March 2024
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“Open Doors Academy” at University of Pittsburgh this summer
MOVING TO FRONT FROM MARCH 11: A reader points out that the definition of who is eligible has been broadened (see under "Who?"), to explicitly take account of economic disadvantage, and to remove references to some of the now legally dubious categories (e.g., race). The deadline is coming up, so apply if you're interested! It's…
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Great moments in obscure rock ‘n’ roll: Grannie, “Leaving,” 1971
LAST POSTED SEPTEMBER 14, 2019 This is one of the very first obscure numbers I posted several years ago, but it's such a great tune by a forgotten British band that I'm putting it up front again (a mix of Blind Faith and Traffic, as it were):
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Illinois makes bid for two tenured faculty at Syracuse (UPDATE: they have accepted!)
MOVING TO FRONT FROM MARCH 7–UPDATED The Department of Philosophy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has made senior offers to two tenured philosophers at Syracuse University: Luvell Anderson (philosophy of language, philosophy of race, aesthetics) and Verena Erlenbusch-Anderson (political philosophy, contemporary European philosophy) (the latter offer is joint with Political Science at Illinois). …
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Philosopher Leif Wenar on effective (i.e., short-term, measurable) altruism
A pretty wicked takedown, but basically right. It turns out even the emphasis on short-term measurable effects involves bad measurements. An excerpt: Where [Toby] Ord was earnest, [Will] MacAskill was shameless. “HOW YOU CAN SAVE HUNDREDS OF LIVES” is the name of a chapter in his pitch book for EA. The book tells you that…
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“Not everything is about gender”
Katha Pollitt, the longtime feminist critic and commentator at The Nation, on the latest blather from Judith Butler (in The Atlantic, not The Nation, which tends to tread rather lightly on this topic); an excerpt: The central idea of Who’s Afraid of Gender? is that fascism is gaining strength around the world, and that its weapon…
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Fallout from St. Norbert’s mass firing of humanities junior faculty
In the wake of this, I've heard from a number of prominent moral and political philosophers who have now cancelled speaking engagements (including for their Killeen Lecture series) at St. Norbert College to protest the shabby treatment of the humanities, including philosophy. Kudos to them! The students are also up in arms. Let's see if…
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On retiring
An apt comment, from the earlier thread, from philosopher Paul Guyer (recently emeritus at Brown University) that deserves special notice: We have it good in philosophy and other humanities fields: retiring does not necessitate the end of research and writing, as it might for natural scientists dependent on maintaining a lab, including continuing to get…
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Talk about having a change of heart
From NeoNazi to observant Jew!
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Epiphenomenalism about consciousness
Philosopher Helen Yetter-Chappell sets out the case.
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Trump, the Mafioso, an ongoing saga
He's now embracing it openly. (Thanks to Steve Sverdlik for the pointer.)
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Another UK university crisis brewing: University of Essex
According to the academic staff union, the administratio has proposed "a new Academic Framework, including (among other things) a *45-week* teaching period, up to *3* entry points for students within the year, and sweeping rigid changes to module structure." Comments are open for more details about what is going on at Essex, and also what…
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What is it like to be “manic”?
Philosopher Paul Lodge discusses. (This is from a few years ago, but I only just came across this interesting essay.) ADDENDUM: Philosopher Aaron Garrett calls my attention to this related piece.
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SUNY-Fredonia does indeed axe philosophy and a dozen other programs
Here. [Link fixed] As we noted previously, this will surely be an issue in Professor Kershnar's lawsuit (i.e., that this was a stealth way of violating his First Amendment rights). (Thanks to Brock Sides for the pointer.)
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I’d settle for this as an epitaph
I've been fortunate over the last few years to have a steady ally on issues pertaining to academic freedom, and UChicago's Kalven Report, in the eminent biologist Jerry Coyne, now emeritus here. A propos a recent misrepresentation of the Kalven Report and my rejoinder to it, Jerry offered these kind words: "I’ve worked with Brian…
Carlos Alberto Sánchez’s A Sense of Brutality: Philosophy after Narco-Culture (Amherst College Press, 2020) is a finalist for the 2026…