December 2019
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Berkeley “Diversity Statements” in action in a life sciences search
Biologist Jerry Coyne (Chicago) has the gory details. This is a lawsuit for unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination (and maybe also race discrimination) waiting to happen. From Professor Coyne's post: 893 applications were…vetted for diversity statements alone, rating the statements in three areas: knowledge about diversity, track record in advancing diversity, and plans for advancing diversity if…
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New Books in December
Authors and/or publishers kindly sent me these new books this month: Uncertainty: How It Makes Science Advance by Kostas Kampourakis & Kevin McCain (Oxford University Press, 2020). Nietzsche's Free Spirit Works: A Dialectical Reading by Matthew Meyer (Cambridge University Press, 2019). On Trade Justice: A Philosophical Plea for a New Global Deal by Mathias Risse…
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2019: Philosophers who passed away
The passing of the following philosophers was noted on the blog during 2019: Stephen Barker, Myles Burnyeat, Tom Campbell, Francisco Miró Quesada Cantuarias, Michael Detlefsen, Randall Dipert, John Gardner, Gary Gutting, Rom Harre, Agnes Heller, Tony Honore, Pamela Huby, Jaegwon Kim, Bryan Magee, George Mavrodes, Brian McGuinness, Ruth Anna Putnam, Anita Silvers, Karola Stotz, Barry…
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Is this really the feminist interpretation of this story?
The NYT ran this very sad and moving story the other day: a couple married a half-century, the husband devoted to his wife, even as Alzheimer's robs her of her sense of self and knowledge of her own family; he refuses help from his adult daughters, who are the main source for the story; finally,…
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Academic life in the UK vs. the US
Interesting reflections by philosopher Richard Yetter Chappell (now at the University of Miami, previously at the University of York in England). Comments are open at Professor Chappell's site for those with additional perspectives.
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A grim forecast for the UK under the Tories
Here. The threat in England is actually worse than than in the US under Trump: without a federal system, the check on centralized power is much less (contrast the U.S., where more than 100 million people live in solidly Democratic, anti-Trump states, with all branches of state government aligned against the Trump agenda); the universities…
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Non-sequitur watch, political science edition
Two British political scientists writing in the NYT about the "realignment" of British voters, in particular, the ability of the Tories to carry traditonal Labour strongholds in northern and central England: Why is this happening? The popular answer on the left is that this is about economic insecurity, economic globalization and imports from China. But…
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An entry for the Black Book of Capitalism
Here. (Some background.) (Thanks to Justin Schwartz for the pointer.)
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Buffalo philosopher Newton Garver and “loyalty oaths”
I've been doing some research on the constitutional fate of the "loyalty oaths" in the various states (prompted by this), and discovered that longtime University at Buffalo philosophy faculty member Newton Garver was one of those who challenged, successfully, the constitutionality of New York's "loyalty oath" in a decision that paved the way for the…
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Not even Karl Kraus could have imagined James Bennet, the NYT editorial page editor
This account is horrifying. If the quotes are accurate, the man is both illiterate and an imbecile. Here he is commenting on Brett Stephens, the worst NYT op-ed writer since Abe "I'm writing as bad as I can" Rosenthal: "I just think he’s an exceptional writer and thinker.” Only someone not familiar with writing or…
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Great moments in obscure rock ‘n’ roll: the five best finds of 2019…
…in my opinion, anyway. Glad to hear yours in the comments (click on the category, "Great Moments in Obscure Rock 'n' Roll" to see this year's selections). Here's mine (with apologies to Warpig, Toad and U.F.O. who almost made it): Sir Lord Baltimore, "Hard Rain Fallin'" Jeronimo, "Understanding" Band of Joy, "I Got to Find…
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Historian Gordon Wood’s response to the NYT’s failure to take criticisms of the 1619 Project seriously
This is well-said; an excerpt: I have no quarrel with the idea behind the project. Demonstrating the importance of slavery in the history of our country is essential and commendable. But that necessary and worthy goal will be seriously harmed if the facts in the project turn out to be wrong and the interpretations of…
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2019 in review, 4th quarter: October, November, December
October More on whether evolution really selects for veridical perception Philosopher Jamie Edwards (St. Norbert) interviewed A documentary about Paul Robeson Philosophical Gourmet Report, 2019-20 Berggruen decides philosophers aren't really worth $1 million after all Letters of recommendation are essential November Pedigree and quality Philosophy graduate student at Berkeley gratuitously (and rather stupidly) insults rural…
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“Violence is sometimes the answer”
Obviously correct, as even the over-hyped "Founding Fathers" of the United States realized.
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2019 in review, 3rd quarter: July, August, September
July I've been keeping some of the lesser minds in philosophy busy "for decades" Statement in defense of the academic freedom of philosophers to discuss sex and gender Twitter is not the real world, an on-going saga Tuvel-style mobbing comes to sociology August On the replication crisis in psychology As I first observed more than…
Sorry to keep beating a dead horse, but something just occurred to me that I haven’t seen anyone discuss. Why…