He was in fact much loved for his gentle humor (or "Sidgwickedness") and sympathetic conversation, and his philosophical students prized him for his candor.
Only John Dewey's Art as Experience has competed with it in the esteem of philosophical students of aesthetics and has approached its suggestiveness for artists, critics and the public which takes a thoughtful interest in the arts".
I have travelled far and wide but I have never come across a lad of his talents and possibilities, even in German universities, among philosophical students".
The Patagonian Hare contains much about philosophers, of course, including those who taught Lanzmann, and hilarious anecdotes about his shoplifting of philosophical texts during student days.
This had the aim of improving students' philosophical abilities through conversation and the occasional game of tennis.
In class, we have gone through various religious traditions, various nonreligious philosophical traditions, having students read and find out what is the good life.
Another genre Lefèvre occasionally used was the dialogue, which not only catechized young students in philosophical doctrine, but also demonstrated how teacher and pupil should engage with each other.
As an academic philosopher he made it his duty to find extra time to discuss philosophical matters with his students, friends, and colleagues.
His approach to educating his students about philosophical pitfalls and techniques of argument such as oversimplification and reductio ad absurdum (Dennett calls them intuition pumps) is a master class in philosophical theatre, packed with snappy vignettes – thought experiments in the absurd to skewer his opponents.
Nevertheless, because they lack background in the formal study of philosophy, many teachers are reluctant to encourage the philosophical thinking of their students.
