Issues in the Philosophy Profession

Theoria Publishes Recap & Assessment of CNRS Plagiarism Scandals

The French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) hosted two related plagiarism scandals in recent years. One concerned the serial plagiarism of one of its medieval philosophy researchers. The other concerned the attempted whitewashing of this plagiarism by a CNRS-appointed commission tasked with investigating the plagiarism charges. A recent editorial in th..

Do Something! Reflections on MeToo and Philosophy (guest post) (updated)

When several years ago I posted the screenshot of a defamatory tweet by a serial harasser on my Facebook page (for “friends” only), I did not expect how people would react to this. Tenured philosophers, including many with left-wing or liberal politics cautioned me to take down the post. They private messaged me urging I should take it down, and even publicly chided..

Citation Rates by Academic Field: Philosophy Is Near the Bottom (guest post)

Academia’s emphasis on citation rates is “mixed news” for philosophy: it can bring attention to high-quality work, but tends to make philosophy and other humanities fields look bad in comparison with other areas, says Eric Schwitzgebel (UC Riverside), in the following guest post. (more…)

Have Any Philosophy Departments Stopped Considering Letters of Recommendation?

A philosophy professor writes that his department is entertaining the possibility of not requiring letters of recommendation from those applying to its graduate program, and asks whether other departments have stopped requiring them, too, either of MA or PhD program applicants, or of job candidates. (more…)

“Geo-Academic Inequalities” in Philosophy

Ingrid Robeyns, professor of philosophy at Utrecht University, recently came across something that captured extraordinarily well a problem she had long been aware of, and was prompted to write about it: (more…)

Ignored Editor Departs PGR, Raising Questions About Its Leadership & How to Best Guide Prospective Philosophy Grad Students (updated)

As mentioned in an update to last week’s post about the new edition of the Philosophical Gourmet Report (PGR), a ranking of the reputations of some PhD programs in philosophy, one of its editors, Berit (“Brit”) Brogaard (Miami), has announced that she is no longer associated with it. A statement made this evening by her and Carolyn Dicey Jennings (UC Merced) provide..

Levelling the Linguistic Playing Field within Academic Philosophy (guest post)

Stylistic norms for writing affect philosophers’ professional prospects in unfair ways, and what one thinks should be done about this may be tied to one’s conception of what philosophy is supposed to do. (more…)

The “Practical Inertia” of Racism in Philosophy

“Through practical inertia, we end up duplicating what we’ve been handed down by our chauvinistic and often racist intellectual forebears, even if we have no intention to be racist.” (more…)

Analytic Philosophy, Inclusiveness, and the English Language

Philosophers are endorsing a set of principles “to address the structural inequality between native and non-native speakers , and to provide as many scholars as possible globally a fair chance to contribute to the development of contemporary philosophy.”

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Impostor Syndrome, Brilliance, and Philosophy

A new study concludes that the more a discipline is thought to value innate “brilliance” or raw intellectual talent, the more that women in it—and especially women from groups traditionally underrepresented in that discipline—experience impostor syndrome. (more…)

Blowing the Whistle on John Searle

“I’m writing to you in the hope that you can shine a public light on the behavior of John Searle, a renowned academic in Berkeley’s philosophy department.” (more…)

How What It Is Like to Be a Woman in Philosophy has Changed over the Past Decade

How have things changed for women in philosophy over the past decade? (more…)

Call for Signatures on Statement Regarding Sexual Harassment in Philosophy

Jan Dowell and David Sobel (Syracuse) are calling for philosophers to add their signatures to a statement on sexual harassment in philosophy. (more…)

To Identify as a Philosopher and ‘Insane’

To identify as a philosopher and “insane” isn’t quite oxymoronic, but it is certainly something that I didn’t want to risk until very recently. (more…)

MAP Issues Statement on Anti-Black Racism and Philosophy

Minorities and Philosophy (MAP), a global graduate student-led network of organizations that aim to “remove barriers to participation in philosophy for members of marginalized groups,” has issued a statement in light of the recent wave of anti-racism protests. (more…)

Curry on George Floyd and the “Fake Outrage” of Academic Philosophy

“The fake outrage of academic philosophy amazes me.” (more…)

Anti-Trans Discrimination in Philosophy of Religion: An Accusation & Possible Progress (Updated)

A professor of philosophy says she was told by the organizer of a conference on theology and philosophy of religion that he would not consider papers from her for conferences like that because she is transgender. (more…)

Additions & Changes to the Diversity Reading List Site

The Diversity Reading List (DRL), which collects philosophical texts written by authors from groups that have typically been underrepresented in philosophy, has recently undergone an expansion and is instituting some changes. (more…)

Sexual Harassment in Philosophy, Part 2 (guest post by Janice Dowell and David Sobel)

The following is a guest post * by Janice Dowell and David Sobel, professors of philosophy at Syracuse University, with help from several other philosophers. It is the second in a two-part series on sexual harassment in philosophy. Part 1 is here. (more…)

20 Theses Regarding Civility (guest post by Amy Olberding)

Too many (most?) conversations about civility begin because someone did something perceived to be uncivil. Making civility all about what other people do is in fact part of the problem, as civility is then degraded into a cudgel and its proponents into cops. Conversation about civility would be improved if sorting oneself out was the focus.

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Sexual Harassment in Philosophy (guest post by Janice Dowell and David Sobel)

The following is a guest post * by Janice Dowell and David Sobel, professors of philosophy at Syracuse University. It is also posted at PEA Soup.

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Philosophers and Petitions

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 to better and better accounts of why the view is correct… (more…)

Recognizing Gender Critical Feminism as Anti-Trans Activism (guest post)

“Our main point is that readers need to understand that the central problem is not how to uplift the message of ‘gender-critical’ voices, but how to understand them as activists, and how to manage content that is disrespectful, fear-mongering, and misleading, while avoiding harm to the scholarly community.” (more…)

Human Rights Tribunal: Queen’s University’s Handling of Philosopher’s Case “Egregious”

A dispute that began in 2008 with Adèle Mercier, associate professor of philosophy at Queen’s University, along with two other colleagues, filing complaints of gender discrimination in her department on behalf of students, and that came to be about the way the university treated Mercier in response (previously), has just been partially resolved, with the Ontario Hum..

APA Is Surveying Philosophers on Priorities and Services

The American Philosophical Association (APA) is conducting a survey to determine which issues confronting professional philosophers it should prioritize, and which of its services and programs professional philosophers find valuable. (more…)