May 2023
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The new Cambridge “Elements” series (UPDATED)
These short "booklets" are proliferating across many different subjects in philosophy, and while some have been pretty bad, others have attracted serious authors and look more promising. The Elements volumes offer one very attractive feature for authors (especially junior authors), which is that the volume is made available for free downloads the first two weeks after publication. …
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Which philosophers are mentioned in the most articles at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy?
It wasn't possible (due to false positives) to search smoe (like Berkeley, David Lewis, William James, and Bacon–Berkeley and Lewis would have surely been in the top 30), but for the rest the number of articles in which they appear tracks fairly well some earlier polls run here, though with an obvious skew to the…
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Nagasawa from Birmingham to Oklahoma
Yujin Nagasawa (philosophy of religion, philosophy of mind), currently Professor of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham, has accepted appointment as Professor of Philosophy and holder of the Kingfisher Chair in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, effective January 2024.
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The new best Szechuan restaurant in Chicago
This is it. Learned of it through a visiting professor from Hong Kong. Very casual, also BYOB. The best Kung Pao Chicken and Twice Cooked Pork I've had in a long, long time.
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In Memoriam: Thomas Buergenthal (1934-2023)
A leading expert on international law and human rights, Professor Buergenthal was emeritus at George Washington University and also served as a judge on the International Court of Justice. As a child, he survived the concentration camps, which he he wrote a book about. I will add links to memorial notices as they appear.
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Viktor DeSantis’s war on higher education in Florida…this is what it looks like on the ground
A philosopher at a public university in Florida shares the email their Chair felt the need (no doubt correctly) to send out: I wanted to give you a heads up about a recent law that has passed our legislature, SB 266, which goes into effect on July 1. For those of you who haven't followed…
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Blast from the past: The political orientation of readers of the blog
Back in 2010. I'll have to run one of these surveys again.
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Happy Memorial Day to U.S. readers!
Here's a story about the 1937 Memorial Day massacre of striking workers in Chicago.
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Tenure in Texas: the aftermath
Tenure will remain at public universities in Texas, but new standards for revocation of tenure have been codified, including "moral turpitude" (without any definition or requirement for a criminal conviction) and "unprofessional conduct" that "adversely affects the institution." What if a faculty member participates in a drag show? Is that "moral turpitude"? What if a…
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Great moments in obscure rock ‘n’ roll: Poobah, “Mr. Destroyer,” 1972
ORIGINALLY POSTED DECEMBER 15, 2018 Youngstown, Ohio hard rock/heavy metal outfit (think Black Sabbath) led by guitarist Jim Gustafson. They had a big Ohio following, but thanks to bad luck and lack of smart management, never made it nationally or internationally. Hard to understand why this song, from their debut album, isn't a standard of…
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Simon Blackburn on the biography of Parfit
A more appreciative review of the biography than Mulhall's, and more philosophically substantial as well, including some sharp and what seem to me correct criticisms of Parfit's views.
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97 years ago today Sholem Schwarzbard assassinated a Ukrainian nationalist and butcher of Jews
He was later acquitted by a French court. A different world, still a stunning story. (A longer, scholarly treatment here.)
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The war on tenure (and abortion) comes to North Carolina
Philosopher David Austin (North Carolina State University) writes: North Carolina House bill HB715 would eliminate tenure for all future UNC system faculty hires, replacing it with 1-4 year contracts. The joint effect of the restrictions on abortion (SB20, effective July 1) and elimination of tenure would be enormous damage to NC's economy. Most women will…
I first met Professor Hoy when I returned to UC Santa Cruz in Fall of ’92 to finish my undergraduate…