June 2005
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Philosopher Nichols at Utah Accepts Arizona Offer
Shaun Nichols (ethics, philosophy of mind and cognitive science) at the University of Utah has accepted the offer from the University of Arizona, to start fall 2006. This is turning in to a good year for Arizona, which has also appointed Connie Rosati (moral and legal philosophy) from UC Davis and has an offer out…
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Legal Historian Weiner Wins Silver Gavel Award
Congratulations to my friend Mark Weiner (Law, Rutgers-Newark) who has won this year’s Silver Gavel Award for his book Black Trials: Citizenship from the Beginning of Slavery to the End of Caste (Knopf, 2004). Prior winners of this prestigious award include Alexander Bickel for The Morality of Consent; Raoul Berger for Government by Judiciary; Richard…
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Thus Spoke Schopenhauer
[A]bove all, anonymity, that shield of all literary rascality, would have to disappear. It was introduced under the pretext of protecting the honest critic, who warned the public, against the resentment of the author and his friends. But where there is one case of this sort, there will be a hundred where it merely serves…
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“A War Planned by Liars and Morons”
Details here; an excerpt: For what purpose has President Bush sent 1,741 US soldiers to be killed in action in Iraq (as of June 19, 2005)? For what purpose have 15,000 – 38,000 US troops been wounded, many so seriously that they are maimed for life? Why has the US government thrown away $300 billion…
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Pessimists and Optimists
At a conference I attended recently in Brussels, a French economist was talking, over dinner, about the remarkable economic strides the Chinese were taking. Someone quipped, "Soon, we’ll all need to learn Mandarin." The economist replied: The optimists say, "Soon we’ll all be studying Mandarin." The pessimists are studying Mandarin already.
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London in the fall
Various folks have inquired about my plans for the fall, when I’ll in London for the fall term there. Ken Gemes at Birkbeck and I will be conducting an intercollegiate research seminar on Nietzsche, which looks to meet Tuesdays from 6-8 pm (this may change, will post again on this closer to the time); each…
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The Rude Atheist at Brooklyn College
There is a good discussion of the case here; an excerpt: So it’s 2005 and this is the academic question that has driven the Daily News and the right-wing New York Sun into apoplectic fits, and caused heartburn all over CUNY: Should Tim Shortell, an atheist, be allowed to assume the chair of the sociology…
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“Left-wing” is a Matter of Perspective
And it helps to be cosmopolitan. A law student in Ireland writes to offer such a perspective: I have only recently become aware of your weblog so I must confess my first introduction to your post on "the myth of left-wing harvard" was due to your cross-reference in your post about Juan Non-Volokh. I am…
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Smithsonian Returns Discovery [sic] Institute Money
We remarked on this case previously; a reader writes to say that the Smithsonian is now sending the following e-mail to those who write to protest: The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History recently approved a request by the Discovery Institute to hold a private, invitation only screening and reception at the Museum on June…
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More on the Case for Impeachment…
…plus a fine excorciation of The Washington Post.
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Who is Juan Non-Volokh?
6/9/09 Update: I gather this topic is 'back in the news,' at least in the blogosphere, and several blogs have linked to the item, below. I have posted some current thoughts on the general issue of pseudonymity/anonymity in cyberspace here. =========original posting follows======================= Yesterday, the lone anonymous poster at the quasi-libertarian Volokh Conspiracy, who uses the pseudonym…
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Jurisprudence Grading is Done!
This will mostly be of local interest: I’ve submitted final grades for Jurisprudence (as some had implored me to do). It was a very good set of exams, and I thank everyone for their hard work. It is one of the two best things about this job to be able to work with such outstanding…
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ANU Makes Offer to Philosopher Hurley at Warwick
The Australian National University has made a senior offer to Susan Hurley at the University of Warwick, whose work ranges widely over issues in philosophy of mind and cognitive science, political philosophy, and philosophy of social science and decision theory.
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Has the U.S. War with Iran “Already Begun”?
Scott Ritter (who was proven right on most of his major claims about Iraq) thinks so; an excerpt: Americans, along with the rest of the world, are starting to wake up to the uncomfortable fact that President George Bush not only lied to them about the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq (the ostensible excuse…
I would be interested to hear more about the assumptions that would imply climate change ends civilization within your lifetime.…