You have come to your own conclusion about some philosophical issue after having rigorously investigated it on your own; then you read some distinguished philosopher who reached the same conclusion before you did, and based on the same or similar reasons. You think to yourself “Good grief! I can’t publish my thoughts on this issue because this other person beat me to it!”
Consider the benefits: you have examined the matter independently; your efforts are evidence of your own skill and autonomy; the result of your work squares with the thinking of an excellent mind.
Remember that there is vastly much more to philosophy than publishing articles.
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Brief but I like the point. And I somewhat agree.
However, I have faced this objection a few times: "you didn't really reach that conclusion on your own. There is no such thing anymore as an original thought. You probably picked up this conclusion somewhere and thought it to be yours."
I disagree with that position. What do you say about it?