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Is “Life” Useless?

I have received lots of advice from friends about the blog, including “get a life.” Turns out this is easier said than done, since defining “life” is notoriously tricky. See t his post at Scientific American for some of the problems nailing down the concept, and for further discussion, check out this special issue of Synthese.

Gillian Russell (Washington University in St.Louis) to North Carolina

Gillian Russell, currently associate professor of philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis has accepted an offer from UNC Chapel Hill and will be joining them as full professor starting in July, 2015. Professor Russell specializes in philosophy of language, philosophy of logic, and epistemology.

Philosophy for Children: How To

It has been said over and over that children are philosophers by nature. Less often said is that they aren’t particularly good philosophers. I don’t mean that as a criticism; after all, they’re just children. So what can we grown-up philosophers do to nurture their philosophical inquisitiveness and develop their reasoning skills–all while making sure they don’t use..

How to Reject

The job-seeking process in philosophy is, to put it politely, generally long and drawn out and tiring and discouraging and costly and anxiety-ridden, a perfect storm of stress, self-doubt, and probably a bunch of other things that start with ‘s’ (no suggestions in the comments about that, please). What can those on the hiring side of the table do to make things bett..

The Royal Institute of Philosophy’s Youtube Channel

There are a number of interesting videos of philosophy lectures collected on the Royal Institute of Philosophy’s Youtube Channel, including the annual lecture, this past year given by David Chalmers, entitled “Why Isn’t There More Progress In Philosophy?“

The Art of Teletransportation

Take Parfit’s teletransporters, add “someone’s modus ponens is another’s modus tollens,” throw in a dash of existentialism, and you’ll get “The Machine“, an interesting philosophy comic from Existential Comics (there are some other goods ones there, too; be warned that at least one of them is bit racy). See also John Weldon’s animated story about teletransportation,..

What Should a Statement of Professional Ethics for Philosophers Say?

As I noted last week, a petition was started, calling for the APA to create a “Code of Conduct and Statement of Professional Ethics for the Academic Discipline of Philosophy.” Meanwhile, Amy Ferrer, executive director of the APA, responded, saying that the matter will be considered at an upcoming meeting of the APA board of officers, and that it is currently APA pol..

APA Data on Graduate Programs

The APA has released its 2013 Guide to Graduate Programs in Philosophy, and Andrew Carson at Philosophy News helpfully breaks down the information in a couple of reports, one on degrees awarded and time to degree, the other on attrition and placement. A few things to note: participation in the guide was voluntary and some schools did not participate, the data is sel..

Famous Philosophy Majors in the News: Stokely Carmichael

NPR has a story about a new biography of civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael, who majored in philosophy at Howard University.

Need £100,000?

If so, and if you work at an institution of higher learning in the UK, and you received your PhD less than 10 years ago, you can attempt to get nominated for a Philip Leverhulme Prize in Philosophy and Theology. The deadline for nominations is May 14, 2014.

New Spin on Hegel’s Science of Logic

If you thought that Andrew Stephenson’s diagram of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason was wild, wait until you see this interactive wheel depicting Hegel’s Science of Logic. If anyone knows who created this, let me know and I will update this post accordingly. (via David Pereplyotchik, Kent State University)

New Journal: Science, Religion, and Culture

A new, peer-reviewed, open-access, interdisciplinary journal, Science, Religion & Culture, has been launched by Smith & Franklin publishing. There are a number of philosophers on the editorial board, including editor-in-chief Gregg D. Caruso (Corning Community College, SUNY), who explains what the new journal is about in this piece.

SEP & InPhO

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has a new look. Also, in case you hadn’t heard, Colin Allen, the SEP’s associate editor, has been working on a research tool called InPho, which maps out philosophical ideas, thinkers, and journals.

On the Write Track

Amtrak is offering writing residencies aboard its trains. Lasting from two to five days, the residencies are roundtrip journeys that include accommodations on board a sleeper car equipped with a bed, a desk, and outlets. The program is open to all sorts of writers, not just philosophers. Amtrak says that “A passion for writing and an aspiration to travel with Amtrak..

APA Seeks to Raise Money for Its Committee on the Status of Women

In honor of International Women’s Day the American Philosophical Association is seeking to raise $10,000 to support the work of its Committee on the Status of Women. Read more about the initiative here.

Report Philosophy Hires Here

Carolyn Dicey Jennings over at NewApps has invited other blogs to link directly to the Google docs for entering and displaying information about who got which jobs–not just tenure-track jobs, but post-docs and visiting assistant professorships, too. Thanks, Carolyn! If you have accepted an offer or have hired someone, you can enter that information here. To see who..

AQ (asked questions)

1. Isn’t it supposed to be FAQ? So WTF (Where’s The “F”)? The truth of the matter is that this blog hasn’t been around long enough for any question to really have been asked frequently. Nonetheless, I have been asked some questions about this blog, and thought I might say a few words in response.

2. Is this blog an attack on Brian Leiter? Nope. Like many in philosoph..

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