June 2016
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Paul Russell did not like James Harris’s intellectual biography of Hume…
…and for some rather good reasons: [Hume] was…deeply and systematically concerned with issues and problems of religion — especially as they concern the corruption of both philosophy and morality. These themes and issues inform much of what motivates and directs Hume's thought. They constitute, moreover, the strong, sturdy spine of Hume's thought and his intellectual achievement.…
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Sexual dynamics on campus at Columbia in the wake of “mattress girl”
This is a nuanced and informative piece, shedding light on contemporary college culture at one elite institution.
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Brexit: a philosophical take…
…from Chris Bertram (Bristol): "we are well and truly fucked." I like it when philosophers get to the point.
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Greenwald on Brexit etc.
He collects some useful links, and more or less makes the crucial point that the Brexit vote is a symptom of the dysfunctionality of the neoliberal model of capitalism (though without drawing very clearly the connection between racism and xenophobia and the latter).
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Great moments in obscure rock ‘n’ roll: Edgar Broughton Band, “Aphrodite,” 1970
Tne self-proclaimed anarchists of English rock, this may be their only memorable tune:
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Vargas from USF to UC San Diego
Manuel Vargas, Professor of Philosophy at the University of San Francisco and a leading contributor to the philosophy of action (esp. issues about free will) as well as Latin American philosophy, has accepted a senior offer from the Department of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego, to start in summer 2017 (Vargas also…
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Why The New York Times Should Correct Remaining Factual Errors in Its Law School Coverage
Last week I wrote an open letter to New York Times reporter Noam Scheiber discussing problems with his law school coverage and his reliance on low quality sources such as internet blogs and "experts" who lack relevant expertise rather than peer reviewed labor economics research. By email, Scheiber insisted that there was nothing wrong with his…
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Philosophy tourism: Aristotle edition
Here. (Thanks to Robert McGarvey for the pointer.)
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Dopey Donald Chump’s racist invective now being copied by school children!
Egads! (Thanks to James O'Connor for the pointer.)
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Donald Trump, “spitballer”
Philosophers Scott Aiken & Robert Talisse (Vanderbilt) comment.
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Interesting and wide-ranging interview with Yale’s Joshua Knobe
Here, covering voice-recognition software, the differences between philosophy and psychology, experimental philosophy and more.
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Adorno, authoritarianism, and Trump
An interesting and informative essay by the intellectual historian Peter Gordon (Harvard).
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Britain’s cats take a predictable position on Brexit
They plan to vote to leave, but then will stay put when the door is opened.
I teach both large courses, like Jurisprudence and Critical Legal Thinking (a.k.a Legal Argumentation), and small seminar-based courses at Edinburgh…