May 2017
How Philosophers See The Arts And The Rest Of The Humanities
I can only speak for myself, but being trained by a philosopher, I often feel I was exposed to an expectation of argumentative rigor that, to be perfectly frank, I can’t say I always find in the field of political theory proper. But this can result in drawbacks. Philosophers sometimes look at the rest of the humanities in the way that social scientists look at socia..
Should Graduate Students Referee?
Should graduate students be called upon to serve as referees for journals? I was stunned a few years back to learn of the growing use of graduate students to serve as referees—stunned until I remembered the (arguably) over-publishing practice of our profession. But now the practice of enlisting grad-student referees—to my limited and aging eyes—appears to be g..
Mini-Heap
Mini-Heap: recent items from the frequently updated Heap of Links, collected in groups of 10, here for your perusal and discussion.
CEU Will Stay In Budapest Next Year
Central European University (CEU) announced today that it will continue its operations for the 2017-18 academic year, with hopes that current negotiations will lead to a longer-term solution (via Inside Higher Ed).
Mind Chunks (Daily Nous Philosophy Comics)
Mind Chunks
by Pete Mandik
How We Created A Philosophy Major (guest post by Matthew Brown)
The following is a guest post* by Matthew J. Brown, associate professor of philosophy and history of ideas at the University of Texas, Dallas, about how, in an era in which it seems that a different philosophy department is under threat of closure each week, he and his colleagues were actually able to create a philosophy major at their university. Excellent news! (m..
Questions Your Family Has About Your Graduate Student Life — And Answers
“We have a good university right here in town. Why did you have to move so far away for graduate school?”
“What do you mean you have schoolwork over the summer? Classes are out!”
“You’re a student—how could you be busy?” (more…)
Stats Courses For Philosophers (guest post by Joshua Knobe)
The following is a guest post* by Joshua Knobe, professor of philosophy and psychology at Yale University. It first appeared at The Brains Blog, and follows up on post from a year ago by Knobe here at Daily Nous, “Formal Methods Training for Philosophy Graduate Students.”
Online Philosophy Resources Weekly Update
Here’s the latest from some key online philosophy resources. We check the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP), Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (NDPR), Wi-Phi, and 1000-Word Philosophy for updates weekly and report them right here. (more…)
Women in Philosophy Journals: New Data
There are new findings on the presence of women in academic philosophy journals:
- Though approximately 25% of philosophy faculty in the United States are women, only 14-16% of the articles that appear in the discipline’s top journals are by women.
- Journals which do not use anonymous review seem to have a higher percentage of women authors than journals which ..
Mini-Heap
Mini-Heap: recent items from the frequently updated Heap of Links, collected in groups of 10, here for your perusal and discussion.
A Philosophical Symposium on ‘Black Lives Matter’ Without Any Black Authors
Recently, the Journal of Political Philosophy published an issue with a special symposium section on “Black Lives Matter.” It’s an important and timely subject, and fits with recent calls to bring the tools of philosophy to bear on matters of pressing public concern. A philosopher told me about the symposium last week. I took a quick look and put it in the Heap of..
Philosophy at St. Thomas University (Houston) – an update
The Director of Communications at St. Thomas University in Houston, Sandra Soliz, today sent a press release regarding the possible threats to philosophers and philosophy programs there. She included a note that said that “all tenured philosophy professors will receive continuous contracts by today.” There do not appear to be any untenured tenure-track professors. T..
An Impressively Detailed Philosophy Paper Grading Rubric
Micah T. Lewin, a recent PhD from Stanford who is currently an adjunct professor of philosophy at Perimeter College, Georgia State University, has created an impressively detailed and helpful rubric for grading philosophy papers. (more…)
Mini-Heap
Mini-Heap: recent items from the frequently updated Heap of Links, collected in groups of 10, here for your perusal and discussion.
