February 2020
-
A propos the coronavirus…
…and our post the other day: this is not good news (e.g., 8 of 50 documented cases from Singapore [which does more reliable reporting than China] are in the ICU).
-
Racism in British universities?
Two Exeter faculty take a skeptical look at the data. I'm opening this for comments from those who see mistakes in the analysis and commentary on the availalbe data. (Thanks to Mark Couch for the pointer.)
-
If Sanders doesn’t carry union voters, including in the midwest, he can’t win…
…so this is a hugely ominous sign. Other unions will have similar reactions I strongly suspect. ADDENDUM: On the other hand…but it's still early days.
-
Not-so-obscure rock ‘n’ roll
Black Sabbath's first album was released 50 years ago today. I still think it's their best, and one of the best albums in a year full of excellent ones. (Thanks to James Bondarchuk for the pointer.)
-
Jonathan Mitchell did not like Tom Stern’s “New Cambridge Companion to Nietzsche”
From the review's conclusion: Overall this volume is idiosyncratic and mixed. Instead of a state-of-the-art snapshot of Nietzsche-studies married with perspicuous introductions and overviews of central texts, many of the contributions lacked philosophical depth. Those that were of a more philosophical bent flirted with obscurity and verbosity, not infrequently straw-manning the so-called analytic [i.e., philosophical]…
-
Near-death experiences?
Philosopher John Martin Fischer (UC Riverside) debunks them at the NYT; comments are open only today, and John tells me he will try to respond to them. He would no doubt be grateful if some philosophers weighed in!
-
Battle of the New York “billionaires”
Trump v. Bloomberg. Bloomberg does have the potential to make Trump apoplectic, since he's got many of the same New York verbal street-fighter instincts. In terms of winning, I think the Sanders approach is ultimately better, which is to keep his eye on the ball (i.e,. the issues), instead of on the goofball.
-
William Barr’s moment of truth
This sums up his choices. His choice has profound implications for the rule of law, at least at the federal level. (Since the U.S. has a federal system, the state attorney generals have considerable autonomy, although some offenses may be purely federal ones.)
-
Attention Democratic Party: the blog readers have spoken!
So with more than 800 votes since yesterday afternoon, here are the results: Bernie Sanders: 49% Elizabeth Warren: 20% Amy Klobuchar: 12% Mike Bloomberg: 10% Pete Buttigieg: 6% Joe Biden: 2% Tom Steyer: 1% I've notified the DNC that the people…
-
Best introductory texts in philosophy of action?
MOVING TO FRONT FROM FEBRUARY 11–MORE COMMENTS WELCOME (INCLUDING CONCURRENCES!) 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 action (including, but not limited to, free will). As before, don't just name…
-
Novartis demands a 15% discount from its outside law firms unless they put more women and minority lawyers to work on Novartis legal matters (Michael Simkovic)
Bloomberg reports that Novartis AG, a Swiss Pharmaceutical firm with a Market Capitalization in excess of 220 billion USD and U.S. headquarters in Boston, is demanding that its U.S.-based outside law firms ensure that at least 30 percent of associate billable hours on Novartis matters are completed by associates who are female or members of…
-
Blast from the past: on visiting departments as a prospective PhD student
Back in 2014, but since it's getting to be that time of year again…
-
Only a poll of blog readers can bring clarity to the 2020 Democratic nomination contest
Only Americans should vote! The masses await your guidance!
-
More reason to think the Democratic primary contest will come down to Sanders and Bloomberg
Biden's dysmal fifth-place finish in New Hampshire is the beginning of the end. Creepy Pete will do poorly in South Carolina and Nevada. Senator Warren, sadly, looks to be finished. Senator Klobuchar will also do poorly in South Carolina and Nevada. Bloomberg, meanwhile, is targetting the crucial demographic he needs for the Democratic nomination,…
-
For those who use Twitter…
…I'm continuing my practice of tweeting out links to new posts on the blog, so you can follow the new links there. I occasionally tweet out other stuff as well unrelated to the blog.
Nietzsche’s Ecce homo, Notebooks and Letters: 1888-1889. Translation by Daniel Fidel Ferrer. ©2023 Daniel Fidel Ferrer. All rights reserved. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs…