January 2022
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Another critique of Graeber & Wengrow…
…by the classicist Walter Scheidel (Stanford). (Earlier discussion.) (Thanks to Philip Mitsis for the pointer.)
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F.I.R.E. on the various state bills purporting to regulate the teaching of race and sex in higher education
They are, indeed, almost all unconstitutional.
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Prof. Jason Kilborn (UIC John Marshall Law) files suit against various UIC officials…
…over the ongoing violations of his constutional rights, which we have noted previously. The complaint is here: Download Kilborn Complaint as filed. The exhibits attached to the complaint are here: Download Kilborn Exhibits as filed
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Ferris State professor who called students “vectors of disease” in a viral video…
…is now suing the university for suspending him, claiming that, …the video was part of “The Show,” an intentionally provocative performance Mehler has created for his classes that includes “strong themes, colorful language, and modern cultural references, to capture students’ attention and challenge them to think critically.” In the 14-minute video, posted the day before…
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Covid and religion
This is a curious set of findings. (Thanks to David Ozonoff for the pointer.)
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“Does consciousness have a gender?”
Philosopher Sophie-Grace Chappell (Open U) comments.
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Blast from the past: “There is no general metaphysical picture our best science supports”
Back in 2009, with comments by readers.
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Tories lay the legislative foundation for a substantial erosion of democracy in the UK
Not all these bills are equally bad, but 1 through 4, by themselves, would do substantial damage. Curious if UK readers have more insight into how likely these are to pass and whether they are as dangerous as some of them seem to be?
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“Nietzsche on Morality” (2nd edition) now available in Japanese…
…thanks to the great work of Yuma Oto. Dr. Oto tells me that, "The Japanese title is 『ニーチェの道徳哲学と自然主義: 『道徳の系譜学』を読み解く』(which means, Nietzsche’s Moral Philosophy and Naturalism: Reading On the Genealogy of Morality)." It's available on Japanese Amazon.
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Latest fad in reactionary religious mischief: empowering parents to destroy public education
First in Oklahoma, now Texas: Under the Parent Bill of Rights, Abbott said any educator convicted of providing minors with "obscene" content will lose their educational credentials and state licensing, forfeit their retirement benefits and will be placed on a "do not hire" list. The state will also require schools to post the bill online…
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“Gengis Khan–Hero of religious freedom?”
And popular with the Founding Fathers too. Who knew?
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Allegations of misconduct by Amy Wax in the classroom and towards students
The kind of conduct described here enjoys no protection from AAUP academic freedom principles, unlike offensive extramural speech. If these allegations are confirmed, Professor Wax may be in real trouble this time.
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The saga of Anna Stubblefield: the movie?
Curious (scroll down to Andrew Bluestone). (Earlier coverage.) (Thanks to Rhys Southan for the pointer.)
Georgy Maksimovich pointed me to this article in Russian: https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2026/05/25/antisovetskie-filosofskie-kontratseptsii