Philosophy and Culture
CategoryDevelopments at the Royal Institute of Philosophy
The Royal Institute of Philosophy (RIP), a charitable organization based in London dedicated to the advancement of philosophy, has announced that it has several new officers. (more…)
Crying “Crying Wolf”
Suppose that instead of one shepherd boy, there are a few dozen. They are tired of the villagers dismissing their complaints about less threatening creatures like stray dogs and coyotes. One of them proposes a plan: they will start using the word “wolf” to refer to all menacing animals. They agree and the new usage catches on. For a while, the villagers are indeed m..
Which Philosophers Won the Shirt Poll? And Who Won the Shirts? (updated)
The 2nd Daily Nous/Hirsute History philosopher t-shirt poll is over, and we have identified the winner and runner-up. (more…)
Philosopher Shirt Poll: Another Collaboration with Hirsute History
Two years ago Daily Nous polled readers to determine which philosophers should be added to the collection of portrait shirts designed by Jeremy Kalgreen at Hirsute History. We’re doing it again and once again are asking for your input. (more…)
Joffrey Baratheon Plans to Become a Philosophy Professor
King Joffrey had a hard time ruling Westeros, but will that be anything compared to his quest to become a philosophy professor? (more…)
Derogatory Language in Philosophy Journal Risks Increased Hostility and Diminished Discussion (guest post) (Update: Response from Editors)
The following is a guest post* from Sophie Allen (Keele), Elizabeth Finneron-Burns (Warwick), Jane Clare Jones, Holly Lawford-Smith (Melbourne), Mary Leng (York), Rebecca Reilly-Cooper (Warwick), and Rebecca Simpson, concerning two articles recently published in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. (more…)
When Philosophers Are on the Money (guest post by Maks Sipowicz)
The following is a guest post* by Maks Sipowicz, a doctoral candidate in philosophy at Monash University (whom you can follow on Twitter: @m_sipowicz ). A version of the post first appeared on his blog, Philosophy After Dark (which you can follow on Facebook). (more…)
Kanye West Is Writing A Philosophy Book (Updated)
Rapper Kanye West has revealed that he is writing a philosophy book. (more…)
How Religion Informs Philosophizing
In an interview at What Is It Like To Be A Philosopher?, Christian Miller, the A. C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University, discusses, among other things, the relationship between his religious and philosophical commitments. (more…)
Philosopher Clothing
What should we wear?
This is the “Gottlob Frege: Begriffsschrift” A-line dress, designed by philosopher-artist Maureen Eckert and brought to my attention by Sara Bernstein. The pattern is also available on leggings. She also has clothing available with a square of opposition on it, such as this shirt. (more…)
The Growth of Pre-College Philosophy In Ireland
This past year, nearly 60 high schools in Ireland began offering philosophy courses or introducing philosophy modules into existing courses, and the nation’s president, Michael Higgins, launched the Young Philosopher Awards for primary and secondary school students. (more…)
New HBO Drama Stars Tim Robbins as a Philosophy Professor
Here and Now is a new television series on HBO. A family drama from the creator of the popular and critically-acclaimed show Six Feet Under, it stars Tim Robbins as philosophy professor Greg Boatwright and Holly Hunter as his wife, Audrey Bayer, a lawyer. (more…)
Another Network Comedy To Feature a Philosopher
Is philosophy hot? Following the commercial success of The Good Place, a television sitcom on NBC with a moral philosophy professor as one of its main characters (which, by the way, recently featured a discussion of Jonathan Dancy’s moral particularism, not to mention a re-enactment of part of the trolley problem), the network will be releasing A.P. Bio.
Results of Philosophers Against Factory Farming Fundraising Competition
The Philosophers Against Factory Farming fundraising competition, announced earlier this month, ended last night. One of the organizers, Carolina Flores Henrique, passed along the results. (more…)
Philosophers Against Factory Farming – A Fundraiser Competition
Last year, a group of graduate students at Rutgers set up a fundraising competition for philosophy departments to support the Against Malaria Foundation. It raised nearly $60,000. This year, the same group of students has set up a new fundraising competition, Philosophers Against Factory Farming. (more…)
Emergent Horrors (?) of Information Technology
These videos, wherever they are made, however they come to be made, and whatever their conscious intention (i.e. to accumulate ad revenue) are feeding upon a system which was consciously intended to show videos to children for profit. The unconsciously-generated, emergent outcomes of that are all over the place… (more…)
Philosophy Goes Hollywood?
Check out the trailer to Downsizing, the upcoming movie starring Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig, and others:
Philosopher Calls for Interdisciplinary & Empirically Informed Study of Black Manhood
In an interview at Inside Higher Ed, Texas A&M philosophy professor Tommy Curry (who was the recent target of harassment and death threats, recall) discusses some of the ideas in his recent book, The Man-Not, which calls for a distinctive kind of black male studies he says is rejected by others in the humanities.
Personality Traits and Book Genre Preferences
What do people’s tastes in books tell us about their personalities? More specifically, what can we learn about people’s personalities from their preference for philosophy books? A team of researchers from Disney Research and the Singapore Ministry of Defense (what a combination!) used self-reported personality data from Facebook and user-supplied book-genre tags fro..
Thoreau To Be On US Postal Stamp
The United States Postal Service will be issuing a postal stamp commemorating philosopher Henry David Thoreau. The stamp was designed by Greg Breeding and features a portrait of Thoreau by Sam Weber based on an 1856 daguerreotype by Benjamin Maxham. It looks like this: (more…)
Upcoming Sitcom Based on Recent Philosophy Book
Fox Broadcasting Company is in the process of developing a new comedy television series based on the book, Assholes: A Theory, by philosopher Aaron James (UC Irvine). The show will be called Type-A, reports TV Line (via Splitsider). (more…)
On Philosophy’s Uselessness to Society
In “Publishing in Philosophy,” Michael Huemer, professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, provides an abundance of detailed and helpful advice about writing and publishing philosophical work. He also includes several criticisms of the refereeing system and some suggestions for fixing it. Along the way is an interesting discussion of philosophy’s uselessn..
Philosophy’s Use of the Visual Arts
What works of visual art (paintings, sculpture, photography, drawings, etc.) have philosophers made use of in their written works, either as examples, inspiration, or subjects of study? (more…)
Philosophy, Mainstream Media, and the Public
If you are an optimist there is no crisis. Philosophy departments are thriving; even if television isn’t covering philosophical debates Radio 4 is; and the internet offers every kind of philosophy, past and present. Publishers still offer a spectrum of philosophical books. If you are a cultural pessimist, however, the picture looks different. Postwar, we could watch..
Logical Fallacies Through Funny Videos
There are online lists of logical fallacies , websites dedicated to explaining them, posters, children’s books, various videos, and, of course, memes. That many of the examples used to illustrate fallacies are humorous is no accident, as a lot of humor involves both upsetting expectations (e.g., saying something that deviates from what we think follows from what’s a..
Not Exactly For The Quote-A-Day Calendar
You know those quote-a-day calendars? The ones that have inspirational or ponder-provoking messages like: (more…)
Hirsute History Philosopher Shirt Poll Winners
You may recall from way back in October our poll to help designer Jeremy Kalgreen decide which two philosophers to add to his collection of portraits at Hirsute History, and our drawing to to see who would win free shirts. Well, the results are in. (more…)
We Have Work To Do
On Friday, January 20th, 2017, Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States of America. (more…)