News
CategoryYogi Berra (1925-2015)
Baseball player Yogi Berra — whose birth name was Lawrence Peter Berra — died yesterday. Normally announcements of this sort on Daily Nous are reserved for academic philosophers, but I thought it would be appropriate to note the death of someone who is well known for sayings that have provoked the public to thoughts of puzzlement and paradox — and in such an amu..
Fire at University of Chicago Philosophy Department
This past Sunday, a fire broke out in Stuart Hall at the University of Chicago, home to the school’s Department of Philosophy. No one was injured.
While information is at the time a bit tentative, current reports are that a shredder motor overheated, starting a fire which moved down the Department of Philosophy’s hallway. No foul play is suspected. I am told that..
Japan’s Education Ministry vs. Humanities and Social Sciences
Times Higher Education reports:
Many social sciences and humanities faculties in Japan are to close after universities were ordered to “serve areas that better meet society’s needs”. Of the 60 national universities that offer courses in these disciplines, 26 have confirmed that they will either close or scale back their relevant faculties at the behest of Japan’s..
Judge Rejects Ludlow’s Amended Claim Against NU
From the Cook County Record:
A federal judge has rejected a Northwestern University professor’s amended claim against the school, ending another chapter in a complex legal battle centered around his relationships with female students. About six months after U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis rejected the Title IX discrimination claim of Northwestern philosophy pro..
Renewed Call to Reinstate Salaita
Kirk Sanders of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign passes along the following:
A group of forty-one Executive Officers and campus leaders from across the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has released an open letter to Acting Chancellor Barbara J. Wilson and President Timothy Killeen. In the letter, the forty-one chairs, directors, and heads ..
Holy %#&! They Made a Real Brain in a Vat
An almost fully-formed human brain has been grown in a lab for the first time, claim scientists from Ohio State University… Though not conscious the miniature brain, which resembles that of a five-week-old foetus, could potentially be useful for scientists who want to study the progression of developmental diseases… The brain, which is about the size of a pencil..
Philosophers On Prostitution’s Decriminalization
This past Tuesday, Amnesty International representatives from 60 countries voted on which stance the influential non-governmental organization should take regarding the legal status of prostitution, ultimately deciding to support its full decriminalization, including both the selling and buying of sex.
The position is highly controversial—particularly the decri..
Philosophy May Come to Schools in Wales
Wales is poised to scrap Religious Education lessons in its schools, it has been revealed. Instead, the Welsh Government’s Minister for Education and Skills, Huw Lewis, argued it should be renamed to focus on the teaching of “religion, philosophy and ethics”.
The Independent reports that the idea is intended both to “combat extremism” in the religious educati..
Philosophers Object to Heythrop’s Closing (updated)
The governing board of Heythrop College, a constituent college of the University of London whose mission is “to serve society through philosophy and theology,” met in late June and concluded that “the College in its current form, as a constituent college of the University of London, will come to an end in 2018, although its mission and work will not.” Now, according..
Philosophers Interview Edward Snowden
John Perry and Ken Taylor (both Stanford), hosts of the radio program Philosophy Talk, interviewed former NSA analyst Edward Snowden, “the world’s most famous whistleblower” back in May. They just released a series of five video excerpts from the interview.
In one segment, Snowden describes the disillusionment that he and some of his colleagues experienced upon r..
Philosophers on the Supreme Court’s Gay Marriage Ruling
On Friday, June 26th, the Supreme Court of the United States announced its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, holding that the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the recognition and provision of same-sex marriage. It requires each of the 50 states in the US to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples seeking them, and to recognize legi..
Philosophers on the Charleston Massacre
About 9 p.m., the Bible study concludes. As the group prepares to share a concluding prayer, Roof suddenly stands, pulls out a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol and says he has come to kill black people. He shoots the Rev. Pinckney first, at near point-blank range. Simmons tries to protect the pastor, a father of two young children, but Roof shoots him multiple time..
Philosophers on Rachel Dolezal (updated)
Rachel Dolezal, “in recent years… has portrayed herself physically, and on social media platforms, as a woman of black African-American heritage. However, her parents, Ruthanne and Larry Dolezal, who are both white and live in the Troy/Libby area in Montana, their daughter is not African-American. They backed up the claim with a copy of their daughter’s birth cer..
The Philosophy of Passing
The story of Rachel Dolezal’s outing as a white woman (insert whatever scare quotes you think appropriate there) is being widely discussed all over the place, including, now, the philosophy blogosphere. I’ll be putting up a post comprised of contributions from several philosophers here by the end of the weekend, but in the meanwhile, Daniel Silvermint (Connecticut) ..
