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Religious exemption from anti-discrimination principles in Canada!
Many readers have sent me this surprising story: a professor at York University in Toronto (a public university) has been required to grant a religious student's request not to interact with women. (The religion of the objector is unclear, but it is presumably some orthodox sect, many of which are notorious for their virulent sexism.) The decision…
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In case you forgot that Bill Gates is a wicked man…
…read why the teachers in one Massachussetts school district rejected the "merit pay" supplied by his Foundation.
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Ludlow on academic publishing
In CHE: To put it bluntly, the current state of academic publishing is the result of a series of strong-arm tactics enabling publishers to pry copyrights from authors, and then charge exorbitant fees to university libraries for access to that work. The publishers have inverted their role as disseminators of knowledge and become bottlers of…
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Funeral service for E.J. Lowe
His colleague, Professor Hendry, writes: "A funeral service for Jonathan will be held at Durham Cathedral on Monday 20th January at 1.30pm." If you have questions, please contact Professor Hendry.
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U of Colorado sociologist not retiring, and will be able to continue teaching her class
We noted this case previously, and it has now been resolved in favor of the faculty member. From the IHE story: [Professor] Adler said that while she was gratified that all of the reviews cleared her, the fact that her course "had to undergo this extraordinary scrutiny to reverse CU’s initial jump to judgment is…
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When to raise issue of spousal appointment?
A junior faculty member writes: I am an assistant professor, approaching tenure. When I was hired, I received multiple assurances that the university would assist me with a spousal accommodation. When my spouse's work situation changed, I approached my dean and department chair, who were receptive to helping. A suitable position was found, but there…
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Financial health of California’s public universities and colleges?
IHE reports that the Governor is proposing increased funding (contingent on tuition freezes). I'd be curious to hear from readers "on the ground" at UC and Cal State campuses how things are in terms of finances.
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Indian Philosophy
The blog!
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Plans for next PGR
Here are the tentative plans for the next PGR: I will make the draft faculty lists available for public comment and correction in the Spring, probably in May; the Advisory Board will vote on additional inclusions and nominate new evaluators over the summer months; the surveys will take place starting not earlier than late September…
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Interviews at “Aesthetics for Birds…
MOVING TO FRONT–LINK FIXED …with poets and poet/philosophers!
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Six philosophers win ACLS Fellowships in 2013 competition
They are: Elizabeth Anderson (Michigan), Selim Berker (Harvard), Katherine Brading (Notre Dame), Russell Powell (BU), Susan Schneider (Connecticut), and David Wolfsdorf (Temple).
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In Memoriam: E.J. (Jonathan) Lowe (1950-2014)
I am sorry to report that Professor Lowe, who taught for many years at Durham University, passed away suddenly on January 5 (though he had been ill since last June). He was a prolific, influential and internationally renowned contributor to metaphysics, philosophy of language, mind and logic, and the history of early modern philosophy (he wrote…
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Bertrand Russell on the “everyday value” of philosophy
At The Guardian.
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Returning for a PhD in Philosophy in your 40s?
A reader in his early 40s, who has retired, for health reasons, from another professional career (one in which some applied ethicists work), has been teaching some applied philosophy courses as an adjunct and "found that I absolutely love teaching amd mentoring students." He asks: My undergraduate degree was in Philosophy which I obtained from a large…
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Arthur Danto Memorial: more information
Here is the official invitation, including RSVP information: PRESIDENT LEE C. BOLLINGER AND THE DANTO FAMILY invite you to celebrate the life of ARTHUR C. DANTO Johnsonian Professor Emeritus Philosophy Columbia University in the City of New York 1924–2013 Thursday, February 6, 2014 3:30 p.m. St. Paul’s Chapel 1160 Amsterdam Avenue at 117th Street Columbia…
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Is there really a “humanities crisis”?
A skeptical look at some of the usual data. (Thanks to Martin Lin for the pointer.)
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How the humanities (though not philosophy!) helped create its own “decline”
Provocative piece by Alex Rosenberg (Duke), and one worth reflecting on. An excerpt: For the problems of the humanities are self-inflicted wounds well recognized by their colleagues in other faculties. First, over the last two generations the humanities (except for philosophy) have lost faith with their callings as the bearers of a continuous cultural inheritance–a canon,…
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Five Philosophers Win NEH Fellowship Support
They are (see the Dec. 9 announcements): Joshua Gert (William & Mary), Gary Hatfield (Penn), Jill Hernandez (UT San Antonio), Eva Kittay (Stony Brook), and Jonathan Vogel (Amherst).
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Jobs for History PhDs down 7% this year, after two years of increases
IHE has details on History and other academic job markets. I've never understood why the APA doesn't collect this data in as timely a way. ADDENDUM: This chart, showing the number of jobs in a sub-field and the number of new PhDs in that sub-field is striking: Entry-Level History Positions vs. Specialties of New Ph.D.s…
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What did you do in 2013?
Probably not as much as Riverside's Eric Schwitzgebel. Wow!
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The Überschnitzel comes to Chicago!
