December 2019
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This Xmas day, let’s remeber the medieval barbarians ruling Bahrain…
…who like to execute political prisoners on days when the Christian West won't notice.
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Nikole Hannah-Jones and Shell Oil
Now isn't this interesting.
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A military veteran returns to college (at Yale) at age 52
This is a charming essay. (Philosopher David Charles [Yale] also makes a brief appearance.)
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2019 in review, 2nd quarter: April, May, June
April Anti-lesbian discrimination at Facebook group for LGBT philosophers Books you should have read but haven't Hate apparently also never means having to say you're sorry DePaul University students embarrass themselves with frontal assault on academic freedom The Stanford Encyclopedia's coverage of Marxism and feminism: a revealing study in contrasts May Cambridge University fires post-doc…
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Best introductory texts in political philosophy?
MOVING TO FRONT FROM DECEMBER 19–I KNOW IT'S THE HOLIDAY PERIOD, BUT THIS DESERVES MORE COMMENTS (THANKS TO THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY WEIGHED IN) Continuing with our new series about introductory texts, I now invite readers to name what they think are the best introductory texts in politcial philosophy. As before, don't just name a…
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An interview with Adolph Reed about the NYT 1619 Project
Here; this isn't the best interview I've read with him, but it has a few good points. An excerpt: Q. We’ve spoken to a number of leading historians, including James McPherson, James Oakes, Gordon Wood and Victoria Bynum, and Hannah-Jones launched into a Twitter tirade against them, dismissing them as “white historians.” She is not…
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2019 in review, 1st quarter: January, February, March
January John Finnis and Hastings Rashdall Is the tide finally turning on the New Infantilists and "thought police" in academic philosophy? Philosopher Alex Byrne (MIT) on the idea of "gender identity" Wittgenstein's letter of recommendation for "Mrs. Geach" (i.e, Anscombe) The American Academy of each other's friends in the Arts & Sciences February Per student…
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Great moments in obscure rock ‘n’ roll: U.F.O., “Prince Kajuku,” 1971
Early U.F.O. once again, still with guitarist Mick Bolton, from their second "space rock" album:
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“Law School Transparency” is misleading its customers about the cost of law school and overcharging for data that are available for free (Michael Simkovic)
Brian Leiter recently noted problems with Elizabeth Olson’s uncritical coverage of “Law School Transparency” (LST) in an article published in Bloomberg. The most important substantive problems with Olson’s recent article about LST not already mentioned by Professor Leiter are that: (1) Olson doesn’t mention that LST’s business model is repackaging and selling to prospective law…
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In Memoriam: Stephen Barker (1927-2019)
MOVING TO FRONT FROM DECEMBER 18–UPDATED A longtime member of the Johns Hopkins Department (where he was emeritus), Professor Barker was noted for his work in philosophy of science, philosophy of mathematics, and logic. I will add links to memorial notices as they appear. UPDATE: The Johns Hopkins memorial notice. (Thanks to Steven Gross for…
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Mathematician Abigail Thompson (UC Davis) on the “diversity” loyalty oaths
Here. I'm optimistic there will be a legal challenge to these diversity statements as unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination, the precise grounds on which the original loyalty oaths from the 1950s were finally struck down: the state can not demand allegiance to a sectarian political creed as a condition of employment. UPDATE: The journal where Professor Thompson's…
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More than five million voters supported Obama in 2012 and Trump in 2016
Who are they? Not racists, obviously (hint: racists don't vote for Black people for President). Heavily union members, who felt economically vulnerable, and were less supportive of affirmative action than those who voted Democratic in both 2012 and 2016, but more supportive of it than those who voted Republican in both those elections. (Thanks to…
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Puff piece on “Law School Transparency” at Bloomberg Law
This is pretty thin. I spoke to the reporter for a half hour, pointing out that the key turning point for transparency was when the ABA mandated better reporting of emplyment data by schools after getting pressure from Senators Boxer and Coburn back in 2010-11. None of these facts made it into the article, because…
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The gloves come off in India…
…as Modi's fascists show what they're really about.
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Wisconsin Repugs trying to purge eligible voters…
…since that's how Repugs win.
I’d like to pose a question. Let’s be pessimistic for the moment, and assume AI *does* destroy the university, at…