June 2018
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Less than usual, even by summer standards, through the end of the month
I've got one PhD student defending today, another defending a week from Friday, plus various paper deadlines by the end of the month…as a result, expect less here. Thanks.
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‘Judith Butler signed a petition asking UCI not to discipline my rapist’
Lisa Anderson, Executive Director of Atlanta Women for Equality, writes: I was the complainant in this case. Judith Butler signed a petition asking UCI not to discipline my rapist. What they did to me is the reason I became an attorney.
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Duke Kunshan’s Benjamin Schupmann interviewed…
…at 3AM. This is interesting about Carl Schmitt and Weimar Germany, though it gives a misleading impression of Hans Kelsen's views.
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Great moments in obscure rock ‘n’ roll: Hawkwind, “Hurry on Sundown,” 1970
Another tune from another recent discovery, this is the excellent lead number from the band's debut album:
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‘The Standard Model of Physics at 50’
Short but informative popular piece.
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What is it like to be a philosopher? Helen De Cruz edition
Here. ADDENDUM: Oddly, Clifford refers to my criticism of her views on "prestige bias" as "calling [her] out." That's childish: she made her paper public, I commented on it in public. As I said then: Pernicious prestige bias is when someone thinks that because someone got a PhD from Fancy Pants University they must be…
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Blast from the past: on an irony about the evolution of ‘standpoint’ epistemology
Back in 2016 (and also).
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Kozinski on Reinhardt…
…at Concurring Opinions.
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Donald Davidson’s copy of Ryle’s ‘The Concept of Mind’
Philosophy graduate student Andrew Fyfe (Maryland) kindly calls to my attention that he has uploaded Davidson's copy of Ryle's famous book, with Davidson's marginalia.
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This isn’t the first time ‘theory’ professors have tried to bully a school out of investigating sexual harassment: Derrida did it too!
A reader, who asked for anonymity, writes: "I was struck by Butler letter's uncanny echoes of Jacques Derrida's 2004 letter in defense of vampire theorist Dragan Kujundzic, the UC-Irvine professor sanctioned over allegations of sexual harassment. In particular, how both appeal to nepotism and prestige rather than disinterest and due process." Here's the threatening letter…
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In Memoriam: C. Michael Gelven (1937-2018)
The Philosophy Department at Northern Illinois University asked me to share this announcement: "It is with sadness that we announce that our former colleague C. Michael Gelven passed away on June 1. Professor Gelven (1937-2018) taught at NIU for 46 years, inspiring generations of students. The author of a dozen books, he served as Distinguished…
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CHE article on the letter defending Professor Ronell
Here. A few striking (or in some cases, amusing) bits, with my comments: [Judith Butler] said in an email to The Chronicle that the letter pulled from Leiter’s blog was an "incorrect version" and that it contained errors in the list of names. Butler declined to provide a correct version of the letter or explain…
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A fair assessment of the letter in defense of Professor Ronell
It comes towards the end of this Quartz item about the matter: The sentiments in the letter go directly against the basic principles that most agree on when it comes to how to respond to sexual-assault allegations: Its writers malign the accuser, suggest the accused’s prominence should influence how they’re treated, and claim—without conducting an…
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In Memoriam: Yirmiyahu Yovel (1935-2018)
The Israeli philosopher, who taught for many years at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (as well as the New School in New York), has passed away. He was best-known for his work on Kant, Spinoza, and Nietzsche. I will add links to memorial notices when they appear. UPDATE: An obituary from Haaretz (behind a paywall,…
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“Effective altruism”: old wine in a new flask
Philosopher Phil Gasper (Madison Technical College) calls my attention to this critique adding, aptly: "I think the biggest problem with 'effective altruism' is that it focuses on a very limited kind of individual action, and ignores the question of collective action aimed at making much bigger political changes and/or addressing structural problems, but this article makes…
Georgy Maksimovich pointed me to this article in Russian: https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2026/05/25/antisovetskie-filosofskie-kontratseptsii