News
CategoryWe Still Have Work To Do
Joseph Biden has defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. (more…)
Lecturer Fired Over Sexual Misconduct Allegations
A lecturer who taught philosophy-related courses at Tembusu College, which is a part of the National University of Singapore (NUS), was fired by the university following an investigation of two allegations against him of sexual misconduct. (more…)
Notre Dame President and Philosopher Contracts COVID-19 after White House Visit
John Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame and member of the univerity’s Department of Philosophy, has contracted COVID-19 after visiting the White House at the end of last month for the ceremony announcing the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. (more…)
Edinburgh’s Philosophers on the Renaming of Hume Tower
Seven philosophers at the University of Edinburgh have written individual responses to the university’s interim decision to rename Hume Tower. (more…)
Oxford Launches Institute for Ethics in AI with Team of Philosophers
Oxford University is bringing on three philosophy professors, two philosophy postdoctoral fellows, and two philosophy graduate students to comprise the initial academic team for its new Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence. (more…)
University Pandemic Policies as Business Ethics Case Studies
Earlier this week, the University of South Carolina noted on its COVID-19 “dashboard” that 27.7% of the students tested for the virus were infected with it. (more…)
One Week Into Semester, UNC Chapel Hill Switches to Fully Online (Updated)
One week into the semester, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill administration reversed its decision to open its campus for teaching and housing, and moved all instruction online, owing to its inability to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus among the student population. (more…)
Trump Administration Abandons Plan to Revoke Visas of International Students with Online-Only Schedules
The Trump administration has withdrawn a plan proposed earlier this month to withhold or revoke visas of international students at U.S. schools whose courses have all been moved entirely online. (more…)
Homeland Security To Ban International Students From U.S. If Their Colleges Adopt Online-Only Instruction
The U.S. Department of State will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall semester nor will U.S. Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter the United States. Active students currently in the United States enrolled in such programs must depart the country or take other measures, such as tra..
Should We Continue to Honor Hume With Buildings and Statues? (updated)
(UPDATE: This post, originally published in July, has been moved to the top of the page and updated with the news that the University of Edinburgh has decided to rename Hume Tower. See here.) (more…)
Protesting the Murder of George Floyd
Protests against the institutionalized racist violence against blacks in the United States, most recently exemplified by the recent murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, took place in cities around the country this weekend. (more…)
APA Election Results
The American Philosophical Association (APA) has announced the winners of its recent elections. (more…)
If Given the Choice Whether to Teach In-Person or Remotely in the Fall…
Last week, the University of South Carolina announced it is planning to have in-person teaching in the fall, but also that each faculty, staff, and student will be allowed to make for themselves a “decision to either return or delay their return”. Other schools are considering similar arrangements. (more…)
Benatar Responds to Student’s Accusations and the Reporting about Them (updated)
In March, 2016, a student at the University of Cape Town publicly announced that she was facing a disciplinary proceeding at her school because she called her philosophy professor a racist. I reported on the story here. (more…)
Shakira, Philosophy, and the Power of Celebrity
A few weeks ago I noted in the Heap of Links that pop star Shakira was taking a course in ancient philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania. Now she has successfully completed the course, sharing the news via Twitter: (more…)
The Fall 2020 Term: Open, Closed, Online? (updated)
California State University, Fullerton has announced that it is planning for all Fall 2020 courses to be offered online only, at least at the start of the term, according to the Los Angeles Times (via Inside Higher Ed), though it may change those plans if circumstances allow. (more…)
Northwestern Prison Education Program Raises Funds to Fight Spread of COVID in Prisons
The  Northwestern Prison Education Program (NPEP), led by Northwestern University Professor of Philosophy Jennifer Lackey, has been raising funds and purchasing supplies to combat the spread of COVID-19 among prison populations in Illinois. (more…)
Bioethicists and Others Call for Action from U.S. Federal Government on COVID-19
“We are a group of bioethicists and health care leaders, familiar with the ethical challenges that arise in pandemics. We write to encourage actions on the part of the federal government that will enhance the public’s health, protect the health of individuals, especially the vulnerable, and preserve the nation’s vitality.” (more…)
Missing Philosophy Grad Student in Hungary
Raza Khan, a master’s student in philosophy at Central European University in Budapest, has been missing for over two weeks. (more…)
The First Amendment, a Philosophy Professor, and Pronouns
No, professors, the First Amendment does not protect you from receiving a warning from your university about violating its nondiscrimination policies when you talk to or about your transgender students in discriminatory ways in class. (more…)
Further 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…)