Top Philosophy Profession News & Issues, 2018

What philosophy and academic news and issues preoccupied philosophers in 2018?

I went through 2018’s posts at Daily Nous, judged which ones were widely read, frequently commented upon, or otherwise significant, and then put them into the following groups, which are not listed in any particular order.

Transgender Identity

• “‘When Tables Speak’: On the Existence of Trans Philosophy” by Talia Mae Bettcher (CSU Long Beach)
• “Derogatory Language in Philosophy Journal Risks Increased Hostility and Diminished Discussion” by Sophie Allen (Keele), Elizabeth Finneron-Burns (Warwick), Jane Clare Jones, Holly Lawford-Smith (Melbourne), Mary Leng (York), Rebecca Reilly-Cooper (Warwick), and Rebecca Simpson.

Political Correctness and Bias in Philosophy and Academia

• “Who Are Philosophers Less Willing to Hire?“
• “The Difference Between Snowflakes and Champions of Free Speech“
• “When To Engage With Harmful Ideas“
• “Unquestionable Orthodoxies of Philosophy“
• “Where the Open Exchange of Ideas is Most Protected and Valued“
• “Universities as a Bulwark Against (and Target of) Fascism“
• “The ‘Moral Panic’ of Campus Free Speech“
• “The ‘PC College Students vs. Free Speech’ Narrative is Baloney“

Methods, Progress, Boundaries, and other Metaphilosophical Topics

• “The Most Popular Philosophers in the “Absurdly Narrow Canon” of Philosophy“
• “The Parochialism of Mainstream History of Philosophy“
• “Why Is Philosophy So Hard?“
• “Demographic Diversity Is Good for Philosophy“
• “Convergence as Progress in Philosophy“
• “Two Models for Expanding The Canon“
• “The Denigration of Black Women Philosophers and ‘Fields People of Color Specialize In’“
• “End Philosophical Protectionism“
• “Philosophy’s Progress, If You Don’t Care Whether It’s Called Philosophy“
• “Whether Philosophical Questions Can Be Answered“
• “How Philosophy Makes Progress” (guest post by Agnes Callard)
• “Philosophical Conflicts of Interest“
• “The Apologetics Charge Against Philosophy of Religion“
• “Examples that Distort“

Getting Along

• “Symbolic Conscription, Part II” (guest post by Amy Olberding)
• “Generosity and Kindness in Academia“
• “Criticism, Care, and Colleagues“
• “Philosophy Is Flat“
• “Social Media Advice for Academics“
• “Leave Room for Uncertainty and Confusion“
• “A Note On Making Discussions Here Better“
• “Philosophy Chairs at All SUNY Campuses Come to Defense of Fredonia Dept.“
• “Fawning Sycophancy Is Unprofessional, Gross, and if Ongoing, the Professor’s Fault“
• “Professors Dating Students, Professors Harassing Students“

Teaching

• “Teaching Philosophy as the Search for Complication“
• “New and Unusual Philosophy Courses“
• “How to Teach (Philosophy): Readings Sought“
• “Why To Discourage Laptops in Class (with slides you can show your students)“
• “Empirical Support for a Method of Teaching Critical Thinking“
• “How Is Your Teaching Evaluated?“
• “How Is This Course Intro To Philosophy?” (guest post by Shen-yi Liao)
• “What Should Philosophers Teach in Quantitative Reasoning Courses?” (guest post by Landon D.C. Elkind)

Philosophy Journals and Publishing

• “‘Journal of Controversial Ideas’ with Pseudonymous Authors to Launch Next Year“
• “Solidarity Instead of Pseudonymity: an Alternative Strategy for ‘Controversial Ideas’“
• “Stakeholder Refereeing for Controversial Ideas: Replies to Some Criticisms“
• “Hypatia and other Journals Successfully Tricked Into Accepting ‘Fake’ Papers“
• “New Form of Peer Review At New Philosophy Journal“
• “The ‘Insanely Low Acceptance Rates’ of Philosophy Journals“
• “A Plea for More Short Journal Publications” (guest post by Avram Hiller)
• “Philosophy’s Plagiarism Patrol“
• “Ways to Increase Diversity of Authors in Philosophy Journals“
• “Project to Develop Code of Publishing Ethics for Philosophy Awarded $75k“
• “Anonymous Peer Review: ‘An Inherently Conservative Procedure’“
• “Peer Review or Perish: The Problem of Free Riders in Philosophy” (guest post by Elizabeth Hannon)
• “An Objection Does Not A Rejection Make“
• “What Is the Best Type of Open Access for Philosophy and Other Humanities Disciplines?” (guest post by Roberta Millstein)
• “Philosophy Has High Rate of Uncited Publications“

The Public Face of Philosophy

• “Why Is Philosophy Important?“
• “Syria and Misconceptions about Philosophy“
• “Trolley Problems: You’re Doing It All Wrong“
• “Philosophers Help Fight for Chimpanzee Personhood“
• “Philosophers Object to Denial of Asylum to Humanist Unfamiliar with Plato & Aristotle“
• “What You’d Share to Show Non-Philosophers the Value of Philosophy“
• “Research on Public Attitudes Towards Philosophy & Philosophers“
• “Philosophy Books for Non-Philosophers: Your Recommendations“
• “Job Prospects for Philosophy Majors: Perception and Reality“
• “Is Scientific American a Trustworthy Periodical?“
• “When Scientists Read Philosophy, Are They Reading The ‘Wrong Philosophers’?“
• “More Philosophers Should Run for Office… as Independents” (guest post by Jay Geyer)
• “Kanye West Is Writing A Philosophy Book“

Philosophy-Related Visualizations, Games, and Software

• “Gorgeous Interactive Timeline of Philosophical Ideas“
• “Visualizing the Structure of Philosophy from the 1950s to Today“
• “Digital Maps of Spinoza’s Ethics“
• “A Game for Gaining Logical Fluency“
• “New Free Open-Source Multi-Purpose Multi-System Logic Software“
• “The Structure of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Over Time, Visualized“
• “Randomly Generated and Self-Correcting Logic Exercises Site“

Philosophy-Related Philanthropy & Big Prizes

• “Johns Hopkins Philosophy To Receive $75 Million Gift“
• “Giving the Horse A Thorough Dental Exam“
• “UCLA Philosophy Receives $25 Million Donation“
• “Berman Institute Receives $15 Million Donation“
• “$3.4 Million Gift to UNC’s Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Program“
• “Martha Nussbaum Wins $1 Million Berggruen Prize“
• “Lebron Wins Hiett Prize in the Humanities“
• “Raz Wins Tang Prize in Rule of Law“
• “Sandel Wins Princess of Asturias Award“
• “Three Philosophers Win Guggenheim Fellowships“
• “Schock Prize Awarded to Saharon Shelah“
• “National Book Award for Alain Locke Biography“
• “Cassin Wins CNRS Gold Medal“
• “Philosophers Awarded $1 Million Prizes for Work in Bioethics and History of Science“
• “Private Money in Political Philosophy“
• “Untangling the Strings: The Limits of Acceptable Donor Influence in Academia“

Humor

• “Philosophers Whose Names Match Their Specializations“
• “Philosophy Memes from Tomas Bogardus“
• “Halloween Costumes of Famous Philosophers“
• “Topic-Appropriate Excuses for Plagiarism in Philosophy Papers“

I wish you all a Happy New Year!