December 2014
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New Books in December
Authors and/or publishers kindly sent me these new books this month: Hume by Don Garrett (Routledge, 2015) [in the Routledge Philosophers series] True Paradox: How Christianity Makes Sense of Our Complex World by David Skeel (InterVarsity Press, 2014). Dewey by Steven Fesmire (Routledge, 2015) [in the Routledge Philosophers series] Alf Ross: A Life by Jens…
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2014: Philosophers who passed away
The passing of the following philosophers was noted on the blog during 2014: David Armstrong, Scott W. Austin, John Bennett Bacon, Judith Baker, Anthony Brueckner, Ted Cohen, Joyce Mitchell Cook, Joseph Flay, Laurence Goldstein, A. Phillips Griffiths, James Higginbotham, Dudley Knowles, Brian Loar, E.J. Lowe, Bernd Magnus, Dennis McKerlie, Grigori Mints, David Fate Norton, Gerhard Øverland, Stanley Rosen, Israel…
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2014: the year the philosophy profession went mad (at least on social media)
I’ll let three philosophers speak, none of whom wanted to be named, of course, for the reasons well-stated by the second. First, an eminent British philosopher (who supplied, awhile back, a scathing commentary on some of the madness), explaining why he had “decided not to blog, even in a small way, about the profession and its issues”:…
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July 2014 California bar exam results
Blog Emperor Caron crunches the numbers.
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A brief video discussion of “Why Tolerate Religion?” with Prof. Weiler at the EUI
During my October "Italy tour" (when I gave the Fresco Lectures at Genoa, and also gave a seminar at Palermo), I was fortunate to visit the European University Institute for the first time, thanks to Prof. Dennis Patterson. While there, Joseph Weiler, President of the EUI and editor in chief of the European Journal of…
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2014 in review (December): PGR, REF, Marquette, infantilism, and the September Statement “bombshell”
Can we really review a month that isn't even over? Well, it's a blog, so of course we can! The PGR appeared and so did the REF. A right-wing Marquette professor of poli-sci behaved badly, but so did the philosophers and others who responded, giving us some striking evidence of the New Infantilism in academic philosophy. Finally, the purportedly…
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2014 in review (November): indemnification, more Colorado, reactions to September
An idea from Jennifer Lackey gains traction, Colorado's Barnett fights back, and philosophers weigh in on the September smear campaign, including John Deigh and a philosopher in the UK.
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Chancellor Wise’s (first) response to the Illinois Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure’s report on the Salaita case
Curious–an apology for the idiotic civility e-mail (that inspired this), but no commitment on whether to follow the Committee's recommendation that Salaita's appointment be taken up again by the College of Liberal Arts. ADDENDUM: She also notes that Illinois has offered to compensate Salaita for his "reasonable losses," but I'm quite sure the University's definition…
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2014 in review (October): PGR goes forward, “Generation Wuss,” Salaita comes to Chicago
The PGR, briefly derailed, returns to life with the help of Brit Brogaard and the Advisory Board. In the wake of the smear campaign, a reader alerts me to the amusing "Generation Wuss" phenomenon. And still more Salaita.
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2014 in review (September): more Salaita, the “cosmopolitan ideal,” the “September Smear” campaign, Scotland
I continued coverage of the Salaita travesty at Illinois, including here and here; this piece about ignorance of philosophy and the cosmopolitan ideal provoked a lot of discussion (falling into by now predictable patterns); with less than a week to go before the start of the PGR surveys, the smear campaign launched on September 23 with Sally…
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An amusing, brief report from the Eastern APA
From a philosopher elsewhere who opposes APA interviews: Only around 25 depts interviewing at Eastern. Vibe at the (much smaller) smoker detectably less desperate, more like Pacific or Central. Victory is at hand! Of course, until all departments switch to Skype interviews or direct fly-backs, there will still be a burden on job seekers to…
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2014 in review (August): the Salaita scandal at Illinois, McGinn and East Carolina, JAPA
I blogged a lot about Illinois's disgraceful treatment of Steven Salaita this month, including here, here, and here, and even appeared on TV to discuss it. The decision by the Administration at East Carolina University to block a visiting appointment for Colin McGinn generated a lively debate about punishment, justice and proportionality (see also). Feminist…
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More on the legal employment market: facts and myths
Stephen Diamond (Santa Clara) comments on a recent story.
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2014 in review (July): reader polls, honoraria, job placement
A summary of polls seeking reader opinion about different areas of philosophy, a discussion of honoraria, and different ways of looking at job placement.
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2014 in review (June): legal discussions, Searle, hiring
I discussed the Supreme Court's controversial Hobby Lobby decision and legal issues surrounding Peter Ludlow's lawsuits; John Searle provoked (as always); and the tenure-track and post-doc hiring thread came to a close.
I respond to this report here https://jasonstanleyantifascist.substack.com/p/on-the-philosophical-muddle-that