah mendorong samping, menurut laporan oleh US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, adalah usianya. Ketika penyidik ​​EEOC meminta pejabat universitas faktor apa, selain gaji dan 20 tahun kerja, pergi ke keputusan untuk tidak memperpanjang kontraknya mengajar, menjawab resmi, "Dia 90." Mahasiswa tidak harus diajarkan oleh seseorang seperti "kakek," kata pejabat itu kepada EEOC; Weiss harus membuat jalan "bagi seorang pria yang lebih muda." Awal bulan ini, EEOC memberi Katolik setahun untuk bekerja keluar penyelesaian dengan Weiss. Jika universitas gagal, badan akan menuntut diskriminasi usia. Coba Newsweek untuk hanya $ 1,25 per minggu  Kapan seorang guru terlalu tua untuk mengajar? Pilot maskapai mulai kehilangan refleks mereka dengan bertambahnya usia mereka, dan kepikunan dan kelemahan dapat melumpuhkan dalam profesi apa pun. Tapi filsuf seharusnya hanya mendapatkan bijaksana ketika usia mereka bertambah. Bertrand Russell bekerja ke 90 nya, Kant dalam 70-an dan Socrates sampai dia sekitar 70 dan komite kepemilikan Athena memilih untuk tidak memperpanjang kontraknya. Weiss percaya dia orang bijak lain menyerahkan piala dari hemlock. Dia bertekad untuk mendapatkan pekerjaannya kembali, bahkan jika itu berarti gugatan berantakan. Memang, Weiss tidak sabar untuk pergi ke pengadilan. Seorang pria kecil keriput yang lurches tentang apartemennya buku-diisi dengan bantuan dua tongkat, profesor mencintai konfrontasi. Sebuah putus sekolah tinggi (ayahnya adalah tukang pateri sebuah, ibunya pembantu), Weiss mengambil pelajaran tinju sebelum pergi ke sekolah malam di City College of New York. Pada tahun 1929 ia mengambil gelar Ph.D. di Harvard, yang ia sebut "sebuah sekolah persiapan lanjutan untuk anak-anak kaya mantel rakun." Mengajar filsafat di Yale pada akhir '40-an, ia berlari ke kuat anti-Semitisme, yang menantang dengan memberikan ceramah seperti "Apa Artinya Be Disebut seorang Yahudi." (Setelah desakan dari rekan-rekannya, ia pergi ke pelatih suara kehilangan nya berat lebih rendah East Side aksen, tetapi guru diucapkan dia dapat disembuhkan.) Weiss menjadi yang pertama dosen Yahudi di Yale College. Dia mencatat, gembira, bahwa sejarah sekolah "mencurahkan seluruh bab untuk kecemasan dan gangguan mempekerjakan saya." Bapa William Byron, presiden Katolik, menegaskan bahwa universitas pergi keluar dari cara untuk merawat Weiss. Dia mengatakan bahwa Katolik diperbolehkan Weiss mengajar siswa keluar dari apartemennya setelah ia diperlambat oleh operasi kembali dua tahun yang lalu. Pengaturan semacam itu adalah "benar-benar belum pernah terjadi sebelumnya," Bapa Byron kepada The Washington Post. "Salah!" menangis Profesor Weiss. "Wittgenstein memiliki siswa datang ke kamar di Cambridge," ia menyatakan. "Alfred North Whitehead memiliki siswa untuk kamar di Harvard. Aku tahu. Saya adalah salah satu dari mereka." Weiss tidak sederhana tentang perusahaan dia terus. Dia juga membandingkan dirinya dengan Plato ("yang keluar di lapangan kiri, juga"). Dalam bersaksi sebelum EEOC, administrator Katolik disinggung Weiss "reputasi memudar." "Reputasi!" seru Weiss. "Mereka tidak memiliki reputasi. Aku berada di Siapa Siapa di Dunia. Mereka tidak. Mereka mengajarkan filsafat. Saya seorang filsuf." Weiss mengakui bahwa ia memiliki memori yang buruk. Untuk sarjana, bukankah itu sedikit dari kewajiban? "Aku selalu punya kenangan buruk," tukasnya. "Saya tidak dihantui apa yang saya tahu. Saya pikir setiap masalah lagi. Filsuf A," ia melanjutkan, "adalah orang yang sombong yang bertanya pada dirinya sendiri pertanyaan baru." Weiss adalah senang dengan publisitas kasusnya telah menarik. Kolumnis William F. Buckley Jr., yang belajar di bawah Weiss di Yale, menuduh Katolik "lusuh" mengobati "benar-benar terkemuka" manusia. Tapi Weiss itu agak tersinggung ketika The Washington Post menggambarkan dia sebagai "kadal manik." "Apa yang mereka coba sampaikan oleh referensi ini untuk reptil?" ia meminta wartawan mengunjungi, yang tidak cukup tega untuk mengatakan kepadanya bahwa dia tampak seperti satu. "Itu gerakan Anda cepat?" pengunjung menyarankan. "Hmm," ia merenungkan. "Masuk akal." Dia mengetuk tongkatnya. Weiss menunjukkan dari naskah terbarunya, "Being dan Realitas lain," 500 halaman naskah ditutupi dengan goresan ayam metafisik dalam tinta hitam. "Merevisi! Merevisi!" ia menggeram. "Saya selalu merevisi." Dia bekerja pada buku dari pagi sampai malam tapi mengatakan ia merindukan murid-muridnya. "Saya menghargai mengajar," katanya. Ketika ia akan siap untuk menyerah? "Ketika saya kabur dan puttering," ia menyalak, dengan nada yang menentang siapa pun untuk menunjukkan bahwa ia adalah baik.