May 2018
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From C.L.R. James to game theory and the social epistemology of science
Liam Kofi Bright, a new member of the philosophy faculty at LSE, charts his intellectual evolution. (Link fixed now.)
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XPhil replication project
Philosophre Florian Cova, a participant in the project, writes: Here is an information that might be of interest to the readers of Leiter Reports. In 2016, several experimental philosophers (including me) have teamed for a wide-scale replication project involving the replication of 40 experimental philosophy studies. In the wake of the replication crisis in psychology,…
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Lawyer of the day: Aaron Schlossberg
Occasionally, social media catches a pathetic bigot in action. And he's a lawyer in New York City no less. I imagine his future prospects are not great.
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How to become a better empiricist, or at least start using empirical methods (Michael Simkovic)
I recently wrote about the evolution of economics–and law & economics–from fields that focused on assumptions and priors to fields that emphasizes data, causal inference, and scientific objectivity. Many law professors and aspiring academics share my enthusiasm for Albert Einstein's vision of universities as “Temples of Science”, but are unsure of how to acquire or…
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Philosophy major under threat (as well as one tenure-track faculty member) at Hiram College
A reader writes: My alma mater, Hiram College, announced two days ago a reorganization plan that includes the termination of a tenure-track faculty position in philosophy and the removal of the philosophy major. This leaves Hiram with one (!) tenured philosophy professor and only a minor in philosophy. The soon-to-be terminated tenure-track professor, Megan Altman,…
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‘The silencing of the lesbians’
This from The Spectator, considered "conservative" in the UK (American readers can ask themselves whether any so-called "conservative" paper in this benighted country could write an article this balanced and sympathetic to the concerns of lesbians and also transgender people). It includes remarks from philosopher Kathleen Stock (Sussex), among others.
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Scary “rough” heroines
I confess I've never seen any of the fictional programs referenced, but the account seems plausible. The really frightening women, however, from Margaret Thatcher to Ann Coulter, are in a different category!
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Open Letter from Jewish Law Professors Protesting the Treatment of Professor Katherine Franke
Thanks to Ariela Gross (USC) for sending this along; I would have signed had I been asked (I'm admittedly only half Jewish, but it's the better half). The letter is below the fold, as well as the list of signatories:
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Should universities’ grant agreements be made publicly available? (Michael Simkovic)
Following up on my previous post, When do donor influence and ideology undermine academic integrity? The progressive activist group whose efforts forced George Mason to disclose some old grant agreements has created a petition asking George Mason to disclose all of its grant agreements. This echoes recommendations made by the Faculty Senate at George Mason following revelations of…
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Fear of addressing philosophical questions about gender and identity in connection with transgender women
A female PhD student with a longstanding interest in these issues writes: I've been following this debate and controversy for years now. I was very interested to read that some philosophers are now speaking about it publicly. I am glad that people are discussing these issues publicly: it seems to me a tide might have…
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Wage slavery watch: cow manure edition
When the chains are broken, the ex-slave has his revenge. ADDENDUM: This is a joke, but a joke with a point!
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John Martin Fischer on “near death experiences”
This lecture was on the occasion of his appointment to the rank of University Professor at UC Riverside; the lecture itself begins around the five-minute mark, and it includes a lot of interesting examples of the phenomenon:
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Columbia law professor Franke blocked from entering Israel and deported (MOVING TO FRONT–UPDATED)
NYT columnist Roger Cohen has the details. Columbia faculty are calling on President Bollinger not to open a Columbia affiliated Center in Israel, given uncertainty about which Columbia faculty will actually be permitted to travel there. American law professors have signed an open letter condemning the deportation of Professor Franke. ADDENDUM: Here is a letter…
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APA gets grant from Mellon Foundation to develop a code of publishing ethics, i.e., provide a post-hoc rationalization for the mistreatment of Prof. Tuvel
MOVING TO FRONT FROM YESTERDAY: E-mail me if your comment still has not appeared at the APA site by this evening, and I will collect and post the comments here. Remember the APA site requires a name and e-mail address. (5/15/18 update at 3:20 pm CST: comments have started to appear.) =========== MOVING TO FRONT…
‘Some mathematicians are still wary, however. “The big story now in mathematics is that nobody wants to share anything,” Buckmaster…