June 2015
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New Books in June
Authors and/or publishers kindly sent me these new books this month: The Nature of Moral Responsibility: New Essays edited by Randolph Clarke, Michael McKenna & Angela Smith (Oxford University Press, 2015). What Philosophy Can Do by Gary Gutting (Norton, 2015). In Defense of Plural Marriage by Ronald C. Den Otter (Cambridge University Press, 2015). Respecting…
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New trial set to begin for legal writing instructor who claims she was denied job because of her political views (MOVING TO FRONT FROM JUNE 23–UPDATED)
If the facts are as the plaintiff alleges, then her First Amendment rights were violated. Some readers may recall we discussed this case in understanding some of Steven Salaita's potential claims against the University of Illinois. UPDATE: The jury found against the instructor, presumably meaning they did not find there was enough evidence that she…
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What is it like to be a philosopher? Al Mele edition
Courtesy of Clifford Sosis.
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Dowe from Queensland to ANU
Phil Dowe (metaphysics, philosophy of science), presently Reader in Philosophy at the University of Queensland, will move to the Australian National University, effective January 2016. (Thanks to Christian Barry for the information.)
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Gender balance on APA committees
UPDATE: The composition of the current Committee on the Status of Women is different than what is reported below: see here. Michael Tooley (Colorado) writes (regarding the data below the fold): I was looking over the membership of the Board of the APA, and of their "Current Initiatives and Task Forces" committees. These committees look…
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Judge Posner on the same-sex marriage decision
This line from his commentary was particularly funny: The chief justice criticizes the majority for “order[ing] the transformation of a social institution that has formed the basis of human society for millennia, for the Kalahari Bushmen and the Han Chinese, the Carthaginians and the Aztecs. Just who do we think we are?” We’re pretty sure…
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Advertising update
Because I'm doing less blogging this summer (through traffic is still averaging between 8,000-9,000 hits per day), rates are reduced for July and August: $300 for a top spot, $250 for a 2nd, and $200 for a 3rd. There's a second spot still open in July, as well as one 3rd spot. There's one top, second…
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LSU, already under censure from AAUP, fires tenured faculty member for using obscene language around students
Holy fucking shit! But, seriously, this does not sound like a firing offense, though it would be grounds for some disciplinary action. Is there more to this story? (Thanks to David Ross for the pointer.)
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Texas AG no doubt thinks anti-miscegenation laws should be constitutional too
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose, esp. in Texas.
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Philosopher of law Simester at NUS to take up half-time post at King’s College, London
A.P. Simester, a leading philosopher of criminal law on the law faculty at the National University of Singapore, will also take up a half-time Professorial position on the law faculty at King's College, London. It's fair to say that, outside Oxford, KCL now clearly has the strongest law & philosophy group in the U.K. and…
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U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of gay marriage
The full majority and dissenting opinions are here. A few quick observations: 1. In finding an unenumerated right of same-sex couples to marry under the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Constitution, the Supreme Court really for the first time since 1973 has found such a new right. (Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003…
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U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of same-sex marriage
The full majority and dissenting opinions are here. A few quick observations: 1. In finding an unenumerated right of same-sex couples to marry under the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Constitution, the Supreme Court really for the first time since 1973 has found such a new right. (Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003…
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A very good discussion of King v. Burwell, the U.S. Supreme Court case upholding the Affordable Care Act against the latest (meritless) challenge
From constitutional law scholar Michael Dorf (Cornell)–clear, accessible to a non-lawyer, and right on the mark throughout in my view.
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Another reader poll about blog reading habits: how many only read this blog for philosophy-related “stuff”?
A couple of readers pointed out, regarding the prior poll, that this is the only philosophy-related blog they read. Michael B., for example, wrote, "Would you consider adding an option for 'no other blogs'? Yours is the only one I read and it'd be interesting to see for what proportion of readers this is also true." And…
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That absurd NY Times article about the “liberal” Supreme Court
This is a good takedown of the latest nonsense with numbers; there's also a post on June 24 at the same blog by my colleague David Strauss adding further commentary (the "linik" to that post isn't working, alas).
Giovanni Molteni Tagliabue (Italy) Rationalized and Extended Democracy – The REDemo Project. Foreword by Gilberto Corbellini. Firenze University Press 2023.…