A lover of language, precise in its use, respectful of its mothership* of our thoughts, analytic but not conceptually myopic, out for the Sellarsian big picture, non-dogmatic and therefore skeptical in the best sense, which is to say, an inquirer, but not a worldling mesmerized by the sublunary, and therefore spiritually oriented. And his attitude toward academic or professional philosophy? At once both respectful and critical. And similarly with respect to every institution and everything institutionalized: respectful but critical.
Where would we be without institutions? And yet they are like the houses around here: they either have termites or will get them. The right attitude: we fumigate, not demolish, edifices infested with termites. The Roman Catholic Church, for example, and the universities. And others as well.
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*A neologism, apparently, one that just occurred to me, crafted in parallel to 'fathership,' a word recognized by Merriam-Webster. And you call me a sexist? And you think conservatives are stick-in-the-muds opposed to everything new?