2021 In Review
This is the end, philosofriends…
…of 2021.

[photo by J. Weinberg]
Here at Daily Nous, we saw the introduction of a new commenting platform and some back-end repairs early in the year that improved the operation of the site. There have been a few complaints about the quality of the comments. As before, I’m open to suggestions about that, and, also as before, I invite people to be the commenters they want to see more of at the site. As for site traffic, it continues to grow; according to Google Analytics, DN saw over 7.7 million page views in 2021.
Below, organized by topic, are a selection of the more popular or otherwise noteworthy posts at Daily Nous published in 2021. As usual, discussion is welcome.
I wish you all joy and beauty in the new year.
Justin
COVID-19
- Philosophers On How the Pandemic Has Changed Us
- Philosophy Professor Resigns to Protest University’s COVID-19 Plan
- University to Faculty Concerned about Covid: “Beg”
PHILOSOPHY, METAPHILOSOPHY, METHODS
- What Philosophers Believe: Results from the 2020 PhilPapers Survey
- Evidence for a Probabilistic Turn in Philosophy
- Surprise! There’s Philosophy About That
- In Defense of the Details
- What Predicts Professional Philosophers’ Views?
- Analytic Philosophy’s “Triple Failure of Confidence”
- Optimism about Metaphysics (and Philosophy in General)
- Underappreciated Philosophical Friendships
- Overlooked Originators in Philosophy
- Philosophy Labs: Some Recommendations
- Using “Distant Reading” to Complement Close Reading
PROFESSION ISSUES
- The APA’s New Strategic Plan
- To Help Avert University’s “Hunger Games,” A Philosopher Steps Down
- Philosophy Departments Under Threat: Information, Pro-Active Strategies, Defense
- Philosophy Majors & High Standardized Test Scores: Not Just Correlation
- Analytic Philosophy, Inclusiveness, and the English Language
- Levelling the Linguistic Playing Field within Academic Philosophy (guest post)
- Women in Philosophy: Recent Reports (updated)
- How What It Is Like to Be a Woman in Philosophy has Changed over the Past Decade
- Percentage of Women Graduating with Philosophy Degrees Increases
- The Leaky Pipeline into Academic Philosophy for Black Students in the U.S.
- Pulling in Undergraduate Majors
- How Military Veterans Contribute to Academic Philosophy
- Threats to Philosophy Departments and Programs
PHILOSOPHY JOB MARKET
- The Job Market is Back, Baby! (guest post)
- Recruitment and Hiring Strategies to Make Philosophy More Diverse
- New Site Lists Jobs Outside of Academia for People with Advanced Degrees in the Humanities and Social Sciences
- Data on Philosophy PhDs in Non-Academic Positions
- Job Placement Numbers for the 2020-21 Season
- The Job Market is Back, Baby!
- How Many People Are Applying for Philosophy Jobs?
PUBLISHING & WRITING
- The Different Ways Philosophy Journals May Be Good Journals
- Philosophy Journal Horror Stories
- Notably Good Experiences with Journals
- The Art of Philosophical Writing: An Interview with William Lycan
- “Incompetence”, “Arrogance”, “Misunderstanding”
- Journal of Controversial Ideas Publishes Inaugural Issue
- Types of Contributions to the Philosophical Literature
- Which Philosopher Co-Authors Most?
- Co-Authorship in Philosophy over the Past 120 Years
- Citations and the Ethics of Credit
- Your Paper Has Been Accepted. Now What?
- Comparing Three (No, Four) Top 20 Lists in Philosophy
- Asking Authors about Interpretations of & Objections to Their Work
- Jargon for Trouble
- BJPS Launches “Short Reads”
TEACHING
- Unconventional Readings in Undergraduate Philosophy Courses
- The Four-Sentence Philosophy Paper
- What Video Games to Play in a Philosophy Classroom?
- Some Results from the Teaching Philosophy Online Survey
GRADUATE PROGRAMS
- Advice for Applying to PhD Programs in Philosophy
- Guide to Graduate Programs in Philosophy Based on Job Placement and Student Experience
- Enough Ranking
- Grad Students: What Do You Wish You Knew? (Volume 2)
- Grad Students: What Would You Tell Your Professors, But Can’t? (Volume 2)
EVENTS
- Online Conferences: The New Default
- Examining the Future of Academic Events
- “Penned Up and Forced to Listen”: On the Value of In-Person Conferences
- New Workshop Series To Bring More Philosophy to Philosophy Twitter
- Open, Live, Online Philosophy Events
PUBLIC PHILOSOPHY
- Sanders Foundation Announces Philosophy in the Media Initiative
- The New York Times Eliminates Dedicated Philosophy Column
- How Should Departments Credit Faculty for Public Philosophy?
- Building a Better “Which Philosopher Are You Most Similar To?” Quiz
- Understanding Trans-Exclusionary Rhetoric in Philosophy with Help from J.K. Rowling
- Bringing Philosophy to Those in Need
- New Series on David Lewis from Hi-Phi Nation
- An Opportunity for “Serious Conversations on Great Books”
- New Philosophy Magazine Releases Inaugural Issue
TECHNOLOGY
- New Visualization-Based Interface for the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- New Plug-In Improves the SEP Experience
- Free Software for Advanced Logic Courses
- “Hey Sophi”, or How Much Philosophy Will Computers Do?
ACADEMIC FREEDOM & RELATED NEWS
- What a Cancellation Looks Like
- A Tale of Two Resignations
- Kathleen Stock Resigns from Sussex
- Mount St. Mary’s Students Call for Resignation of Philosophy Professor
- Complementing Defenses of Academic Freedom with Understanding & Advice
- Philosopher Launches Anti-Trans Website; Colleagues & Others Object
- Faculty at Rhodes College Urge Cancellation of Online Talk by Peter Singer (updated)
- The Syracuse Strategy
OTHER NEWS ITEMS
- Peter Singer Wins $1 Million Berggruen Prize
- Philosophers On Space Exploration
- Experimenting with Higher Education
- Harvard Declines to Consider Cornel West for Tenure
- Kathleen Stock Receives OBE; Philosophers Sign Letter Opposing the Honor
- CNRS Commission Defends Roques in Response to Plagiarism Accusations
- Amsterdam Synagogue Declares Spinoza Scholar “Persona Non Grata”
- $20 Million Donation for Philosopher-Led Center for Formal Mathematics at CMU
- Posts about Awards and Significant Grants
AMUSEMENTS
- Collective Nouns for Philosophers by Area of Specialization
- Absurdist Video Edits of Philosophers Talking
- Judging Philosophy Books By Their Covers
- Of Philosophy and Dogs
- The Daily Nous Philosophy Comics
DEATHS
A number of philosophers died this past year. You can see posts about them here.
I really can’t imagine how utterly impossible it is to maintain this high-quality contribution to our profession while conducting your other professional duties and having a family, but I think I speak for many how also utterly grateful we are to have you doing this. May we have a year that finally provides some real hope despite all the challenges.
That’s very kind of you, Alan. Thank you. I consider providing this service to my fellow philosophers to be a privilege — and even sometimes a pleasure. Happy New Year!
Thanks for the wrap-up; best wishes to you and your family in 2022!