Two new German restaurants, D.A.S. and Radler: D.A.S. stands for “ding an sich,” Immanuel Kant’s concept of the “thing in itself,” the object of philosophical consideration separate from human perceptions of it. The name and the restaurant concepts conjure a beer-hall-meets-lecture-hall philosophy—a Weltanschauung of Gemütlichkeit, with emphasis on Nietzsche’s concept of the Überschnitzel. For the…
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On leaving an adjunct teaching career in philosophy
Interesting reflections.
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Two short Huffington Post pieces on law schools…
…that appeared over the last few days: American Law Schools: The New Economic Realities and American Law Schools and the Psychology of Cyber-Hysteria. I'll be blogging somewhat more regularly this year at Huffington Post, though not primarily about legal education.
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Gauker (Cincinnati) and Werndl (LSE) to Salzburg
Christopher Gauker (philosophy of language and mind), Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cincinnati and Charlotte Werndl (philosophy of science, physics, and math), Associate Professor of Philosophy at the London School of Economics, have both accepted full professorships in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Salzburg (Austria), effective fall 2014.
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In Memoriam: D. Burnham Terrell (1923-2013)
This is a somewhat belated announcement, as Prof. Terrell passed away in November. (Thanks to Jeffrey Roland for the pointer). Professor Terrell taught for forty years at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-St. Paul. An obituary is here.
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Attitudes and religious motivations of philosophers of religion
Interesting study.
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2013: Philosophers who passed away
The passing of the following philosophers was noted on the blog during 2013: Edwin B. Allaire, David Braybrooke, Joseph L. Camp, Jr., Arthur Danto, Fred Dretske, Ronald Dworkin, Peter Geach, Keith Gunderson, R.I.G. Hughes, Edward McClennen, Avrum Stroll, Arthur Szathmary, D. Burnham Terrell, Dallas Willard. You can click on the "Philosophy Updates" category and scroll down for…
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New Books in December
Authors and/or publishers kindly sent me these new books this month: Inventing Falsehood, Making Truth: Vico and Neapolitan Painting by Malcolm Bull (Princeton University Press, 2013). Killing by Remote Control: The Ethics of an Unmanned Military edited by Bradley Jay Strawser (Oxford University Press, 2013). How We Hope: A Moral Psychology by Adrienne M. Martin…
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AAUP correctly condemns new Kansas Regents’ policy on faculty use of social media
Details here, via law professor Stephen Diamond (Santa Clara).
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Just when you thought you couldn’t have a lower opinion of the Republican Party…
…along comes this news: Over the last four years, the percentage of Democrats who said they believe in evolution has risen by three points, from 64 percent to 67 percent. But the percentage of Republicans who believe in the theory has dropped 11 points, from 54 percent to 43 percent. So while there was a…
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A different take on the Turing pardon
Phil Gasper calls my attention to this piece, which makes an apt point: In announcing the pardon today, the justice secretary, Chris Grayling, said: "A pardon from the Queen is a fitting tribute to an exceptional man." Turing was certainly an exceptional man but the tribute could not be less fitting. It says that the…
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“Why Tolerate Religion?” at Philosophy Talk radio
Here this week (middle column, click on the free live stream). John Perry, Ken Taylor and I had fun!
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Reworking some articles for a book: a bad idea for junior faculty?
A young philosopher writes: I’m an assistant professor at a small private university in the south. I recently told the chair of my department, along with another associate professor, of my forthcoming book. As you might imagine, I was proud about it and thought it would be a great bit of information to share. When…
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UNC’s Paul to take up part-time post at St. Andrews
L.A. (Laurie) Paul (metaphysics) will join the Arche Center at the University of St. Andrews as a Professorial Fellow, where she will spend five weeks (beginning in May) each year for the next five years; she will continue full-time as a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Nietzsche, Naturalism and Normativity
My review essay of a very good collection of new essays, for anyone who might be interested–it will be in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews early in the new year.
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In Memoriam: Peter Geach (1916-2013)
MOVING TO FRONT FROM DEC. 22–UPDATED Professor Geach was well-known for many books and articles on topics in philosophy of language and mind (including what is now known as the Frege-Geach probject for ethical non-cognitivism), as well as for work in the genre now known as "analytical Thomism." He spent most of his teaching career…
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The American gun lottery
Apt, unfortunately: Remember, back in junior high school, when you read that classic of American literature, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson? In the story, a small town ritualistically draws straws each summer to see who among them will be stoned to death, to ensure a good harvest later that fall. (Goes the local proverb, “lottery…
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I respond to this report here https://jasonstanleyantifascist.substack.com/p/on-the-philosophical-muddle-that
For what it’s worth, I agree. I have, with some trepidation, given it a bunch of my papers and asked…
Looking at some of the AI-amplified cranks on philpeople, it is hard to agree with the assessment of this article.…
Perhaps a useful distinction here is between replacing philosophers and changing the conditions under which philosophical work gets done. LLMs…
Conditional on the hypothesis that journal editors sometimes desk reject high-quality papers written and commended by world experts on a…
Some users seem to have conflicting impressions about the (absolute level of) abilities of current iterations of the LLMs. But…
I only just learned of Barry’s passing, and I’m enormously saddened at the news. I wrote my PhD on his…