A Response to Daily Nous (guest post by Laura Kipnis)
The following is a guest post* by Laura Kipnis, professor in Northwestern University’s School of Communication. Professor Kipnis wrote an opinion piece for the Chronicle of Higher Education, “Sexual Paranoia Strikes Academe,” in which she argued against certain policies and attitudes regarding sexual relations between faculty and students. In doing so, she referred ..
APA Division Election Winners 2015
The American Philosophical Association (APA) recently conducted its division elections. The newly elected officers are listed below. Unless otherwise noted, terms of service begin on July 1, 2015.
Eastern Division
Vice President (2015-2016)
Eva Feder Kittay
Executive Committee Representatives (2015-2018)
Noëlle McAfee
Amie L. Thomasson
Nominating C..
NCAA’s Report on Academic Fraud at UNC
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) released its report on academic fraud involving student athletes at the University of North Carolina (previously), according to reports at The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, and the New York Times. According to the Chronicle, the report focuses “most prominently” on former philosophy professor and..
One of the Kipnis Complainants Speaks Out
The following guest post* is by one of parties who filed a Title IX complaint against Laura Kipnis (Northwestern). The author wishes to remain anonymous.
Thoughts from One of the Title IX Complainants
a guest post by Anonymous
Laura Kipnis is right. Those involved in the Title IX complaints at Northwestern, responding to her essay “Sexual Paranoia Strikes Ac..
Ludlow to Face Hearing; Accuser Regrets Coming Forward
The Chronicle of Higher Education has a new article (paywalled) on the complaints at Northwestern University regarding Peter Ludlow and the recent discussion of those complaints by Laura Kipnis in a pair of articles (for CHE). According to CHE, “Northwestern has banned from the campus, he said, and has scheduled a hearing for next month on whether he should be fire..
Philosopher Arrested For Protesting Fracking
Adam Briggle, associate professor of philosophy at the University of North Texas, has been arrested for engaging in a protest at a Vantage Energy fracking site in Denton, Texas.
Three Denton residents could face criminal trespassing charges after they were arrested early Monday morning in front of the entry to a gas well site on the city’s west side… The trio j..
Northwestern and Title IX: What’s Going On (updated)
Title IX issues at Northwestern University are currently receiving a lot of attention, largely in editorial pieces and comments that obscure or omit certain facts. Since these facts may be relevant to your opinion about the events at Northwestern and Title IX more generally, and since the events in question centrally involve a philosophy professor and a philosophy g..
Philosopher Attributes Job Loss To Challenging White Hegemony (updated)
Nathaniel Adam Tobias Coleman, a research associate with a term appointment at University College London, is claiming that his contract was not renewed “because his plans to ‘put white hegemony under the microscope’ were considered too much of a challenge to white-dominated academia,” according to an article in The Independent.
Coleman, who crosses out his surna..
Academics Defend Freedom of Movement
It is estimated that over 22,000 people have died in the Mediterranean Sea trying to migrate to Europe from the Middle East, Africa and South Asia since the beginning of the 21st Century. In April of 2015 alone, “at least five boats carrying almost 2000 migrants” sank.
The latest response by the European Union to these events has been to increase border patrols a..
Dennett Withdraws from Templeton-Sponsored Event
Daniel Dennett (Tufts) has withdrawn from the popular World Science Festival upon learning of its funding from the John Templeton Foundation. Dennett, whose opposition to Templeton has been discussed here before, is reported by The Washington Post as saying:
“I would be very happy to have the Templeton Foundation sponsor research on religion and science,” he said..
The Last Philosopher in Alaska’s Interior
As reported last month, the University of Alaska at Fairbanks is losing its philosophy major and eliminating philosophy as its own department. Now, the last remaining tenured philosopher at UAF, Eduardo Wilner, has published a column in which he recounts the death of the department:
When I arrived here 17 years ago there were five faculty in our department. But c..
A Philosophy Department Is Born
In an era in which we are hearing more and more about threats to the humanities, including the consolidation and elimination of departments, it is nice to have some good news. Tiger Roholt of Montclair State University writes in with some:
Since the 1960s, the Philosophy program at Montclair State University has existed within a shared department, alongside Relig..
Trouble in Baltimore
On April 12th, 2015, Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man, allegedly ran away from a Baltimore police officer on a bicycle who had made eye contact with him. He was caught, arrested for possession of a switchblade, and dragged into a police van. At some point between his arrest and his delivery at a trauma center 40 minutes later, Gray sustained severe injuries th..
A Detailed Account of the McGinn Affair (updated)
The Miami New Times has a long and detailed account of the events leading up to Colin McGinn’s resignation from the University of Miami. It is based on hundreds of messages reviewed by the Times, “many of which have never been publicized,” a first person account from the student McGinn allegedly harassed, and conversations with McGinn.
UPDATE (4/30/15): Universit..