Percentage of Women Philosophy Majors Has Risen Sharply Since 2016 — Why? Or: The 2017 Knuckle (guest post)
What explains the recent sharp increase in women philosophy majors? (more…)
Online Philosophy Resources Weekly Update
The weekly report on new and revised entries at online philosophy resources and new reviews of philosophy books… (more…)
The Study of Consciousness, Accusations of Pseudoscience, and Bad Publicity
Earlier this week, a letter signed by over 100 researchers, including several philosophers, was published online, calling a popular theory of consciousness, integrated information theory (IIT), “pseudoscience.” (more…)
Philosophy at SUNY Potsdam Threatened (Again)
The president of SUNY Potsdam, Suzanne Smith, announced earlier this week a plan to eliminate 14 degree programs at the university, including philosophy, and cut an as-of-yet-unknown number of faculty. (more…)
Is Someone Selling Your Dissertation Without Your Permission?
A lecturer in philosophy at a UK university discovered that a company has been selling his recent dissertation as a book online through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, and Blackwell’s, complete with a cover.
ACU, Despite Citing University Finances as Reason for Cuts to Dianoia, Funds New Hires and Centers
Australian Catholic University (ACU) recently announced a plan that involves closing its Dianoia Institute of Philosophy and making 14 of its existing faculty compete through a re-application process for only 4 positions, as well as cutting faculty in history, political science, theology, and religious studies. (more…)
Not-Very-Mini-Heap & The Subscription Problem
I didn’t publish any “Mini-Heap” posts over the summer for two reasons.
Areas of Specialization in Philosophy — Data from 2022-23 (guest post)
What areas of specialization (AOS) are philosophy departments hiring in? (more…)
Online Philosophy Resources Weekly Update
The weekly report on new and revised entries at online philosophy resources and new reviews of philosophy books… (more…)
ACU Proposes Closing Dianoia Institute (multiple updates)
Australian Catholic University is apparently considering eliminating its Dianoia Institute of Philosophy (DIP), which it created in 2019 with hopes to “achieve a world-leading position for philosophical research in the analytic tradition.” (more…)
Petition to Save Philosophy & other Humanities at ACU
As reported earlier this week, Australian Catholic University is currently planning to shutter its philosophical research center, the Dianoia Institute, and eliminate or make cuts to other humanities programs. (more…)
An Unusual Ad for an Unusual Philosophy Job (updated)
Are you interested in philosophy, gardens, and profit? If so—and if you don’t think Plato is a better philosopher than Aristotle—then read on for details about an exciting opportunity .
Writing a Good Diversity Statement for Academic Philosophy Jobs
Some hiring universities and departments ask applicants to philosophy faculty positions for diversity statements.
What does a good diversity statement for an academic philosophy job look like? (more…)
The Philosophy Garden (guest post)
A group of philosophers at the University of Birmingham have a new project: The Philosophy Garden. (more…)
Philosopher’s Annual – 2022 Edition
The new Philosopher’s Annual has been compiled.
Online Philosophy Resources Weekly Update
The weekly report on new and revised entries at online philosophy resources and new reviews of philosophy books… (more…)
New Data on the Employment of Philosophy PhDs (guest post)
As noted in yesterday’s post, Academic Philosophy & Data Analysis (APDA) has completed its data gathering for nearly 150 philosophy PhD programs, with a new data dashboard capturing nearly 6,000 philosophy PhD graduates between 2013 and 2023. (more…)
Immoral Moral Philosophers
In a recent post at The Splintered Mind, Eric Schwitzgebel (UC Riverside) asks whether it matters “if ethicists walk the walk.” (more…)
New Interface for Academic Philosophy Data & Analysis (guest post)
Academic Philosophy & Data Analysis (APDA), an ongoing project to collect, analyze, and distribute data about job placement, student experience, and other aspects of PhD programs in philosophy, is launching a new “data dashboard” through which people can explore the information it has collected. (more…)
Journal Articles: Quantity & Quality
“Considering my own area of philosophy of language and mind, I don’t think there is all that much difference between most of what gets published in the ‘top’ journals, and most of what gets published in the ‘tier 2 ‘journals. My sense is that there is rather too much good work to keep track of, not that the difference between the top tier and the tier 2 journals is ..
Greatest Achiever, Philosopher Edition
Over at Marginal Revolution, Tyler Cowen (GMU) suggests that Johann Sebastian Bach may be “the greatest achiever of all time.” (more…)
Philosophical Exceptionalism & Philosophical Writing
“I like to think that academic fields often have a proprietary emotion. In the case of philosophy, the proprietary emotion is embarrassment.” (more…)
Virtual Dissertation Writing Groups
$2.97 Million Grant for Course on Human Flourishing
Meghan Sullivan, professor of philosophy and director of the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS) at the University of Notre Dame, has received a $2.97 million grant to lead a project developing courses on human flourishing. (more…)
How to Tell Whether an AI Is Conscious (guest post)
“We can apply scientific rigor to the assessment of AI consciousness, in part because… we can identify fairly clear indicators associated with leading theories of consciousness, and show how to assess whether AI systems satisfy them.” (more…)
Alina Beary (1978-2023)
Alina Beary, an associate professor of philosophy in the Torrey Honors College at Biola University, died this past Wednesday after what the university described as “a tragic pedestrian-vehicle accident.” (more…)
Philosophy Professor’s Book Is Finalist for Kirkus Prize
How Not to Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind by Clancy Martin, professor of philosophy at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Ashoka University, is a finalist for the Kirkus Prize for nonfiction. (more…)
Goodin on Journals, Editors, and Publishers
“It is a classic collective action problem. In that Tragedy of the Commons, the role of the editor is to be The Enforcer, against both self-serving authors in the blogsphere and self-serving commercial publishers in the share market.” (more…)