May 2009
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Who is a Philosopher? (J. Stanley)
Many academics use the term "philosopher" not as a description of the people working on the set of problems that occupy our time, but rather as a certain kind of honorific. As far as I can tell, on this usage, a philosopher is someone who constructs some kind of admirable general theory about a discipline…
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In Memoriam: Benson Mates (1919-2009)
There is a short memorial notice on the homepage of the Berkeley Department, where Professor Mates studied or taught for roughly half a century.
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Google Scholar and Important Philosophy Books Since WWII
Reader Andy Lamey has collected some fun stats here (and scroll down).
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Israel Advocacy Group in Canada Tries to Shut Down Academic Conference at York U in Toronto
The group's statement is here; it provides contact information for York University officials, who should be encouraged, of course, to ignore this call to shut down academic discussion. As my friend and part-time colleague Leslie Green (Oxford) notes at the preceding link: Mr Ezrin [head of the group calling for the conference to be cancelled] seriously…
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“Why Tolerate Religion?” Finally Appears in…
…Constitutional Commentary (the Spring 2008 issue just came out a month or so ago). Given the substantial interest in the SSRN version, I thought I'd note it's finally out, citable etc. I may yet turn the article into a short book, so more feedback is also welcome.
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The Most Important Legal Thinkers in American Law of the Past Century
UPDATE: Comments are now open (sorry about that). With 180 votes cast, here are the top 25: 1. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (Condorcet winner: wins contests with all other choices) 2. Richard Posner loses to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. by 63–47 3. Ronald Dworkin loses to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. by 67–46, loses to Richard Posner by 67–51…
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Seattle Dean Kellye Testy Named Dean at Univ. of Washington After 2-Year Search
A news item here. The Dean's salary is eye-catching, given that faculty salaries at UW generally lag behind peer schools.
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The Most Important Philosophical Books Since 1950?
Reader Tracy Ho sends along the following interesting information: I am a reader of your blog. Since you recently launched several polls about The Best Philosopher, I thought you might be interested in the following information. In 2002, Professor Chen Bo (Philosophy, Peking University) was asked by one Chinese publisher about important contemporary philosophical works…
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Wright to Leave St. Andrews Altogether and Establish New “Northern Institute of Philosophy” at Aberdeen
Crispin Wright, now at New York University, will leave his part-time post at the University of St. Andrews and the Arche Centre there this summer, and take up leadership (again on a part-time basis) of the new Northern Institute of Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen. There are more details here. Like Arche, the Institute…
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Help Us Find Out Who the Most Important Thinkers in American Law of the Last Century *Really* Were!
There's just two days left for your input.
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Ethan Yale (tax) from Georgetown to Virginia
The UVA news item is here.
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XPhil–the Future for Philosophy
They're certainly better organized than most of the discipline!
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Where to get information about last-minute visiting positions?
A reader writes: I am coming to the end of a VAP position. At this historically inopportune moment, I did not secure a tenure-track position for next year… Circa March, I contacted a number of schools in the Northeast about the possibility of a visit, but was consistently told that they did not expect to…
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The Accidental Philosophical Lexicon
Larry Laudan (UNAM) writes: A couple of days ago, I was forwarding a long list of philosophers to a friend. My spell checker in Mozilla Thunderbird was recently installed (and thus still virginal). Here are some of the more bizarre corrections it proposed (occasionally it produced several intriguing alternatives): Buechner Muchness Buccaneer Feyerabend …
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Francis Beckwith: Intelligent Design Apologist or Not?
Readers may recall–in connection with Professor Beckwith's defense of discrimination against gay philosophers–that Professor Beckwith also took exception to being described as a shill for ID creationism. The issue has arisen again, and it appears the charge stands. From the conclusion of the preceding analysis of Beckwith's record: Beckwith’s attempt in his [recent] Baton Rouge talk to distance…
Don’t click the transcript – it’s a mis-transcription that makes Harvey sound unhinged. The bit of it that’s visible without…