Notre Dame Philosophers Issue Statement On Threats To Philosophy at Univ. of St. Thomas Houston
In response to news that philosophy programs at the University of St. Thomas in Houston may be shut down and tenured philosophers relieved of their positions, members of the University of Notre Dame Department of Philosophy have issued the following statement, which was sent in to Daily Nous by Professor Thérèse Cory: (more…)
Ad Hoc (Daily Nous Philosophy Comics)
Ad Hoc
by Rachel Katler (more…)
Student Loans for Graduate Study in Philosophy: a Poll
Don’t get a PhD in philosophy if you have to pay for it.
That is standard advice for those considering doctoral study in philosophy. An inability to obtain a funded position as a PhD student might be evidence (early and incomplete evidence, of course) of one’s later prospects; jobs are hard to come by, and even if you end up employed in a way directly related to ..
NEH’s Philosopher-Leader Steps Down / UPDATE: Trump Budget Released Today Proposes Closure of NEH
William “Bro” Adams, a philosopher who has taught at Santa Clara University, UNC Chapel Hill, and Stanford, and who has served as chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) since 2014, is stepping down from that position, effective today, according to Inside Higher Ed. (more…)
Feminist Philosophy and Its Controversies (guest post by Laurie Shrage)
…I expect there will be deep and lasting tensions going forward among feminist philosophers. Most of the tensions have to do with perceptions of harm: harm to the author, the journal, communities of people who are marginalized and threatened, and to feminist philosophy. I hope feminist philosophers will explore and critically discuss questions about the harms caus..
New Online Philosophical Resource: The Deviant Philosopher
There’s a new online teaching resource for those interested in incorporating into their philosophy courses material from outside the Anglo-American philosophical mainstream. The Deviant Philosopher is based on the view that
we and our students benefit from thinking about diverse philosophical traditions and perspectives, and there are many non-canonical philosoph..
Online Philosophy Resources Weekly Update
Here’s the latest from some key online philosophy resources. We check the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP), Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (NDPR), Wi-Phi, and 1000-Word Philosophy for updates weekly and report them right here. (more…)
Gender Studies Won’t Have Them As A Member: The Attempted “Conceptual Penis” Hoax
…the isomorphism between the conceptual penis and what’s referred to throughout discursive feminist literature as “toxic hypermasculinity,” is one defined upon a vector of male cultural machismo braggadocio, with the conceptual penis playing the roles of subject, object, and verb of action.
That’s a line from the intentionally nonsensical “The Conceptual Penis ..
Mini-Heap
Mini-Heap: recent items from the frequently updated Heap of Links, collected in groups of 10, here for your perusal and discussion. (more…)
Univ. St. Thomas Administration Plans to “Terminate” Philosophy PhD Program (Update: Plans Have Changed)
The philosophy department… has been told that the administration plans to go to the board in the next week or two and terminate the PhD program. This, we are told, would allow the administration to change the terms of our contracts and increase course loads and remove tenure.
The foregoing remarks are from a statement sent to Daily Nous by John Hittinger, chai..
APA Issues Statement On Valuing Public Philosophy
The American Philosophical Association (APA) has issued a statement supporting public philosophy and urging philosophy departments to consider recognizing work in public philosophy not just as service, but also, when fitting, as teaching or research. Here’s the statement:
Statement From Hypatia Board Regarding Tuvel Controversy
The following is a guest post* from the Board of Directors of Hypatia, the non-profit corporation that owns Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy, in regards to the controversy surrounding the journal’s publication of “In Defense of Transracialism” by Rebecca Tuvel, an assistant professor of philosophy at Rhodes College.
Texas A&M President Regrets “Contributions… to misunderstandings”
Last week, Tommy Curry, professor of philosophy at Texas A & M University, began receiving racist hate mail and death threats as a result of an opinion piece by a conservative pundit who framed remarks of his in a misleading way. Surprisingly, the president of his university, Michael K. Young, had been taken in by this deception and publicly condemned Curry’s remark..