July 2023
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Laurie Paul talks to Sam Harris…
…about "transformative experiences" and Derek Parfit's "weird" intuitions (amen to that!).
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Great moments in (somewhat) obscure rock ‘n’ roll: The Kinks, “You Can’t Stop the Music,” 1975
The Kinks are certainly not an obscure band, but the 1975 album Soap Opera didn't do very well in the U.S. or the U.K., and is hardly one of their better-known efforts. The album also includes one of my all-time favorite songs by The Kinks (which also didn't do very well as a single, surprisingly I…
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Larry Kramer, former Stanford Law Dean, to become President (and “Vice-Chancellor”) at the London School of Economics…
…next April. Kramer is currently President of the Hewlett Foundation, and previously taught at the law schools at NYU, Michigan, and Chicago (from which he graduated). (Thanks to Mike Otsuka for calling this to my attention.)
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Texas A&M University Chancellor John Sharp is a disgrace, and this is the canary in the coal mine
A clinical assistant professor at Texas A&M, a specialist in the opioid crisis, gives a lecture in which, in part, she places blame on the Lt. Governor of Texas, Daniel Patrick, for adopting policies that have made the crisis worse. A student in the audience, whose mother is a Texas politician, tattles to Mom, who…
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“Only the economic left can beat the Woke”
Richard Marshall sent along this essay by David Rieff (the journalist and writer who is the son of Susan Sontag); it has a few good lines (and a couple of pretty odd ones too). Here some of excerpts of the former, which capture the best parts of the essay: Wokeness has almost nothing to say…
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In Memoriam: Jennifer A. McMahon (1956-2023) (UPDATED)
MOVING TO FRONT FROM JUNE 20–UPDATED AND CORRECTED Best-known for her work in aesthetics and on Kant, Professor McMahon was emerita at the University of Adelaide, where she spent her academic career. Comments are open for remembrances from colleagues who knew Professor McMahon, or for those who wish to comment on the significance of her…
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Continued decline in false beliefs in the U.S…..
…although two-thirds of the population still in the grips of illusions of various kinds.
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Lateral hires with tenure or on tenure-track, 2022-23
These are non-clinical appointments that will take effect in summer or fall 2023 (except where noted); (recent additions will be in bold.) Last year's list is here. *Zohra Ahmed (criminal law & procedure) from the University of Georgia to Boston University (untenured lateral). *Ifeoma Ajunwa (law & technology, race & law, employment law)…
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Philosophers and political theorists elected as Fellows or Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy
They are: Helen Beebee (Leeds), John Skorupski (St Andrews), Jonathan Wolff (Oxford), Rahel Jaeggi (Humboldt U/Berlin), and Wolfgang Kuenne (Hamburg). Also elected in cognate fields (such as Political Studies and Law) were: Emilios Christodoulidis (Glasgow), David Owen (Southampton), John Dryzek (Canberra), and Alison Wylie (British Columbia). (Thanks to Matt Kramer for the pointer.)
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“Entanglement” in the quantum world
Philosopher Huw Price and a physicist offer a simple explanation.
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Blast from the past: “The Twitter Cesspool”
Back in 2018. Some of this no doubt explains the low opinion Americans increasingly have of universities (although right-wing anti-intellectual propaganda is probably the main factor.) (Twitter is still a cesspool, of course, but proactive blocking does make it useable now.)
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The “logic gallery” by David Marans…
…has a new location.
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In Memoriam: Harry G. Frankfurt (1929-2023)
Professor Frankfurt, who was emeritus at Princeton University, also taught for many years at Yale University and, before that, at Rockefeller University and Ohio State University. Early in his career, he wrote an influential book on Descartes, but was of course best-known in philosophy for seminal papers on free will. The NYT obituary is here. …
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“Pascal’s Wager”
Richard Marshall interviews philosopher Liz Jackson (Toronto Metropolitan University [previously Ryerson University]).
To be worth using, a detector needs not only (A) not get very many false positives, but also (B) get…