News
CategoryPhilosopher Named to New State Dept. Commission on Unalienable Rights
U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo earlier this week announced the creation of a new “Commission on Unalienable Rights,” comprised of scholars and activists interested in various dimensions of human rights, law, and religion, to provide him with “advice on human rights grounded in our nation’s founding principles and the principles of the 1948 Universal Declarat..
Bioethicists’ Letter on the “Ethically Abhorrent” Treatment of Children at the U.S. Border
Over 800 bioethicists have signed a letter calling for the United States government to remedy its failures to assure the children it is detaining at its border are in safe and sanitary conditions. (more…)
Searle Found to Have Violated Sexual Harassment Policies (Updated with further details and statement from Berkeley)
Well-known philosopher John Searle, who began teaching at the University of California, Berkeley in 1959, has been stripped of his emeritus status there owing to the finding that he violated the university’s sexual harassment policies.
Oxford Receives $189 Million Gift to Support the Humanities
Oxford University announced it has received a £150 million (approximately $189 million) “transformational investment in the way Oxford teaches, researches, and shares the Humanities.” (more…)
APA Election Results
The results of the 2019 American Philosophical Association (APA) elections have now been announced.
The Logic of Mueller’s Statement
“If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so. We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime.” (more…)
Brazilian Logic Society Issues Statement Opposing Plans to Cut Philosophy Funding
The executive committee of the Brazilian Logic Society has issued a statement in response to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s announcement about his plans to eliminate funding for philosophy and sociology in public universities. (more…)
Brazilian Government To Defund Philosophy in Public Universities
Jair M. Bolsonaro, the current president of Brazil, has announced on Twitter his plans to stop government funding of philosophy and sociology in the nation’s public universities. (more…)
New Philosophy Research Institute in Australia
Australian Catholic University (ACU) last month launched a new philosophical research institute. (more…)
Richard Marshall’s Interview Series Will Continue
3:AM Magazine, which was shut down by its editor Andrew Gallix this past Wednesday amid controversy over his decision to retract an interview of Holly Lawford-Smith by Richard Marshall, will return, and the hundreds of interviews Marshall has conducted with philosophers will again be available; however, the interview series, which will continue, will have a new onli..
Richard Marshall Resigns from 3:AM Magazine (Updated)
Richard Marshall, who has conducted astonishingly rich interviews with hundreds of philosophers for 3:AM Magazine, has resigned from the publication over its editor’s decision to remove one of his interviews from public view.
Sayre-McCord Becomes New Executive Director of the Marc Sanders Foundation
Geoffrey Sayre-McCord, Morehead-Cain Alumni Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, is the new executive director of the Marc Sanders Foundation (MSF). (more…)
Wollongong Receives AU$50 Million for Philosophy-Based Degree Program
The University of Wollongong is creating a philosophy-based bachelor of arts degree program in “Western Civilization”, to be based in a new School of Liberal Arts, with the help of a AU$50 million (approximately $35.6 million) gift from the Ramsay Centre. (more…)
Fredonia Philosophy Saved, For Now
The Department of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Fredonia, which had been targeted for elimination by the school’s administration, has gotten a reprieve. (more…)
Update on Philosophy at Hull
As reported the other day, the administration at the University at Hull had decided to prohibit new students from studying philosophy. It now appears they have changed their mind. (more…)
Ethics Professor Seeks Asylum In the US, Detained for 2 Years
A professor of ethics from Haiti who spent two years imprisoned in the United States while the government resisted granting him asylum has been released into the custody of a couple in Ohio. (more…)
Philosophy Chairs at All SUNY Campuses Come to Defense of Fredonia Dept. (UPDATED)
As reported last month, the administration of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia has proposed eliminating the school’s Department of Philosophy. In response, the chairs of the philosophy departments at all fifteen other SUNY campuses have now written a forceful letter to SUNY Fredonia’s president, Virginia Horvath, objecting to the proposal. (more…..
Saudi Government Introduces Philosophy Into Its High Schools
Last week, the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia announced that it is adding a philosophy course to its secondary school curriculum. Prior to this, philosophy had been wholly absent from education at all levels in Saudi Arabia. (more…)
University Disciplines Philosophy Professor for Treatment of Transgender Student; Professor Sues
Nicholas Meriwether, a professor of philosophy at Shawnee State University, a public university in Ohio, is suing the school for allegedly violating his freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and rights to due process when it disciplined him for alleged mistreatment of a transgender student in one of his courses. (more…)
Baylor: Dougherty Responsible for Violating Sexual Harassment and Interpersonal Violence Policy (Several Updates)
An investigation at Baylor University has determined that Trent Dougherty, a philosophy professor there since 2009 who specializes in philosophy of religion, violated the school’s Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment and Interpersonal Violence Policy. Dougherty resigned from the University earlier this week, though according to a philosophy faculty member, “tenured m..
New Bertrand Russell Archives and Research Centre Opens
The Bertrand Russell Archives and Research Centre at McMaster University has opened. While McMaster University acquired the Russell Archives 50 years ago, and has had a Research Centre focused on Russell since 2000, the collection is now in what the university newspaper, The Silhouette, reports is its own “state of the art facility.” (more…)
Philosopher Victim of Anti-Semitic Attack and Police Brutality
Yitzhak Melamed, professor of philosophy at Johns Hopkins University, was the victim of an anti-Semitic attack on the streets of Bonn, and then was beaten by German police who mistook him for the assailant. To add insult to injury, the German police are now apparently lying about what happened. (more…)
Separating Migrant Children From Their Parents Is Not Required By Law, But Even if It Were…
There is no law requiring family separation at the border. And even if there was, that still would not be enough to justify the administration’s cruel policy. (more…)
APA Election Results
The results of the 2018 American Philosophical Association (APA) elections have been released. Elections were held for new divisional officers, a new at-large member of the APA Board of Officers, and two new members of the Graduate Student Council (GSC). (more…)
Racism at Yale and Philosophy in Real Life
Lolade Siyonbola, a graduate student in African studies at Yale University, took a break from working on a paper Monday night in a common room in her dorm to take a nap. The next thing she knows, she was awakened by a white student who reportedly flipped on the lights, told her she had no right to be there, and who called the campus police to report her. (more…)..
University Reprimands Students Who Warned Others About Philosophy Professor
Two seniors at Fordham University have been officially reprimanded by the school for violating its code of conduct after warning other students about a professor who in the past had complaints of sexual harassment and unprofessional conduct against him substantiated. (more…)
Fordham Philosophy Professor Suspended Pending University Investigation (updated)
Fordham University associate professor of philosophy William Jaworski has been suspended until the end of the calendar year pending a university investigation, according to the university’s student newspaper, The Observer. (more…)
Concordia Philosophy Faculty Response to Sexual Harassment Allegations
Last month it was reported that several students had accused a professor of philosophy at Concordia University of sexual harassment. Faculty in the university’s Department of Philosophy have now issued a statement in response to the allegations. (more…)