A new Mini-Heap is here.

1. John Locke’s complicated relationship with slavery — “attention to historical context matters,” argues Holly Brewer (Maryland)
2. Philosophy is “thinking about precisely the kinds of things that ordinary people think about all the time, without distraction” — a journalist reflects on lessons learned about philosophy from Stanley Cavell (via Daniel Brunson)
3. Santa Barbara City College settles with philosophy prof accused of harassment — Mark McIntire will receive $120,000 from the school
4. Hiring in philosophy is “not a matter of giving out awards for philosophical worthiness” — it’s about a department trying to solve problems or meet goals, argues Meghan Sullivan (Notre Dame)
5. In 2014, hundreds of political scientists signed a petition *opposing* greater data transparency — has the field made any progress since?
6. The coddling of the “heterodox” professor — add some facts and subtract some bias, and the central thesis of the Lukianoff-Haidt book gets turned upside down (via Tamsin Shaw). (related)
7. “A college—the very place devoted to complex, contextualized consideration of the most challenging questions facing human beings—is the place where a simplified memorial makes the least sense” — Steven Miller (Ripon College) on campus 9/11 memorials
8. “An uncomfortable feeling follows from knowing that one has enjoyed the work of a vicious person.” Why? — Nate Sheff (Connecticut) takes a stab at the question
9. When the reasonable people drop out of online discussions — “that can’t be good,” says David Sobel (Syracuse), even if it may be reasonable
10. “There’s little research on our reception of work such as ‘Artist’s Shit,'” but that is changing — Paul Bloom (Yale) discusses some recent work on the psychology, science, and philosophy of modern art

Mini-Heap posts appear when about 10 new items accumulate in the Heap of Links, the ever-growing collection of items from around the web that may be of interest to philosophers.

The Heap of Links consists partly of suggestions from readers; if you find something online that you think would be of interest to the philosophical community, please send it in for consideration for the Heap. Thanks!