February 2020
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Best introductory texts in philosophy of social science (or philosophy of a particular social science, e.g., economics)?
MOVING TO FRONT FROM YESTERDAY–MORE COMMENTS WELCOME Continuing with our new series about the best introductory texts in various areas of philosophy, I now invite readers to name what they think are the best introductory texts in philosophy of social science (or philosophy of a particular social science, such as econmics). As before, don't just…
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Bloomberg at the Las Vegas Democratic debate
I saw it with my own eyes! In a demonstration of the high level of enthusiasm the former New York City mayor enjoys among the electorate, surging presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg was met with a standing ovation during the Democratic debate Wednesday as he promised to “rule you peasants with an iron fist.” “Kneel before…
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$1 million from the Mellon Foundation to Northwestern’s Prison Education Program…
…started by philosopher Jennifer Lackey! Kudos to Professor Lackey and her colleagues.
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BJHP Article Prize for 2019
The British Journal for the History of Philosophy has awarded the 2019 Rogers Prize—its annual prize for the best article it publishes—to Nicholaos Jones (University of Alabama in Huntsville) for his The architecture of Fazang’s six characteristics (Vol. 27, no. 3). Here’s the abstract of his article: This paper examines the Huayan teaching of the six characteristics as presented in…
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Blast from the past: not enough space in leading journals, so why aren’t more on-line?
Back in 2010, with lots of comments. The situation has changed a good bit since!
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“Extremism” is psychological, not political
Philosopher Quassim Cassam (Warwick) comments. I'm not sure I find this plausible, but it is worth considering (and is a more serious proposal than the usual fare).
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On Althusser
This author doesn't like him (I don't either), but he points out some things I did not know: He’d done precious little of the donkeywork required of a professor of philosophy. As he admitted in that posthumously-published memoir, though he’d been the École’s go-to guy for counsel on the most abstruse philosophical ackamarackus, he’d actually…
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David Rieff did not like Samantha Power’s book
Not philosophers (although I encountered it on a philosophy friend's FB page), but amusingly damning: Power writes in her introduction that, “We make sense of our lives through stories.” It is a revealing moment. …[N]ot all of the stories we tell ourselves are true, and in Power’s case the stories she tells herself and now…
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In Memoriam: Francis McGovern (1945-2020)
A longtime member of the Duke law faculty, he was also a regular visiting professor of law at the University of California, Hastings. He was an expert on products liability and mass tort litigation, and served as the court-appointed "special master" in many major tort cases involving opioids, silicone implants asbetos, lead paint and others. …
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On Frank Ramsey’s contributions
An illuminating essay (a kind of precis of her forthcoming book on Ramsey) by philosopher Cheryl Misak (Toronto).
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Technology and lawyer’s work
Article here, including interesting obserevations from Dean Jennifer Mnookin (UCLA).
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Strong statement by former Department of Justice lawyers protesting political meddling in prosecutions and sentencing
More than 1100 signatures, including, according to one law professor, about 100 former lawyers who served in the DOJ in the Trump Administration; 85% overall served DOJ in Republican administrations. AG Barr needs to go.
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Great moments in obscure rock ‘n’ roll: Frijid Pink, “Sing a Song for Freedom,” 1970
Another number from this Michigan band; this was a single, that missed the top 40, but did chart:
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Bloomberg’s “stop-and-frisk” policy in NYC
This is a quite damning account. (By the way, I do wish people on the left would stop calling Bloomberg a "racist": he's plainly not (as the multiple endorsements from Democratic African-American elected officials might suggest). He's a member of the ruling class, and he's incapable of significant empathy with those not in his class. …
I only just learned of Barry’s passing, and I’m enormously saddened at the news. I wrote my PhD on his…