January 2016
Philosophy Travel & Tourism
Guy Crain, professor of philosophy at Rose State College, writes in with the following inquiry:
I’m wondering if there is a resource with collected information about philosophy-related travel/site-seeing. For instance, is it possible to visit John Stuart Mill’s birthplace? What libraries or museums (if any) have first editions of philosophical works on display?..
Most Important Philosophy Poll Poll
Just thought Daily Nous should up its poll game…
Vote here.
Welcome the APA’s New Blog
The American Philosophical Association (APA) has launched its new blog. Though I had urged as a possible name “APAplexy” (during a particularly turbulent time here, comments-wise), and others had chimed in with other options such as “APAcalypse,” “APAria,” “APAdosis,” etc., the blog is called “Blog of the APA” (BAPA? BOT-APA?). Lead editor Lewis Powell (Buffalo), in..
APA Endorses Letter of Concern for Scholars & Universities in Turkey
In response to the recent persecution of academics in Turkey who had objected to the Turkish government’s treatment of its Kurdish population (previously here and here), a “coalition of 20 higher education networks and associations from around the world” issued a letter to Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, calling for an end to the persecution, for protectio..
Summer Workshops Supporting Diversity in Philosophy
Athena in Action, a networking and mentoring workshop for graduate student women in philosophy, has posted a call for applicants to its 2016 workshop. Helpfully, the workshop website has a page that lists other summer diversity initiatives for philosophy:
For graduate women interested in mathematical philosophy:
NEH Grants Supporting Public Philosophy
At the recent Eastern Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association (APA), in a session organized by the APA’s Committee on Public Philosophy, Peter Fristedt and Mark Silver of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) described various grant programs available to philosophers interested in obtaining support for work in public philosophy. Mr. Fris..
Steup to Leave Purdue to Become Chair of Colorado (updated)
Matthias Steup, currently professor of philosophy and head of the Philosophy Department at Purdue University, will become chair of the University of Colorado Philosophy Department starting in fall of 2016. Steup works in epistemology and metaphysics. A press release about the appointment is here.
UPDATE: David Boonin, currently interim chair at Colorado, writes:
..
Trump’s Rhetoric and Frogs in Warming Water
Princeton University Press has begun an “Election 2016: Hot Button Issues” series at its blog and its inaugural post, “Donald Trump and Mass Incarceration” is by Jason Stanley (Yale). In the post, Stanley argues that Trump’s articulation of xenophobic, Islamophobic, racist, and harshly retributivist views is problematic not only because his campaign success so far r..
To φ Or Not To φ (Daily Nous Philosophy Comics)
To φ Or Not To φ
by Tanya Kostochka
Publications by U.S. Black Authors in Top Philosophy Journals: The Numbers
Liam Kofi Bright, a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University, has produced a study on the number of publications by black philosophers in the U.S. (“US BIPs”) that have appeared in highly regarded philosophy journals from 2003-2012. The results appear in a guest post at The Splintered Mind:
In total there were 30 publications by US BIPs for all journals dur..
Philosophers, Physicists, Others Win €2.5m to Study the Large Hadron Collider
An interdisciplinary team consisting of academics working in philosophy, physics, history, and sociology have won a 2.5 million euro grant to fund a three year project about the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. It first started up on 10 September 2008, and remains the lat..
Pay to Be Recommended at Academia.edu?
We’ve discussed issues with Academia.edu here before. Now there’s a new development. A number of academics have been receiving messages like the following:
Hi Dr. ________,My name is Adnan, I’m the Product Director here at Academia. I noticed you had received a few recommendations on your papers. Would you be open to paying a small fee to submit any upcoming pape..
Death and Progress
A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it. — Max Planck
In a recent paper, “Does Science Advance One Funeral at a Time?“, Pierre Azoulay (MIT), Christian Fons-Rosen (Universitat Pompeu Fabra), and Josh..
“American Society for the Protection of Philosophers” Proposed
In a comment in the ongoing discussion regarding the reaction to George Yancy’s “Dear White America,” University of Oregon professor of philosophy Naomi Zack puts forward the idea of an “American Society for the Protection of Philosophers.” She volunteers herself for it and asks interested others to contact her:
The American Philosophical Association should expre..
The Purification of Philosophy
institutionalization of philosophy made it into a discipline that could be seriously pursued only in an academic setting. This fact represents one of the enduring failures of contemporary philosophy.
