Issues in the profession
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Time to bring back the GRE?
A senior philosopher at a top 20 PhD program writes: I was talking to a few grad directors recently, and all report some growing concerns about ongoing effects of no-GRE requirements for Philosophy PhD programs. Any program could require them, but unless a notable-enough number requires them, otherwise promising students might skip applying to the…
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Can you use your writing sample for philosophy jobs as your job talk?
For a long time (in the 1990s and into the early 2000s) that was standard practice, but more and more I hear from job seekers who have been told that their writing sample can’t be their job talk. What do readers think? If you do not post with a full name, please indicate whether you…
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Faculty strikes at Edinburgh, Dundee, and Nottingham in the UK…
…as the financial catastrophe in UK higher education continues. (Thanks to Courtney Cox for the pointer.)
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An experience with feedback from an LLM
A colleague elsewhere, who subscribes to Astra, Open AI’s high end LLM model (at least $100/month), told me that he has found it useful for giving feedback on early drafts–he compares it to the feedback one gets from a good first-year graduate student. Not doing any historical work, he was curious how it would perform…
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Blast from the past: What to look for in a book contract with an academic press?
Back in 2018, with reader discussion. Opening comments here for those who have additional thoughts, especially given changes in academic publishing over the last eight years.
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“Teach Philosophy,” an online resource
Philosopher David Sackris, the editor of this resource, writes: The teaching resource Teachphilosophy101.org has recently been updated in a collaboration between the journal Teaching Philosophy and the Philosophy Documentation Center. TΦ101 presents strategies and resources for faculty members and graduate assistants who teach philosophy courses, especially at the introductory level. It also includes material of interest…
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A sensible policy about refereeing in the age of AI
Philosopher J.P. Messina (Purdue) kindly gave permission to share what he posted on FB recently, and it seems to me his policy is a good one: I have refereed two papers this week that were pretty clearly written or heavily revised by LLMs. New policy: unless editors have an AI-use policy which requires AI-use disclosure…
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Scam watch continues: fake offers to translate
Philosopher Eric Winsberg shares this gem. He contacted the real Professor Bernofsky at her university email address who confirmed this is a fraud (note, once again, the gmail address): From: Susan Bernofsky <bernofskysusan@gmail.com>Sent: 27 August 2026 07:50To: Eric Winsberg [omitted]Subject: A German-language opportunity for *Philosophy and Climate Science* Dear Eric, Your book Philosophy and Climate…
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From the working class to academic philosophy
A quite interesting essay by philosopher Duncan Pritchard (UC Irvine); some excerpts: I grew up in what was once the industrial heartlands of England, in the Midlands city of Wolverhampton. The industry is now long gone, and in its wake there’s a lot of economic hardship. Growing up I didn’t know anyone from where we…
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More scams targetting philosophers
Ned Block shares this one: From: Ryan NYC Philosophy <ryanphilosophynyc@gmail.com> Subject: Invitation to Feature Your Book The Border Between Seeing and Thinking in Our NYC Philosophy & Psychology Readers Community Date: August 31, 2026 at 10:49:44 PM EDT To: [omitted] Dear Professor Ned, Few questions in the philosophy of mind are as fundamental as understanding where…
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How is post-tenure review working at your (public) university?
Post-tenure review started proliferating more than a quarter-century ago, but has picked up speed in recent years. It might be useful to hear about people’s experiences. You can post anonymously, but you must use a valid email address, and it must be your university email address if you are going to name the university or…
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Some skepticism about AI enthusiasm among philosophers
MOVING TO FRONT FROM AUG. 24–A LIVELY AND INTERESTING DISCUSSION IN THE COMMENT THREAD (ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS WELCOME) Philosopher Dan Kaufman writes: Over the last year, philosophy social media has discussed a number of academic philosophers who are actively embracing AI in their research. Perusing these posts — and the comments that follow — reveals a…
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Anonymous person falsely accuses junior scholar of using generative AI in writing an article in the online, open access journal “Political Philosophy”
The journal responds, appropriately, here. Folks should be a lot more cautious before throwing these accusations around!
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Graduate admissions in the age of AI, redux
Last January, we had a thread about how to protect the integrity of philosophy graduate admissions given the possibility that applicants might be using LLMs to generate some or all of their writing samples. I thought it would be useful to have a follow-up thread to see what worked and what didn’t. For those new…
All about class.