Author: Justin Weinberg

Lives of Philosophers

John N. Williams (1952-2019)

August 23, 2019

John N. Williams, a philosopher who spent much of his career working in Singapore, and who had just last year taken up a position as…
Daily Nous Features

Mini-Heap

August 23, 2019

Friday Mini-Heap…
Uncategorized

“To Teachers Who Hope to Inspire Their Students” (and other poems by Felicia Nimue Ackerman)

August 23, 2019

The following is a guest post* of poems by Felicia Nimue Ackerman, professor of philosophy at Brown University.
Philosophy and Law

Philosophers File Amicus Brief on LGBT Discrimination Cases

August 21, 2019

This fall, the Supreme Court will be looking at a trio of cases concerning the protection Federal employment discrimination law provides to lesbian, gay, bisexual,…
Uncategorized

Mini-Heap

August 21, 2019

A new Mini-Heap…
Daily Nous Features

Mind Chunks

August 20, 2019
Faculty Moves

Schechter from WUSTL to Indiana

August 20, 2019

Elizabeth Schecter, previously in the Department of Philosophy and the Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology Program at Washington University in St. Louis, is now associate professor in the Department…
Uncategorized

Mini-Heap

August 19, 2019

Second Mini-Heap of the day…
Non-Academic Jobs

Supporting Non-Academic Careers (guest post by Kevin J.S. Zollman)

August 19, 2019

In a field where more than half of our students won’t get academic jobs, we are actively creating a culture where most of our…
Uncategorized

Mini-Heap

August 19, 2019

Monday Mini-Heap…
Daily Nous Features

Online Philosophy Resources Weekly Update

August 19, 2019

Here’s the weekly report on new entries in online philosophical resources and new reviews of philosophy books.
Awards Grants Honors

Philosophers Among NEH Grant Winners

August 15, 2019

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has announced the winners of its latest round of grants.
Uncategorized

Mini-Heap

August 14, 2019

The latest Mini-Heap:
Teaching

What You Wish You Knew When You Started Teaching Philosophy

August 14, 2019

The fall term is almost upon us, so let’s talk teaching.
Uncategorized

Ad Hoc

August 13, 2019
Issues in the Philosophy Profession

Philosophers and Petitions

August 13, 2019

Numbers generate a pressure to believe that isn’t grounded in explanatory force, because having more and more adherents to a view doesn’t give rise…
Awards Grants Honors, Public Philosophy and Outreach

2019 Public Philosophy Op-Ed Contest Results

August 13, 2019

The American Philosophical Association (APA) has announced the winners of its 2019 Public Philosophy Op-Ed Contest.
Philosophical Resources

New Site for Experimental Philosophical Bioethics

August 13, 2019

BioXphi aims to be an online hub for experimental philosophical bioethics.
Lives of Philosophers

Barry Stroud (1935-2019) (updated)

August 13, 2019

Barry Stroud, professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley, died last week.
Daily Nous Features

Online Philosophy Resources Weekly Update

August 12, 2019

Here’s the weekly report on new entries in online philosophical resources and new reviews of philosophy books.