So argue Robert Frodeman and Adam Briggle (both of University of North Texas). Philosophy’s institutionalization in the modern research university was a kind of “pu..
SEP, IEP, NDPR, Wi-Phi Weekly Update
The winter holiday has slowed things down a little, here and elsewhere in the philosophy world. Normally, I’d post the past week’s additions to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP), Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (NDPR), and Wi-Phi Wireless Philosophy, yet only the first two have any updates: They were first ..
Philosophy Professor To Stand Trial in Turkey (Updated with Statement from Professor Öymen and Additional News)
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A philosophy professor says he will stand trial next week on charges of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for suggesting in an article that the Turkish leader should go on trial over a range of claims, including alleged corruption and the violation of the constitution.
Orsan Oymen said Wednesday he fac..
Overheard at the Eastern
An open thread to report those funny or odd things one tends to overhear at gatherings of philosophers, for folks at the Eastern Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association.
Play nice, please.
When Not to Help a Student (Ought Experiment)
Welcome back to Ought Experiment! A professor has written in with a question about navigating a set of incredibly vague, but incredibly important, boundaries. When students trust you, they sometimes come to you with their problems. But we can’t always help. And sometimes we shouldn’t even try…
Dear Louie,
On occasion students come to my office and confess vari..
Ten Projects Receive APA Grants
The American Philosophical Association (APA) has announced the winners of ten grants—eight from its Small Grant Program and 2 from its Diversity and Inclusiveness Grants Program. What follows is from the APA’s press release:
Small Grant Program
Each year, the APA Eastern Division provides $25,000 for the APA’s Small Grant Program. This year’s grant applicati..
SEP, IEP, NDPR, Wi-Phi Weekly Update
Here are the past week’s additions and updates to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP), Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (NDPR), and Wi-Phi Wireless Philosophy, appearing here via special arrangement with Philosophical Percolations. As usual, they were first posted in PhilPercs’ “Saturday Linkorama” along with ..
Philosophy Student Arrested in Turkey (updated)
Jülide Yazıcı, a student in the Philosophy Department in Boğaziçi University who was active on social media supporting academics threatened by the Turkish government, was arrested two days ago. According to one source, she was charged with “being a member of an armed terrorist organisation” and “spreading terrorist propaganda.” The specifics of the accusations are u..
Interview Catch-22?
In the latest installment in his APAblog advice series on applying for jobs in philosophy, Allen Wood (Indiana University Bloomington) takes up the job interview, writing about what he sees as a dilemma for applicants:
Much could be written about the current circumstances, in which many very talented and well-trained young philosophers are applying for jobs at pl..
Percentages of U.S. Doctorates in Philosophy Given to Women and to Minorities, 1973-2014 (guest post by Eric Schwitzgebel)
The following is a guest post* from Eric Schwitzgebel (UC Riverside). It also appears on his blog, The Splintered Mind.
Percentages of U.S. Doctorates in Philosophy Given to Women and to Minorities, 1973-2014
by Eric Schwitzgebel
The Survey of Earned Doctorates is a questionnaire distributed by the U.S. National Science Foundation to doctorate recipients at a..
Being Asked To Write Your Own Recommendation
Yes, this is “letters of recommendation” week at Daily Nous. On Monday, there was an inquiry from a student about how to write letters in support of faculty. Yesterday, we began a discussion of what not to include in letters of recommendation. Today, we turn to the egregious practice of recommenders asking recommendees to write their own letters of recommendation, w..
Philosophers Detained in Turkey (updated)
As reported the other day, academics in Turkey are at risk of investigation and prosecution by the Turkish government for signing a petition calling for “the state to abandon its deliberate massacre and deportation of Kurdish and other peoples.” There were several dozen philosophers among the signatories.
According to one source, two philosophers from one univers..
The Social Dimension of the Professor-Student Relationship
In a comment on a previous post, Natalie writes:
I would really like to see a post/some discussion about how different people manage the socialising-with-students thing. Thinking of my own lecturers, mentors, etc, they mostly fell into one of two extreme groups—either no socialising at all, or ill-thought out (and sometimes inappropriate) socialising—and so I..
Are Journal Rejections a Hazing Ritual (Ought Experiment)
Welcome back to Ought Experiment! Today’s question is from a philosopher reeling from yet another journal rejection, and starting to wonder if publishing is an arbitrary (or even intentionally cruel) ordeal:
Dear Louie,
My favorite paper was just rejected for the 7th time. Let’s see, I’ve had desk rejections, rejections without referee comments, rejections..