March 2017
University Suspends Philosopher After Lesson On Abortion (updated)
Stéphane Mercier, a visiting assistant professor of philosophy at the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium, was suspended from his position, and had his classes cancelled, following a lesson he gave on the topic of abortion. (more…)
David Braine (1940-2017)
David Braine, a philosopher at the University of Aberdeen, died this past February. Professor Braine worked in a broad range of philosophical fields, including philosophy of religion, metaphysics, philosophy of language, philosophy of mathematics, and ethics. (more…)
Philosophers Among New ACLS Fellows
The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) has announced its 2017 class of fellows. The competition for the fellowships, whose stipends were recently increased, is steep:
Richard Tieszen (1951-2017)
Richard Tieszen, professor of philosophy at San José State University, died earlier this week at age 65. Professor Tieszen worked in the philosophy of math, logic, and phenomenology. (more…)
Philosophers Among Recent NEH Grant Winners
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has announced the latest recipients of its grants. Over two hundred projects were funded, for a total of $21.7 million. Several philosophy faculty are among the winners. (more…)
Data About Your Own Writing
Are you curious about your use of words and phrases in your writing? If so, you can play around with the text analysis tools at Voyant Tools. You can paste in the text of a paper, or upload or link to it, and Voyant will produce data about the frequency and location of words and phrases, presenting it in text and graph forms. (more…)
Central European University Under Threat From Hungarian Government
Central European University (CEU) is a private graduate-level university located in Budapest, and accredited both in the United States and in Hungary. Founded in 1991 by George Soros and currently headed by Michael Ignatieff, CEU has a variety of academic departments and research programs, including a sizable philosophy faculty. Now the university is finding its exi..
Battaly from Fullerton to Connecticut
Heather Battaly, currently professor of philosophy and department chair at California State University, Fullerton, will become professor of philosophy at the University of Connecticut, starting in Fall 2017. (more…)
If and How to Respond to a Review of Your Book
“It is usually a bad idea to respond, rebuttingly, to a review of one’s book.”
— the first line of G.A. Cohen’s response to Brian Barry’s review of his Self-Ownership, Freedom, and Equality in the TLS. (scroll to the bottom of this post to see Cohen’s full response)
You’ve spent years of hard work writing a book. It’s finally published. Some people buy it. If ..
AAUP Issues Report On Adjunct Philosophy Professor Allegedly Fired For High Standards
Nathaniel Bork was an adjunct philosophy professor at the Community College of Aurora (CCA) for six years when he was fired a few weeks into the Fall 2016 semester. As reported here last November, Bork claimed that he was fired for refusing to lower the educational standards in his courses and threatening to complain about curricular changes (the “Gateway to Success..
Ad Hoc (Daily Nous Philosophy Comics)
Ad Hoc
by Rachel Katler
Thoreau To Be On US Postal Stamp
The United States Postal Service will be issuing a postal stamp commemorating philosopher Henry David Thoreau. The stamp was designed by Greg Breeding and features a portrait of Thoreau by Sam Weber based on an 1856 daguerreotype by Benjamin Maxham. It looks like this: (more…)
APA Issues Statement to Support March for Science
The Board of Officers of the American Philosophical Association (APA) has issued a statement in support of the March for Science, a demonstration taking place next month which “champions robustly funded and publicly communicated science as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity” and which calls for “science that upholds the common good and for political leaders an..
A Grassroots Organizing Network Among Philosophers (guest post by Todd May)
The following is a guest post* by Todd May, Class of 1941 Memorial Professor of Philosophy at Clemson University, in which proposes the creation of a grassroots organizing network among philosophers and invites other philosophers to consider joining. (more…)
Series of Public Philosophy Events in Wales
The Institute for Art and Ideas (IAI), which in the past has hosted an enormous summer philosophy and arts festival, is taking a break from that extravaganza to put on a series of smaller events, beginning in April, and has offered a discount to Daily Nous readers. (more…)
Ulrike Heuer from Leeds to UCL
Ulrike Heuer, currently associate professor of philosophy at University of Leeds, will become Reader in philosophy at University College London.
Online Philosophy Resources Weekly Update
Below is the weekly report on what’s new at several online philosophy resources. We currently check the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP), Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (NDPR), Wi-Phi, and 1000-Word Philosophy for updates. (more…)
University of Zagreb Philosophy Under Threat (Updated)
The Division of Philosophy in the University of Zagreb‘s Department for Croatian Studies is under threat of closure, according to the text of a petition circulating online. (more…)
“Free Philosophy Project” Brings Philosophy To The Homeless
Boston University philosophy major Clarinda Blais has created a program, the Free Philosophy Project, that brings philosophy discussions to homeless shelters. The project, which has been running for about a year and a half, began at the women’s center at St. Francis House, a day shelter in Boston, and has now spread to eleven shelters in the Boston area, reports The..
Sexual Harassment, Assault, and Retaliation Lawsuit Against John Searle
John Searle, the Willis S. and Marion Slusser Professor Emeritus of the Philosophy of Mind and Language at the University of California, Berkeley, is being sued for sexual harassment, assault, and retaliation by a former female Berkeley undergraduate who worked for him as an assistant at the John Searle Center for Social Ontology. (more…)
When Philosophers’ Skepticism Sacrifices Other Intellectual Values
The following is an excerpt from “Degenerate Skepticism and the Thieves of Philosophy” by Amy Olberding (University of Oklahoma), an essay presented at a recent meeting of the American Philosophical Association (APA) and posted at her blog, Department of Deviance. Though written in regards to the reception of Chinese philosophy in today’s profession, it elucidates a..
What Kinds of Universities Lack Philosophy Departments? Some Data (guest post by Eric Schwitzgebel)
The following is a guest post* by Eric Schwitzgebel (University of California, Riverside) that gathers data about the kinds of colleges and universities in the United States that have or lack philosophy departments and a philosophy major program. A version of this post was originally published at his blog, The Splintered Mind.
Marilyn McCord Adams (1943-2017)
Marilyn McCord Adams, a philosopher who held appointments at Rutgers University, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Yale University, UCLA, and Oxford (as the first and only woman to be the Regius Professor of Divinity), has died. (more…)
Grad Student Asks: How To Switch Departments? (Ought Experiment)
Welcome back to Ought Experiment, the column by Dear Ida that offers personal advice for your academic life. Today’s letter is from a graduate student seeking advice on moving from one department to another. (more…)
Chaospet (Daily Nous Philosophy Comics)
Chaospet
by Ryan Lake
Long Profile of Daniel Dennett
The New Yorker has published a lengthy article about Daniel Dennett (Tufts), by Joshua Rathman. “Daniel Dennett’s Science of the Soul” delves into the Dennett’s biography and describes some of the philosophical disputes in which his views have been central. (more…)
Philosophers Explain Gorsuch’s Philosophy
Judge for the Tenth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals and Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch has a doctorate in philosophy from Oxford University, having written a thesis for his D. Phil under the supervision of John Finnis, known for his defense of “natural law” theory. (more…)
Susanne Foster (1962-2017)
Susanne E. Foster, associate professor of philosophy and associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Arts and Sciences at Marquette University, died on Saturday, March 18 at the age of 55. Prior to her appointment at Marquette, Professor Foster taught at the University of Notre Dame, where she received her PhD (under the direction of Alasdair McIntyre). Sh..