academic freedom
TagArticle’s Acceptance “On Hold” Following Complaints on Social Media
An article that was accepted for publication in a special issue of The New Bioethics is now “on hold” following postings critical of the article on X (Twitter). (more…)
Educational Gag Orders, etc. in the US
What are state legislatures across the United States doing to limit academic freedom and otherwise interfere in education? (more…)
Leverhulme Trust to Investigate One of Its Philosophy Fellows at Cambridge (updated)
The Leverhulme Trust, a philanthropy in London which provides grants and fellowships to scholars across a range of disciplines, has launched an investigation of one of its early career fellows who works in philosophy at the University of Cambridge. (more…)
Philosophical Norms & Cancel Culture
There are “certain norms that prevail in the discipline of philosophy that are threatened by the new communication environment,” according to Joseph Heath (Toronto). (more…)
Wiley’s APA Session on the Journal of Political Philosophy
“Anything they said about why this happened was at such a general level and in vague formulations, that those in the room didn’t really get any new factual information.” (more…)
Solidarity among Philosophers Leads to New Journal: Political Philosophy
Philosophers may be known for disagreeing with each another, but an agreement last year by a thousand of them helped lead to the creation of a new journal and a cautionary tale to publishers about the importance of editorial independence and academic freedom. (more…)
Speech, Campuses, Antisemitism (guest post)
“If we don’t resort to censorship, we need to think more about the responsibilities of all actors involved with this difficult speech… This suggests an important role for colleges: helping students to exercise these responsibilities rather than simply trying to control them through speech codes.” (more…)
JPP Still Accepting Submissions Despite No Editorial Team
Several months after the entire editorial team departed from the Journal of Political Philosophy owing to the decision of its publisher, Wiley, to fire the journal’s founder and longtime editor-in-chief, Robert Goodin (see here), its website says that the journal is “edited by renowned international scholars from world-leading centres of thought” and is still accep..
Session on the Journal of Political Philosophy at Upcoming APA
The upcoming Eastern Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association (APA) will include a session on the Journal of Political Philosophy, in light of the uproar following the decision of its publisher, Wiley, to fire the journal’s editor and founder, Robert Goodin (ANU). (more…)
Lang on Academic Freedom
Gerald Lang (Leeds) has a thoughtful discussion of academic freedom, prompted by the UK government’s appointment of a “free speech tsar” (who happens to be Cambridge philosopher Arif Ahmed), over at the PEA Soup Blog. (more…)
Philosophy Professor vs. University on Accommodations
A philosophy professor at Queen’s University in Canada has been booted from the logic course she was teaching owing to a dispute between her and the university’s Exams Office over accommodating students who require the use of a computer for taking exams. (more…)
Sensitivity Reading Services for Philosophers and Others
Lex Academic, the editing firm founded by philosophers Louise Chapman and Constantine Sandis, includes “sensitivity reading” among the variety of services it provides. (more…)
Journal of Political Philosophy Update (guest post)
The following is an update on the Journal of Political Philosophy, whose advisory board resigned following a decision by the journal’s publisher, Wiley, to fire its editor, Robert Goodin. (more…)
Professors’ Lawsuit Says Idaho Anti-Abortion Law Violates Free Speech Rights
A group of professors, including two philosophy professors, along with the Idaho Federation of Teachers and the University of Idaho Faculty Federation, have filed a lawsuit challenging a 2021 state law that prevents state funds from being used to “procure, counsel in favor, refer to or perform an abortion”. (more…)
Academic Freedom & Violence: The Kershnar Case Continues
Lawyers for Steven Kershnar argued, in a hearing earlier this month, that the philosophy professor should be allowed back on the SUNY Fredonia campus, where he has long been employed. (more…)
Faculty Sue University for Wrongful Termination & Retaliation
Philosophy professor Charles Emmer and 10 other employees have filed a federal lawsuit against Emporia State University, who terminated their employment last September. (more…)
Statement from Philosophy Professors & Graduate Students on University of Waterloo Attack
A statement from philosophers in response to the knife attack on the professor and students in a philosophy of gender course at the University of Waterloo this week, in which they “affirm our commitment to academic freedom, and condemn all uses of violence, intimidation, or derogation that attempt to undermine philosophical examinations of gender and sexuality” has ..
Philosophy News Summary (updated)
Recent philosophy-related news*, and a request…
Philosophy News Summary
During the summer slow-down, many news items will be consolidated in occasional “philosophy news” summary posts. This is the first. (more…)
Over 1000 Academics Sign Onto Pending Work Stoppage at the Journal of Political Philosophy
Over 1,000 academics have added their names to a resolution pledging that, as of the end of 2023, they will not submit manuscripts to, review articles for, or accept invitations to join the editorial board of the Journal of Political Philosophy, unless its publisher, Wiley, meets certain conditions, including rescinding its decision to fire the journal’s editor-in-c..
Philosopher To Be Appointed UK’s First “Free Speech Tsar”
Arif Ahmed, professor of philosophy at the University of Cambridge, has reportedly been selected as UK’s first “free speech tsar” by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. (more…)
Sosa Comments on Experiences with Wiley
Ernest Sosa (Rutgers), the longtime editor-in-chief of Philosophy and Phenomenological Research and Noûs (and editor of its supplement, Philosophical Issues), journals published by Wiley, offers a comment in light of what is happening at The Journal of Political Philosophy: (more…)
More Details on the Dispute Between JPP & Wiley
The Chronicle of Higher Education has followed up on Wiley’s firing of Robert Goodin (ANU) from the editorship of the Journal of Political Philosophy. (more…)
Statement of Non-Cooperation with the Journal of Political Philosophy (updated with list of signatories)
The following resolution, prompted by recent developments at the Journal of Political Philosophy, was drafted by Simon Căbulea May (Florida State) with input from others. (more…)
Wiley Removes Goodin as Editor of the Journal of Political Philosophy (Updated)
Robert Goodin, the founding and longtime editor of the Journal of Political Philosophy, has been removed from his position at the journal by its publisher, Wiley. (more…)
Refereeing & Freedom of Information Acts (updated)
As noted in an update to a previous post, philosopher David Wallace (Pittsburgh) has made a request under the UK’s Freedom of Information Act for Oxford University Press (OUP) to provide him with correspondence related to certain publication decisions on recent submissions by Alex Byrne (MIT), Holly Lawford-Smith (Melbourne), and Richard Marshall. (more…)
What It’s Like to Be a Philosopher with Unpopular Views on a Controversial Subject (multiple updates)
“A couple of weeks later, I heard that OUP would not be publishing Trouble with Gender… for the sole reason that ‘the book does not treat the subject in a sufficiently serious and respectful way.’ No errors in the manuscript were identified and… no revisions were allowed.”
BGSU Threatens Whistleblower Philosopher’s Job
Christian Coons, associate professor of philosophy at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), is facing disciplinary proceedings that could lead to his termination for a series of events that began with him raising questions about how a job search was conducted, continued with him voicing concerns about the lack of evidence being considered in an investigation of his..