News and views about philosophy, the academic profession, academic freedom, intellectual culture, and other topics. The world’s most popular philosophy blog, since 2003.
My former colleagues at another university in Middle East have also been moved to online teaching indefinitely, with the students…
If much of the interest of high-quality papers lies between the lines—in the metaphorical fire that a paper lights in…
I would also recommend that potential grad students make inquiries into how far the compensation package actually goes towards cost…
It’s a mix. I’m still in the UAE with my family, and we feel safe. But some students and faculty…
In the above comment, Michel wrote: “As an aside, every once in a while I check out how the chatbots…
I could imagine LLMs having saved me a *ton* of time in graduate school–e.g., by having supplied reasonable answers to…
The McMaster Department of Philosophy has now put together the following notice commemorating Barry: Barry Allen: A Philosophical Life Barry…
Professor Pappas, who was emeritus at Ohio State University, where he spent most of his career, was well-known for his work in epistemology and on the philosophy of George Berkeley. There is an obituary here. Comments are open for remembrances from those who knew Professor Pappas or for those who would like to comment on the significance of his work.
George was my advisor and was an absolute model of excellence. He was patient, careful, generous with his time, encouraging, and hilarious in a bit of an understated way. I knew he disagreed with much of what I was arguing for, but that was never at the forefront of our discussions. He was just interested in helping me produce the best work I could, even if it was, in his eyes, wrongheaded.
As I was finishing my dissertation I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. George was a big help in making sure that I was able to finish and be successful on the job market. I have long hoped that I might have the kind of positive influence on students that he's had on me, both as a professional philosopher and as a human being.
RIP, George. My condolences to your family and friends.
I read Pappas' work both in my first undergraduate epistemology course, and in a graduate course on Berkeley. He was a key player in Berkeley scholarship, as everyone knows. I had the opportunity to attend a Berkeley conference in the early 1990s at Western Ontario – everyone who was anyone in Berkeley scholarship was there. Often objections raised during the conference starting with "what about 57" (referring to the numbered paragraph in Berkeley's A Treatise)
Leave a Reply