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Most cited post-WWII books on ancient Greek and Roman philosophy written by philosophers (according to Google Scholar again) (CORRECTED)
Books are not, in fact, the most important vehicle for scholarship in this area, as the absence of scholars like Myles Burnyeat, Alan Code, G.E.L. Owen, and Gisela Striker, among others, would suggest. But there are some very important and influential books, as the list shows. I have excluded translations with commentaries on important ancient…
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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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2026 Schock Prize in “Logic and Philosophy” goes to Bas van Fraassen.
Announcement here. Certainly an appropriate choice! Past winners include Quine, Putnam, Kripke, Rawls, Thomas Nagel, David Kaplan, Michael Dummett, and others. For those who may have missed it, here was a fascinating discussion on this blog of some of van Fraassen’s ideas, with comments from Sober, Dupre, Maudlin, Skyrms, Wallace, Woodward, Hazen, and others.
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Canada PM Carney, speaking to the ruling class at Davos, speaks the truth…
…which politicians almost never do. It’s fair to say he has risen to the occasion! Some excerpts: It’s a pleasure — and a duty — to be with you at this turning point for Canada and the world. I’ll speak today about the rupture in the world order, the end of the pleasant fiction and the…
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Most cited books of Anglophone (analytic) political philosophy over the last hundred years, according to Google Scholar (CORRECTED)
I list only those books with at least 4,000 citations.
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What to do about the sycophancy of large language models?
I don’t use them a lot, but I had noticed this tendency even for rather mundane queries.
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The 25th Amendment will not save the US (or the world)
Mark Graber, a leading public law scholar at the University of Maryland, posted this on Facebook (his response to a Newsweek inquiry that he did not expect to be published in full) and kindly gave permission for me to share it here. It seems to me exactly right. There are both political and legal problems…
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I’m falling behind on email…
…and will probably not be able to respond to everyone. It’s a very busy quarter for me, with a lot of new preparation (for both my seminar and my Jurisprudence II course). My apologies to those who do not get replies. I still welcome, of course, emails with information and/or links.
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Henry Clarke to be the new OUP Philosophy editor based in Oxford
Clarke took his PhD in philosophy at University College London. I’ve enjoyed working with him on Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Law in the past, and wish him success in his new role. He can be reached at henry-dot-clarke-at-oup-dot-com.
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The *real* reason Texas A&M did not want that bit of Plato taught
At last the truth comes out about the A&M academic freedom scandal; a scholar of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy elsewhere writes: If you have given much thought to Aristophanes’ speech in the Symposium, you can see why Texas wanted to step in to remove it from the curriculum. 1) It reinforces the oppressive gender…
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Evangelical Christian organization, World Relief, condemns Trump persecution of refugees in Minnesota
Let’s hope the monster child loses the support of evangelicals: This weekend, federal immigration agents detained dozens of lawfully present refugees in Minnesota, including children. The agents, some dressed in plain clothes, lured refugees out of their homes where they were transported to holding facilities and then, in many cases, out of the state. Individuals who have followed every rule and submitted their Green Card applications, as allowed and required one year after their resettlement, are now detained and fear being returned to situations of persecution. World Relief categorically condemns the aggressive tactics ICE agents…
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2025 in review, 4th quarter: October, November, December (moving to front from Dec. 31 for those who may have missed it)
October On dreading the AI future Journals that publish symposia on recent books? Still more on the authoritarianism unfolding daily Williamson “the bullet-biter” The U.S. “Insurrection Act” is our “Enabling Act” “Bloodless pedantry“ H1-B visas and the $100,000 fee: the latest November What is the University of Chicago’s “Committee on Social Thought”? Most cited living…
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Texas launches portal for the public to lodge complaints against colleges
This should do wonders for the already fragile state of academic freedom in this benighted state. (Thanks to Jason Stanley for the pointer.)
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Profiles in real courage: Franca Viola
She defied Sicilian custom, and refused to marry her rapist, instead taking him to court, changing both Italian mores and law.
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My top 50 songs of 2025 according to Spotify, #3: Foghat, “She’s Gone,” 1973
Foghat, which came out of the British blues rock band Savoy Brown, is best-remembered for mid-70s “classic” rock standards like “Fool for the City” and “Slow Ride,” but this song from their second album was always my favorite. Here’s the studio version: And here’s a live version, where “Lonesome” Dave Peverett is having some trouble…
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We’re just two weeks into 2026, and already the monster child and his minions…
That’s just in two weeks. God knows what horrors are coming.
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2025 in review, 3rd quarter: July, August, September (moving to front from Dec. 30 for those who may have missed it)
July The SCOTUS decision on nationwide (or “universal”) injunctions Let’s remember some facts, the propaganda barrage of the Trumpistas notwithstanding The worst President in the history of the U.S. has now ruled for six months (a list of his malfeasance) Does your university/college have a faculty hiring freeze? August It did happen here The University…
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This is what authoritarianism looks like: the “siege of Minnesota”
This editorial from the centrist Minnesota newspaper is worth reading; an excerpt: Minnesota has endured unrest before. What the state is now experiencing looks and feels different. Battalions of armed federal agents are moving through neighborhoods, transit hubs, malls and parking lots and staging near churches, mosques and schools. Strangers with guns have metastasized in spaces where…
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Babies have an innate sense for numbers
Philosophers Jake Beck and Sam Clarke discuss the evidence (with reference to Plato, of course).
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Profiles in real courage: Frank and Beatrice Lumpkin
This is an inspiring read about an interracial, working class couple, united by politics and love, who spent the bulk of their activist careers in and around Chicago.
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Joe Rogan compares ICE tactics to the “Gestapo”
That’s actually important, given his influence. Given recent events, the comparison is also apt. UPDATE: Reader Chris Byron points out to me that the full Rogan clip is full of the idiocy one usually associates with him. Fortunately, what’s being widely reported is the Gestapo comment.
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“Why a U.S. attack on Iran would backfire”
This seems right, but the monster child seems headed in that direction. Curious if well-informed readers have a different view and, if so, why?
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2025 in review, 2nd quarter: April, May, June (MOVING TO FRONT FROM DEC. 29 FOR THOSE WHO MAY HAVE MISSED IT)
April OUP’s policies on providing books for review An interview in the Shanghai Review of Books Information on the European job market? Getting ChatGPT to take a stand The Trump war on universities Another journal, this time in math, abandons Wiley Suitably scathing assessment of the first two months of Trump War on the universities,…
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Texas A&M Interim President: Plato is not banned, it’s being taught (except in that one course…)
While it’s true that many a click-bait headline about the story we broke last week said the university was “banning Plato” (or similarly) one might think this reply by the Interim President does’t really come to terms with the actual academic freedom issue: I want to address recent reports that we’re banning Plato altogether at…
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APA returning to in-person divisional meetings
The APA sets out the reasons here. In brief: online meetings attracted much lower rates of submissions and participation, and many who participated in them said they would not do so again.
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[…] more “dovish” opposition to “forever wars” from the unhinged monster child. He’s even prepared to put […]
Faith & Philosophy has such a policy as well, limiting submissions to two per calendar year. The rationale is the…
Philosophy of Science also has a policy like this.
I think that these restrictions on submissions, both those at Mind, Phil Review, etc. and those at Nous or PPR,…
A teacher and colleague I was grateful for, I will miss him. In this 2020 interview, he reflects on his…
As others have said, Phil. Review has the same policy. I think it’s a reasonable pragmatic solution to the problem…
It saddens my heart to hear of Dagfinn’s passing. I believe I was the last PhD student at Stanford to…