MacBride from Glasgow to Manchester
Frasier MacBride, currently Chair in Logic and Rhetoric at the University of Glasgow, will be moving to the University of Manchester. MacBride works in metaphysics, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of language and the history of analytic philosophy. (more…)
Analysis (the Philosophy Journal) to Broaden Scope
The new editorial team at Analysis (reported here) has changed its editorial policy. The journal, previously limited to short pieces of analytic philosophy, will now aim “to publish excellent short papers on any area of philosophy, including the history of philosophy.” (Recall the similar previous announcement from Mind.) (more…)
Philosophers Among Recipients of 2016 NEH Grants
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has announced the winners of several of its grants programs, totaling $79 million. 300 projects received support, and among them were a few philosophy professors. (more…)
Mind Chunks (Daily Nous Philosophy Comics)
Mind Chunks
by Pete Mandik
Details On Starting and Running a Pre-College Philosophy Camp
The Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization, PLATO, “advocates and supports introducing philosophy to children and youth through programs,
resource-sharing, and the development of a national network in pre-college philosophy.” They’ve recently posted an interview, conveniently organized by topic, with Texas A&M philosophy professor Claire Katz and English PhD..
Recent Philosophy Prizes
Award news from the Lauener Foundation for Analytic Philosophy and the American Philosophical Association and Marc Sanders Foundation: (more…)
What Philosophers Aren’t Talking About, But Should (Updated)
Occasionally a comment makes its way onto Daily Nous, or into the Daily Nous inbox, along the following lines: “I find it strange that no one seems to be discussing some important topic or defending some important thesis, T. Is it because the majority of philosophers, P, find T philosophically uninteresting? Or is the moderator censoring T? Or is it because P is too..
Online Philosophy Resources Weekly Update
For your consideration, the past week’s updates to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP), Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (NDPR), and Wi-Phi, plus some bonus material… (more…)
Philosophical Belief, Philosophical Relief
I suppose there are moments in everyone’s life during which they are forced to believe something that they don’t want to believe or don’t think they should have to believe, but I would venture a guess that this happens more frequently, and in regards to more abstract beliefs, to philosophers. Consider the following: (more…)
Philosophy Department at IPFW Under Threat (guest post by Charlene Elsby)
The Philosophy Department at Indiana University – Purdue University, Fort Wayne (IPFW) is facing an ominous-sounding “restructuring,” owing to financial concerns. The university faces a $2-3 million revenue shortfall in next year’s $110 million budget, according to the News-Sentinel. (more…)
APA Joins Condemnation of Turkey’s Attacks on Academic Freedom
The board of officers of the American Philosophical Association (APA), in a unanimous vote, decided to officially sign on to a statement from the Middle East Studies Association condemning the Turkish government’s recent attacks on academic freedom, according to a post at the Blog of the APA. (more…)
Chicago State’s Sudden Layoffs Include A Tenured Philosopher
Chicago State University has been facing a financial crisis. It relies on the state of Illinois for about 30% of its budget, but, owing to the previous financial and budgeting decisions the university’s administrators had made, along with the state’s “budget stalemate that left higher education without a dime for most of last year—and then provided only partial fu..
Should You Continue To Teach The Work of Sexual Harassers?
Thomas Pogge, whose alleged extracurricular activities, including sexual harassment, have been the subject of numerous posts here, is having his own place in the curriculum questioned. Pogge retains, for now, a prestigious named professorship at Yale. An article at Inside Higher Ed this morning discusses whether professors who believe he has acted at least problemat..
Ad Hoc (Daily Nous Philosophy Comics)
Ad Hoc
by Rachel Katler
Applying To Programs That Previously Rejected You
A reader writes in with a question about applying to graduate programs in philosophy:
I applied to several Masters programs and PhD programs in philosophy last year, and got into a Masters program. I was wondering if you and/or your readers could answer the following question for me: when it comes time for me to apply to PhD programs again, is it alright for me t..
