And, in particular, there are many, many more french fry cooks than philosophers. So the french fry cook understands the perspective of a larger proportion of

And, in particular, there are many, many more french fry cooks than philosophers. So the french fry cook understands the perspective of a larger proportion of people in the world than the philosopher does. Or so the argument goes. I'd disagree -- a large part of academic education, the humanities, is about learning to understand the perspectives of others. I'd say the philosopher understands the french fry cook's perspective better than vice versa, and that the philosopher is better positioned to misunderstand /less/ across all walks of life (though misunderstanding is inevitable) than most everyone else. For intellectuals trained exclusively in STEM/social science who sprint from the humanities as quickly as humanly possible, yes the critique is spot on.