October 2018
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Bolsonaro, the Brazilian fascist
The stuff that comes out of this piece of garbage's mouth would make Trump blush (or at least feel a bit embarrassed in front of Javanka). He is certainly on a continuum representative of the futile efforts of capitalist democracies to cope with the pathologies of economic life under capitalism, but he is not simply…
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America is doomed, part 411: bigotry & guns edition
A white supremacist murders two African-Americans in cold blood in a Louisville supermarket because of their race. A NeoNazi anti-semite murders eleven Jews in cold blood in their Pittsburgh house of worship because of their religion. That's just the last few days! Surely the intense media coverage will inspire similar armed bigots in this benighted…
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Hate crimes by Trump supporters
It's a long list.
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Great moments in obscure rock ‘n’ roll: Grand Theft, ‘Ben the Rat Meets Led Zeppelin,’ 1972
This raw power trio emerged from Mercer Island in the state of Washington, to record one wild album and then disappear. This is the closing track:
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BU’s Paul Katsafanas interviewed…
…at 3AM. An interesting interview; I agree with some things he says, disagree pretty strongly with some others.
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On ‘harassment’: a guide for beginners (and cry-babies)
If someone is criticized for their public actions or speech, that is not "harassment": that is criticism. Examples of harassment would include, e.g., becoming the target of on-line mobbing by hundreds of philosophers; being targetted with verbal abuse, such as obscenities, sexual or sexist remarks, racist or other ethnic slurs, and other derogatory epithets;…
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CEU moving MA and PhD programs to Vienna beginning in 2019-20… (MOVING TO FRONT, UPDATED)
…in light of on-going harassment by the fascist governent n Hungary. European Union, where are you? Readers with more information can post links or comments, below. UPDATE: Philosopher Tim Crane (CEU) comments on these developments. See also the informative comment, below, by philosopher Katalin Balog (Rutgers).
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Co-author of APA Code of Conduct violates it, without embarrassment
The APA Code of Conduct, with its violation of the academic freedom rights of faculty, was always an absurd document. But one might have thought at least those responsible for it would care about it. Apparently not! One co-author of the Code, philosopher Yolonda Wilson (Howard), while disagreeing with my views about the APA, decided…
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Australia, inspired no doubt by Hungary, vetoes peer-reviewed humanities funding
What a total disgrace. Someone in the Australian government who isn't a fascist better find a way to restore these grants: the damage to the international standing of Australian universities will be terrible.
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Should scholars avoid citing the work of bad people (e.g., sexual harassers, anti-semites)?
My latest Academic Ethics column at the Chronicle of Higher Education takes up the topic. Some examples, unsurprisingly, are drawn from philosophy, but the issue is arising in many fields.
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More reactionary Christian viciousness
Justice Department defends anti-trans discrimination by businesses.
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Will this year *really* be a good job market for specialists in the post-Kantian Continental traditions?
Last year was shaping up to be, but in the end several of the places advertising hired in other areas or didn't hire at all. (The excellent Samantha Matherne got some of the offers, and I was delighted an excellent student of mine also secured a tenure-track job–but overall, last year did not live up…
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The real dangers of a reactionary U.S. Supreme Court
This is a well-informed explanation of what's at stake from a colleague of mine who is far to my right, but also very far from being a reactionary maniac!
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Best journals for moral and political philosophy?
Philosopher Peter Vallentyne (Missouri) suggested it might be worthwhile to once again run some reader polls on the best journals in vaarious areas. I'll start with the best journals for moral and political philosophy: this includes some generalist journals that regularly publish moral and/or political philosophy papers, as well as specialist journals. Rank order them…
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Where blog readers live
Thanks to the nearly 1500 readers who participated in the poll about where readers live. Here are the results (remember that "Scandinavia and Norway" should really be "the Nordic countries"): Readers, where do you live? Selection Votes United States 50% 724 United Kingdom or Ireland 10% 149 Canada 9% 130 Australia or New…
I’d like to pose a question. Let’s be pessimistic for the moment, and assume AI *does* destroy the university, at…