Heap of Links

Is there anything to the concept of “intrinsic human dignity”? — yes, says Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, and "it names a burden as much as a distinction"
“Intuition is the cognitive means by which the conceptual structure of a situation is revealed to us” — whether that situation is a stylized thought experiment or a real world experience, says Marc A. Moffett
“Professors can’t fix the problem on their own” — Victor Kumar on what university administrators need to do address AI's threat to higher education
“The wall between jus ad bellum and jus in bello, which had sustained his theory for almost half a century, was no longer sturdy” — a profile of Michael Walzer, focusing on his thoughts about just war theory and the Israeli-Palestine conflict
We may think that we lose something significant when AI beats us to a discovery — if we do, Daniel Greco says, that seems to imply we gained something significant, too
“Once upon a time there were a couple of handsome naturalistic philosophers working in and around the philosophy of fiction” — thoughts on new directions in philosophy of fiction, from several philosophers
What is the debate over whether trans women are women even about? — Katie Zhou argues that it's about which facts are granted "the cross-contextual significance and stickiness characteristic of gender"
We’re putting human brain cells into mice brains — One moral risk of this, says Mackenzie Graham, is a decrease in our ability to interpret what mice behavior tells us about their experiences and welfare
The Rawls Game — with instructions, background, advice, and downloadable character cards
“The central question would shift from ‘How do we maximize shareholder value?’ to ‘How do different forms of organization distribute power, risk and reward — and which should we strengthen?'” — Chris Marquis on the case for abolishing, or at least radically changing, business schools
Asking “How did I get here?” may help us reflect on the nature of personal identity in ways that asking “Who am I?” cannot — Marya Schechtman's 2024 Central Division Meeting Presidential Address
“Collecting is a game, but what kind of game? It is an imperfect information game of acquisition” — a theory of collecting, from Steven Hales
“A general human tendency: to overestimate how far we have come in the progress of human knowledge” — a lengthy interview with Thomas Nagel
“Many couples do not survive trauma like this” — A profile of Susan Brison—who was brutally attacked in 1990, and who wrote about it in Aftermath—and her husband, Thomas Trezise, who has now written his own book stemming from those events
“Bad AI Consciousness Takes” Bingo Card — Henry Shevlin's area of specialization is becoming a popular topic in popular discourse, and he can't stand the "cavalcade of terrible takes"
Does the principle of sufficient reason imply panpsychism? If it does, do we then ponens or tollens? — Sam Kimpton-Nye on these questions and the "demand for intelligibility"
PTSD flashbacks may be harmful, but they may also be helpfully “resupplying phenomenal experience” to those who, owing to trauma, are “grasp alienated” — Michaela McSweeney on trauma and "madness-as-strategy"
A look at the very first issue of Mind — Brett Mullins surveys its articles on the occasion of the journal's 150th anniversary
The most bizarre plagiarism-related story ever — featuring: a death, an investigator, a dissertation, a mysterious red book, and more
New data on earnings by major and university — though not all universities

All Links →

Latest Comments

Filippo Contesi on Linguistic and Conceptual Justice in AI
Not English-only but English is superdominant and so most LLMs default to English. China's LLMs might be different…
philatetelist on Linguistic and Conceptual Justice in AI
This is all news to me. So, is it true that most LLM's are trained on a corpus that is English-only, and then generate non-English output only at…
Matthew Duncombe on Timothy Smiley (1930-2026)
Very sorry to read about this. I only met Tim Smiley a handful of times, but his erudition, intelligence and kindness, and interest in ancient logic made a…
James Mackay on Calls for Papers / Grants / Etc.
Byung-Chul Han and Contemporary Culture. Online (hosted by European University Cyprus). 19 March 2027. Abstracts due 18 January 2027. https://byungchulhanstudies.org/call-for-papers/An online symposium putting Byung-Chul Han’s concepts – burnout,…
Student Philosopher on Where Intuitions Conflict
But the history of philosophy shows us no cases in which adept questioners left their interlocutors in aporia Mad Max – That's Bait
Vinicius Rodrigues on Where Intuitions Conflict
One of my main concerns with your answer to x-phi studies is that it makes having an intuition a difficult thing to pick out in the stream of…
philatetelist on Where Intuitions Conflict
This is a startling hypothesis, because if one and the same individual can have conflicting intuitions about cases, then a philosophically adept questioner should be able to elicit…
Patrick Lin on Death Just Got Out of This Truck (guest post)
“You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there's still going to be somebody who hates peaches.”— Dita Von Teese, American philosopher
Non-classical? on Where Intuitions Conflict
I guess I can see that reading of the call, but then I just know even less what to do with the call. Consider that, at least as…
PhilCon Ed on Death Just Got Out of This Truck (guest post)
That which makes plainspoken language more accessible and meaningful to you is the same mechanism which makes flowery, emotive language more meaningful and accessible to others.
Jason Aleksander on Death Just Got Out of This Truck (guest post)
it is disingenuous to claim that the academic life is somehow purely a life of the mind It's not impolite, but I'm not sure if you thought I…
Kenny Easwaran on Where Intuitions Conflict
I don't think the call is for non-classical logics. I interpreted more as a call for non-classical theories of meaning, such that the words being used to express…
Paul Wilson on Putting the Pub in Public Philosophy
While theology is not (usually) philosophy, a remarkably successful pub-centric public initiative is "Theology on Tap". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theology_on_Tap RENEW International
Paul Wilson on Death Just Got Out of This Truck (guest post)
I often get in deep discussions with barflys, as did Aristotle. Their perspectives – far distanced from academic philosophy – homelessness, addiction, alienation from family, friends, romantic and…
Student Philosopher on Death Just Got Out of This Truck (guest post)
You seem like you would enjoy Hemingway