January 2011
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Congratulations to Brooklyn College…
…for doing the right thing. Those who supported this outcome will now need to support Brooklyn College in the media, the blogs, and elsewhere, as it will no doubt face renewed political threats from those who believe in neither academic freedom nor the First Amendment. (Thanks to Jonathan Adler for the heads up.)
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In Memoriam: Ralph Spritzer
Ralph Spritzer, who served on the law faculties of both the University of Pennsylvania and Arizona State University, died on January 16 at age 93. Spritzer joined the Penn faculty in 1968 and retired in 1986. He then moved to Arizona State where he taught as a visiting professor for many years. In addition to his…
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G.A. Cohen Videos
Just in case you can't get them yet on Netflix. Includes some comedy and impersonations!
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New Books in January
Authors and/or publishers were kind enough to send me the following books this month: A Moral Theory of Political Reconciliation by Colleen Murphy (Cambridge University Press, 2010). What Should I Do? Philosophers on the Good, the Bad, and the Puzzling edited by Alexander George (Oxford University Press, 2011). Essays and Aphorisms on the Higher Man…
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“Science Hall of Fame”
Science magazine's list, based on frequency of mention in books over the last two hundred years, includes a number of philosophers, including Alfred North Whitehead, Gottlob Frege, Michael Dummett and, at #1, Bertrand Russell! (Thanks to Mihnea Capraru for the pointer.)
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50 Blogs for Humanities Scholars
Some readers might find this list useful.
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Ayn Rand, Welfare Queen
Several readers sent this amusing item, but perhaps even more remarkable are the examples of Rand's "reasoning" about government support (thanks to Ruchira Paul for that link). (Can you imagine getting any of her arguments in a student paper?) It's really doubtful there has ever been a more simple-minded "philosopher" with a public following than Rand, though the…
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Anyone involved in higher education should be aware of…
…this disturbing trend. Last year, the University Counselling Center here gave an informative workshop for the faculty, pointing out, among many other things, that the widespread use of relatively effective psycho-pharmaceutical medications means that there are now many students in higher education today whose lives would have been crippled or destroyed by mental health issues a generation…
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Will Egyptians Topple the Dictator Mubarak?
Al Jazeera coverage in English. Of course, since Mubarak does U.S. bidding, the "free" media in this country do not refer to him as a dictator. UPDATE: A propos the non-dictator Mubarak, thanks to Vice President Biden. Amusing that he couldn't even muster the nicer words we reserve for "our" dictators, like authoritarian.
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Brooklyn College Caves in to Political Pressure, and Fires Instructor for Having the “Wrong” Views
You can read accounts here and here. The University's explanation is transparently nonsensical, absent a showing that the Provost regularly overrides hiring decisions about adjuncts by departments even when rabidly Zionist politicans don't send in letters of complaint about the views of the instructor. What an embarrassment for a College with a distinguished academic history to…
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Why philosophers find the Strauss cult mystifying
This well-crafted and entertaining review illustrates the weirdness of the cult nicely. UPDATE: An alert reader points out that some lines in the review that I had not taken literally may imply a rather different agenda on the part of the reviewer. Be that as it may, it is an entertaining review (though I disagree with Professor…
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Michigan Faculty Rejects Move to Ten Year Tenure Clock
As Paul Caron notes here, the University of Michigan faculty senate considered and overwhelmingly rejected a proposed change to the school's maximum term for faculty to seek tenure. It was an advisory vote. Currently, Michigan faculty may take up to eight years prior to tenure – though individual colleges may opt for shorter periods. The law…
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Update on the Situation at the University of Puerto Rico
Philosopher Guillermo Rosado Haddock wrote to me last week: The situation at the University of Puerto Rico continues in the New Year as bad as before. The Río Piedras campus looks more like a military camp. I had not entered the campus since the beginning of the strike, but had to enter last Wednesday for…
I only just learned of Barry’s passing, and I’m enormously saddened at the news. I wrote my PhD on his…