Boxill Denies All Allegations
In October of 2014, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill published the results of an internal investigation into an academic fraud scheme in place for years, accusing philosophy faculty member Jan Boxill of involvement in directing students to take “fake” classes and providing them with impermissible degrees of assistance. This was followed by a report by..
“What Matters To Philosopers?” Asks Central APA President
Valerie Tiberius, professor of philosophy at the University of Minnesota and current president of the Central Division of the American Philosophical Association, wants to know “what matters to philosophers.”
She writes:
Dear Colleague,
As chair of a philosophy department at a large state institution (University of Minnesota), I’ve frequently been called upo..
The Right Tool for the Philosophical Job
Do philosophers fail to make use of the tools best-suited to their inquiries? Do they even fail to learn how to use these tools? That’s one of the claims made by Jerry Gaus (University of Arizona) in a rich and wide-ranging interview at 3:AM Magazine. He says: (more…)
Online Philosophy Resources Weekly Update
What has been added or changed over the past week at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP), Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (NDPR), and Wi-Phi. UPDATE: Also, from a commenter on DN’s Facebook Page, Juliette Ferry, I learn of L’Encyclopédie Philosophique, a French philosophy reference site in progress.
(more…)..
Philosophers On The DNC Leaks
Earlier this month, the website Wikileaks released a collection of over 19,000 emails from seven officials of the Democratic National Convention (DNC). You can search through them here. While Wikileaks will not disclose information about how it obtained these emails, many experts believe that two Russian intelligence groups were involved. The Russian government deni..
Philosophy: Splendidly Polyphonic, Historically Limited, Problematically Magical
In the latest interview at What Is It Like To Be A Philosopher?, Clifford Sosis (Coastal Carolina) asks Kwame Anthony Appiah (NYU) how he sees the future of philosophy. Appiah answers:
I’m not much of a prophet and I feel very stuck in the present of the subject, which strikes me as splendidly more polyphonic than it was when I started out. (more…)
The “Grad School Takeover”
Even in four-year colleges that emphasize undergraduate education, new appointments are going to top graduates from a mere handful of prestigious doctoral programs that emphasize research and professional advancement over teaching. The academic job market and tenure expectations focus ever more intently on publications, whether in book or journal form, that tend to ..
Univ. of Minnesota Philosophy Receives $1.23 Million Donation
The Department of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota has received a $1.23 million donation from Stephen Setterberg. Dr. Setterberg is the president of PrairieCare, a mental health provider. He also majored in philosophy as an undergraduate at Minnesota before going to medical school there. (more…)
The Philosophy Twitterverse
What, if anything, should philosophers do on Twitter? The Blog of the APA has an interesting interview with longtime Twitterphile Kelly Truelove (@TrueSciPhi), who, among other things, keeps statistics on philosophers and their followers on Twitter, and he addresses this question. (more…)
Chaospet (Daily Nous Philosophy Comics)
Chaospet
by Ryan Lake
New £30,000 Prize for Philosophers, Writers, & Architects
The new Judd-Hume Prize, named for artist Donald Judd and philosopher David Hume, includes a £30,000 prize and a two-month fellowship at the University of Edinburgh. The prize was created by Peter Ballantine, who helped Judd construct his sculptures over a 25-year period. (more…)
What Are Philosophers Supposed To Do?
The summer issue of The Hedgehog Review is out and features a symposium, “On the Business of Philosophy.” The main element of the symposium is Richard Rorty’s Page-Barbour Lectures at the University of Virginia, with responses from Susan Haack (Miami), Robert Pippin (Chicago), and Matthew Crawford (Virginia). (more…)
Getting Ethics into Non-Philosophy Courses & other Strategies for Expanding Ethics Instruction
Questions about right and wrong action, what kinds of things are of value, and what kinds of persons we should be—i.e., ethics—arise in nearly every area of scholarly inquiry. This provides opportunities for philosophy departments to play a role at their universities outside their traditional courses. (more…)