September 2013
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The world’s most dangerous banana republic’s government is closing down at midnight…
…God help us (if s/he exists). UPDATE: It's a bad sign for the Repugs when even New York's Daily News starts mocking them. On the other hand, until the complete collapse of their party, we are all at risk. IT'S A BIG INTERNET, with no quality control, so of course someone (from George Mason) tries to rationalize what's…
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New Books in September
Thanks to authors and/or publishers who sent me the following new books in September: Big Gods: How Religion Transformed Cooperation and Conflict by Ara Norenzayan (Princeton University Press, 2013). Mill's Progressive Principles by David O. Brink (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2013). Nietzsche and The Birth of Tragedy by Paul Raimond Daniels (Acumen, 2013). Philosophy of Pseudoscience: …
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A public lecture on toleration in Newport…
…this Thursday, for any readers in the area who might be interested.
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Introducing the problem(s) of free will
A nice, short video by Richard Holton (then at MIT, now at Cambridge).
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Heck from Brown to Rutgers
Richard Heck (philosophy of language, math & logic; history of analytic philosophy) at Brown University has accepted a senior offer from the Department of Philosophy at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, where he will start in fall 2014.
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University finances, mafia-style
Jonathan Wolff (UCL) comments.
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A different take on the ABA Task Force Draft Report on the Future of Legal Education
Robert Condlin (Maryland) calls to my attention his different, and more critical, take on the draft report (found in this paper of his); he makes a number of sound points that are worth airing: This latest ABA paper on legal education is a deeply flawed document. Starting from what it describes as a “fundamental tension”…
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ABA Task Force on Future of Legal Education, Draft Report of September 20, 2013
Co-blogger Dan noted its appearance the other day, and I've now had a chance to look at it. Most of what was good and sensible is still there, but, alas, most of what was bad and unsupported is also still there (there were some minor edits, e.g., noting Income-Based-Repayment). As others have noted, there are…
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Notre Dame’s van Inwagen to teach at Duke each Spring through 2016
Peter van Inwagen (metaphysics, philosophy of action, philosophy of religion) at the University of Notre Dame will teach a graduate seminar in the Department of Philosophy at Duke University each Spring starting in 2014 and continuing at least through 2016.
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Professor Corvino on the recent events surrounding his re-invitation to Providence College
Here; an excerpt: [N]otwithstanding the current spin from the Providence College administration, my event is not being rescheduled. It is being replaced with a different event. In February I agreed that I would come to Providence to give a lecture, which would be followed by a Q&A period. Although Professor Arroyo and I had previously…
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What did you say it smells like???
Many of the comments are even funnier than Spiros's story.
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Providence College Re-Invites John Corvino after faculty out-cry
The Provost's disingenous statement here. Kudos to the Providence College faculty for "raising hell" about this. (I'm waiting for permission to post a strong statement by the President of the Faculty Senate there.) The newly appointed defender of bigotry against gay people is a familiar figure. It is always an occasion for sadness when irrational…
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Tips for college teachers from college teachers
Here. David Gooblar, who runs the site, indicated that he would welcome more contributions from philosophy teachers!
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No academic freedom at Providence College
What an embarrassment for the school; Professor Corvino's response to this travesty.
There is a lot to reflect on here but, having already commented enough, I won’t. Just one thing on climate…