News
CategoryFurther Philosophical Considerations about Covid-19: Why We Need Transparency (guest post by Stefano Canali)
The following is a guest post* by Stefano Canali, a postdoctoral fellow at Leibniz University Hannover who works in philosophy of medicine, with a focus on epidemiology and the epistemic role of data. (more…)
Six Philosophy Departments Issue Statement on Grad Student Visits (see comments for notices from other departments)
Several philosophy departments at universities in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area have issues a statement regarding visits from admitted and waitlisted graduate students. (more…)
Thinking Rationally About Coronavirus COVID-19 (guest post by Alex Broadbent)
The following is a guest post* by Alex Broadbent, Dean of Faculty of the Humanities, Professor of Philosophy, and Director of Institute for the Future of Knowledge at the University of Johannesburg. He is the author of many works, including Philosophy of Medicine and Philosophy of Epidemiology, and co-editor of a forthcoming volume on the philosophy of public health..
Crowdsourcing University Responses To Coronavirus (keeping this near top of page / updated with spreadsheet)
What policies, procedures, restrictions, or warnings is your university or college issuing in regards to the coronavirus (COVID-19)? (more…)
Quebec Government Deplatforms Daniel Weinstock (updated)
Daniel Weinstock, a philosopher on the Faculty of Law at McGill University and director of the McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy, was disinvited by the Quebec government from speaking at a meeting about reforming the mandatory ethics and religious culture course taught in the province’s schools. (more…)
Peter Singer Talk in New Zealand Cancelled by Venue (Updated)
SkyCity, a hotel and entertainment complex in Auckland, New Zealand, that was scheduled to host a talk this June by Peter Singer, the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values at Princeton, has cancelled the event owing to controversy over the philosopher’s writings. (more…)
Philosophy Professor Resigns Over University’s Investments in Fossil Fuels Companies
Gregory Mikkelson, a tenured associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and the School of Environment at McGill University, has resigned because of the university’s refusal to end its investments in fossil fuels companies. (more…)
Philosophers Raising Funds for Firefighters in Australia
A collective auction is underway to raise money for firefighters battling fires that have been burning over 15 million acres of Australia. Called “Authors For Fireys,” the the fundraiser involves individual writers and illustrators putting goods and services up for auction on Twitter. The fundraiser began yesterday and ends on Saturday, January 11th. (more…)
Fire at Harvard’s Philosophy Department
Emerson Hall, which houses the Department of Philosophy at Harvard University, caught fire last Friday. (more…)
Students Disrupt Philosophy Professor’s Course, Call For Resignation
Students at the University of Texas, Austin marched into the classroom of philosophy and biology professor Sahotra Sarkar yesterday, calling him a “predatory professor” and protesting that the university failed to sufficiently hold him accountable for earlier misconduct. (more…)
Philosopher Named to New State Dept. Commission on Unalienable Rights
U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo earlier this week announced the creation of a new “Commission on Unalienable Rights,” comprised of scholars and activists interested in various dimensions of human rights, law, and religion, to provide him with “advice on human rights grounded in our nation’s founding principles and the principles of the 1948 Universal Declarat..
Bioethicists’ Letter on the “Ethically Abhorrent” Treatment of Children at the U.S. Border
Over 800 bioethicists have signed a letter calling for the United States government to remedy its failures to assure the children it is detaining at its border are in safe and sanitary conditions. (more…)
Searle Found to Have Violated Sexual Harassment Policies (Updated with further details and statement from Berkeley)
Well-known philosopher John Searle, who began teaching at the University of California, Berkeley in 1959, has been stripped of his emeritus status there owing to the finding that he violated the university’s sexual harassment policies.
Oxford Receives $189 Million Gift to Support the Humanities
Oxford University announced it has received a £150 million (approximately $189 million) “transformational investment in the way Oxford teaches, researches, and shares the Humanities.” (more…)
APA Election Results
The results of the 2019 American Philosophical Association (APA) elections have now been announced.
The Logic of Mueller’s Statement
“If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so. We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime.” (more…)
Brazilian Logic Society Issues Statement Opposing Plans to Cut Philosophy Funding
The executive committee of the Brazilian Logic Society has issued a statement in response to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s announcement about his plans to eliminate funding for philosophy and sociology in public universities. (more…)
Brazilian Government To Defund Philosophy in Public Universities
Jair M. Bolsonaro, the current president of Brazil, has announced on Twitter his plans to stop government funding of philosophy and sociology in the nation’s public universities. (more…)
New Philosophy Research Institute in Australia
Australian Catholic University (ACU) last month launched a new philosophical research institute. (more…)
Richard Marshall’s Interview Series Will Continue
3:AM Magazine, which was shut down by its editor Andrew Gallix this past Wednesday amid controversy over his decision to retract an interview of Holly Lawford-Smith by Richard Marshall, will return, and the hundreds of interviews Marshall has conducted with philosophers will again be available; however, the interview series, which will continue, will have a new onli..
Richard Marshall Resigns from 3:AM Magazine (Updated)
Richard Marshall, who has conducted astonishingly rich interviews with hundreds of philosophers for 3:AM Magazine, has resigned from the publication over its editor’s decision to remove one of his interviews from public view.
Sayre-McCord Becomes New Executive Director of the Marc Sanders Foundation
Geoffrey Sayre-McCord, Morehead-Cain Alumni Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, is the new executive director of the Marc Sanders Foundation (MSF). (more…)
Wollongong Receives AU$50 Million for Philosophy-Based Degree Program
The University of Wollongong is creating a philosophy-based bachelor of arts degree program in “Western Civilization”, to be based in a new School of Liberal Arts, with the help of a AU$50 million (approximately $35.6 million) gift from the Ramsay Centre. (more…)
Fredonia Philosophy Saved, For Now
The Department of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Fredonia, which had been targeted for elimination by the school’s administration, has gotten a reprieve. (more…)
Update on Philosophy at Hull
As reported the other day, the administration at the University at Hull had decided to prohibit new students from studying philosophy. It now appears they have changed their mind. (more…)
Ethics Professor Seeks Asylum In the US, Detained for 2 Years
A professor of ethics from Haiti who spent two years imprisoned in the United States while the government resisted granting him asylum has been released into the custody of a couple in Ohio. (more…)
Philosophy Chairs at All SUNY Campuses Come to Defense of Fredonia Dept. (UPDATED)
As reported last month, the administration of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia has proposed eliminating the school’s Department of Philosophy. In response, the chairs of the philosophy departments at all fifteen other SUNY campuses have now written a forceful letter to SUNY Fredonia’s president, Virginia Horvath, objecting to the proposal. (more…..
Saudi Government Introduces Philosophy Into Its High Schools
Last week, the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia announced that it is adding a philosophy course to its secondary school curriculum. Prior to this, philosophy had been wholly absent from education at all levels in Saudi Arabia. (more…)