January 2026
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“Why does philosophy have a history?”
A lecture by Michael Rosen at the Royal Institute of Philosophy in London.
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Emory fires tenure-track professor of medicine…
…because her father is a senior official in the Iranian government. The last time I looked, the “sins” of the parents were not grounds for removing a tenure-track faculty member from their job. Please email me if you have more information about what looks like a pretty blatant violation of the contractual rights of a…
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Reflections on the academic career of a married couple
Interesting reflections from Rachel Laudan about her and Larry Laudan’s career and intellectual work. I had the good fortune to get to know them both when I worked in Austin, and to visit with them later in Mexico. I still remember the day Larry came to my office to introduce himself, and I said, “I…
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“Philosophy Talk” archives are now open access, all 600 episodes
Here. I participated in three episodes over the years, including on Nietzsche and on religious liberty. It was great fun each time. John Perry and Ken Taylor were congenial and smart hosts. Feel free to post links to your favorite “Philosophy Talk” episodes, and perhaps say something about why you particularly like it.
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Abolish ICE
Consider the reign of terror in Minnesota in the last few weeks: Since early January, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement expanded its operation in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., federal officers have: killed Renee Good, a white middle-class mother; menaced a pregnant immigration lawyer in her firm’s parking lot; detained numerous U.S. citizens, including one who was dragged out…
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My top 50 songs of 2025 according to Spotify, #4: Terry Reid, “Tinker Tailor,” 1968
Now this is definitely an obscure one, by the British rock singer who turned down the opportunity to front both Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, but never had a particularly successful solo career. This is from his first album, and is probably the best number: Feel free to add links to other Terry Reid favorites.
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Anyone asserting that the killing of Renee Good by an ICE officer was “legally justified”…
…literally doesn’t know what they’re talking about. That includes the guy with an M.A. in philosophy, who self-describes as a “law enforcement officer,” whose substack post several folks have sent me. There is a scenario in which, upon further investigation, it could turn out the killing was legally justified, but there is no basis for…
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Remarkable turnout in freezing weather to protest ICE in Minneapolis
Here. And the calls to abolish ICE are growing, including from the libertarian right.
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Most cited books in Anglophone philosophy of language since WWII (according to Google Scholar) (CORRECTED)
I made some judgment calls, like treating Wittgenstein’s classic work as part of “Anglophone” philosophy of language; treating books that straddle philosophy of language and mind as belonging here; and largely excluding the kind of work professional linguists do, even when it is of interest to philosophers of language. (Chomsky is a tricky case, but…
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Open access philosophy books: a thread, part III
MOVING TO FRONT FROM DECEMBER 2 The last thread had 22 submissions, so I thought it’s time for a third thread. Instructions as before: In light of the growing number of these volumes, I am going to run a thread periodically in which I invite authors or readers to share links to philosophical works that…
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What can those of us outside Minnesota do to support those resisting ICE tyranny? (UPDATED)
The response by citizens in Minnesota to the ICE killing of protester Renee Good has been extraordinary (see, e.g., this account or this). The “ICE goon squad” will likely be coming to other cities the way it has besieged Minneapolis, unless it proves too costly. So are there legitimate places to contribute funds for legal…
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In Memoriam: Alan Musgrave (1940-2026)
A well-known philosopher of science, Professor Musgrave studied under Karl Popper at the LSE, and held the Chair in Philosophy at the University of Otago from 1970 until his retirement in 2011. On the Otago Department homepage there is currently a memorial notice (scroll down for it). Comments are open for remembrances from those who…
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Texas Republican Party now following the lead of the Chinese Communist Party when it comes to universities
Party stalwarts are appointed to oversee universities (in the Texas case, via a Board of Regents), and then set criteria for the approval (or disapproval) of curricula. A new example of the Texas A&M version of this approach.
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Most cited books in Anglophone epistemology since WWII (according to Google Scholar) (CORRECTED)
I list all books with at least 1,900 citations (which got the original list to twenty). In the case of Sellars’s classic “Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind,” the book version, published by Harvard in the 1990s, has received well over 2,000 citations, but I also included the many citations to the article version as…
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In Memoriam: Barbara Aronstein Black (1933-2026)
A longtime member of the Columbia Law faculty, where she was emerita, Professor Black was an expert in legal history and the first woman to serve as Dean of Columbia Law School. Comments are open for remembrances from those who knew her or from those who wish to comment on the significance of her work.…
I never met Alan, sadly, but his work leading the charge in making philosophy of sex “a thing” in contemporary…