June 2023
-
Florio from Birmingham to Oslo
Salvatore Florio (philosophy of language & mathematics, philosophical logic), currently Reader in Philosophy at the University of Birmingham, will become Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oslo (where is also currently a Professorial Fellow) this September.
-
A few more pieces on the affirmative action decision
Thanks to readers for useful discussion on yesterday's thread, which I commend to those interested in these issues. A few more items I've come across that are worth reading: *A man of the actual left, Freddie deBoer, with whom I mostly agree. *My law colleague William Baude. *Law professor…
-
To circumvent Supreme Court affirmative action ban, Harvard will shift to diversity statements (Michael Simkovic)
The Supreme Court's recent ruling that Harvard and UNC's affirmative action programs violate the equal protection clause has been described by many as a blow to affirmative action. Brian Leiter has a summary here. Additional coverage is available here. Harvard almost immediately issue a written statement and a video message to the effect that it intends…
-
The Supreme Court’s affirmative action in admissions decision
It is here. As expected, the Court finds that the Harvard and North Carolina admissions practices violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. More in a bit. UPDATE (9:20 am CST): It appears the Court did not overrule Grutter and did not reject the view that "diversity" is a compelling state interest. Justice…
-
Psychology PhD students at UCLA object to faculty candidate for having incorrect views about “diversity”
Their letter, which one of the signatories made public, is here. The letter itself is a symptom of the "group think" pathology afflicting American higher education, but more to the point, if the faculty candidate, an associate professor at the University of Toronto, was denied the job because of this, then UCLA engaged in unconstitutional…
-
Man stabs instructor and two students in philosophy of gender class….
…at University of Waterloo. The assailant is in custody and no one was seriously injured, fortunately. Of course, in the U.S. the misogynistic assailant would have had an assault rifle, not a knife…. (Thanks to Paul Raymont for the pointer.)
-
Williamson to continue teaching at Oxford through 2026
Timothy Williamson, Wykeham Professor of Logic at Oxford, who turns 68 this August, has hit the mandatory retirement age. However, according to his official Twitter page (and consistent with what he told me earlier), he will continue teaching and supervision through 2026. It is pretty rare for Oxford to make these kinds of accomodations, but…
-
Kevin Dorst (MIT) talks about rationality…
…at Robinson's Podcast.
-
Crisis in New Zealand higher education
MOVING TO FRONT FROM JUNE 24, 2023: SEE UPDATES ON THE SITUATION IN THE COMMENTS The proposed cuts are very dramatic (see also, and also this); you can add your name, as I have done, to a petition here. Comments are open for additional information from those in New Zealand or elsewhere.
-
Paul Campos sues the University of Colorado at Boulder law school for discrimination and retaliation
I interrupt my blog hiatus to note this surprising development. I have tried to avoid saying anything about Campos for many years now, but this seems worth remarking on, given how rare such suits are. Campos's self-serving explanation for the lawsuit is here, and the complaint itself is here. The two most important lines from the…
-
Chalmers/Koch bet regarding consciousness
Chalmers wins (but what does he win?): A 25-year science wager has come to an end. In 1998, neuroscientist Christof Koch bet philosopher David Chalmers that the mechanism by which the brain’s neurons produce consciousness would be discovered by 2023. Both scientists agreed publicly on 23 June, at the annual meeting of the Association for…
-
“John Lewis: Good Trouble”
During a flight back from Seattle the other day, I actually watched a fairly interesting documentary about John Lewis, the civil and voting rights activist and leader, and later Congressman from Atlanta; the film was much better than standard airline movie fare of Hollywood trash and old "classics." The most interesting part concerned his life…
-
Great moments in (somewhat) obscure rock ‘n’ roll: Ry Cooder, “Billy the Kid,” 1972
Renowned rock and blues guitarist, Cooder is probably best-known for his work with others (including The Rolling Stones, Doobie Brothers, Rita Coolidge, Arlo Guthrie, Van Morrison, and many others). But he also produced many solo albums. This song comes from his second solo effort: Feel free to post links to other Ry Cooder favorites in…
-
Russia will use nuclear weapons in Ukraine
MOVING TO Front from June 14 This analysis, unfortunately, seems very compelling. Do not comment until you have read it in full. If the author is wrong, I'd be very interested to hear why. (Thanks to Boris Dagaev for the pointer.)
-
Another college considers eliminating philosophy, alas: Simmons University in Boston
From the Boston Globe: Simmons University, Boston’s only women’s college, is considering eliminating many undergraduate departments in the liberal arts, including philosophy and sociology, in response to substantial financial challenges and declining graduate enrollment. The private university, which has trained generations of social workers and nurses, is the latest women’s college to confront existential threats to…
Georgy Maksimovich pointed me to this article in Russian: https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2026/05/25/antisovetskie-filosofskie-kontratseptsii