June 2023
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Peter Ludlow did not like Philip Kitcher’s book either
An amusing takedown (earlier); an excerpt: It is said that the very first Western philosopher was Thales of Miletus, who lived from around 620 to 546 BCE. That is about 150 years before Socrates, and 200 years before Plato. His greatest claim to fame is his conjecture that “all is water,” which is important because…
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In Memoriam: Donald J. Munro (1931-2023)
A longtime member of the philosophy and Chinese faculties at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he was emeritus, Professor Munro was one of the leading scholars of Chinese philosophy of his generation in the Anglophone world. There is an obituary here. Comments are open for remembrances from those who knew Professor Munro, or…
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Great moments in (not quite as) obscure rock ‘n’ roll: Velvet Underground, “What Goes On,” 1969
This probably isn't the Velvet Underground's best-known song, but it is certainly my favorite: I also love this cover by Elizabeth Mitchell, from 2006:
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Summer blogging schedule
As usual, I'll be posting less over June, July and August, although things will pick up in August. I will probably still put one or two things up each week that are newsworthy, and I will continue to update the lateral moves list as well. Thanks, as always, for reading!
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Three tenured hires for Notre Dame: Cohen from Edinburgh; Elliott and Isserow from Leeds
The University of Notre Dame has made three tenured hires: Alix Cohen (Kant) will join as Professor of Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh this fall; and Edward Elliott (philosophy of mind, decision theory) and Jessica Isserow (metaethics, ethics, moral psychology) will both join as Associate Professors of Philosophy in fall 2024 from the University…
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Faculty in philosophy and other humanities fields at risk of losing their jobs at the University of Kent
Philosophers at the University of Kent write: We are writing to alert readers to the fact that the philosophy department is one of several Arts and Humanities departments presently targeted for compulsory redundancies by the University of Kent. This is not on the grounds of quality: the philosophy department was ranked 3rd in the UK for overall…
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Mayo Clinic disciplines doctor and professor for expressing “incorrect” views about transgender issues
The Academic Freedom Alliance correctly criticizes Mayo, and has provided a lawyer to vindicate the doctor's rights. What an embarrassment for an otherwise reputable institution. The fact that 'Republicans are currently running a vicious campaign of harassment against transgender people is no justification for abridging a medical professional's legal right to express his professional judgment. …
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Feminist philosopher Ann Cudd, incoming Portland State President, gets $10 million “start-up fund” plus housing allowance…
…and everyone else gets cuts. Not a good look.
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“Conversation and Democracy”
A nice graduation speech by my colleague Tom Ginsburg.
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Epistemology in the Andes and Amazonia
An interesting project.
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Summer blogging plans, and thereafter
MOVING TO FRONT FROM JUNE 1–UPDATED As usual, I'll be posting somewhat less in June (a few times per week), and even less in July and August (maybe once or twice per week, depending on what's happening). August 3, 2023 will mark the 20th anniversary of the blog, and I am thinking that I will…
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“Conversation and Democracy”
A nice graduation speech by my law colleague Tom Ginsburg, who has spent his career studying democracies and constitutions.
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I talk about Marx, historical materialism, ideology and “socialism or barbarism”…
…at Robinson's Podcast.
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Mismanagement leads to financial crisis at West Virginia University, which will now be “solved” by cutting tenured faculty positions
This sounds like a U.S. version of the Birkbeck disaster, and it really deserves more serious coverage in the traditional media. A professor at WVU (not in philosophy) writes: WVU is currently in an unprecedented financial crisis and the administration is starting the process of cutting academic programs and faculty, including tenured faculty. I'm writing…
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Life in the American apartheid terror state
If you subscribe to the NYRB, this review essay by the historian Eric Foner is worth reading. It's a good, graphic reminder of the horrors of American apartheid, for which affirmative action, before it devolved into diversity blather, was one very modest remedial measure.
Georgy Maksimovich pointed me to this article in Russian: https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2026/05/25/antisovetskie-filosofskie-kontratseptsii