Category: Writing
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Jargon & Citation in Philosophy
A study of papers published in academic science journals on the topic of “cave science” found that “papers containing higher proportions of jargon in…
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The Art of Philosophical Writing: An Interview with William Lycan (by Nathan Ballantyne)
“There has to be a balance between the formal and the conversational.”
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“Biting the Bullet”: A Note on Style from Caspar Hare
In his 2013 book, The Limits of Kindness, Caspar Hare (MIT) includes a brief “stylistic note” that gets across an important lesson for academic writers:…
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Don’t Forget to Remove the Scaffolding
“In a way that will be familiar to any reader of analytic philosophy, and is only too familiar to all of us who perpetrate…
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Virtual Dissertation Writing Groups
Joshua Smart (Oklahoma) is once again organizing virtual writing groups for those working on dissertations in philosophy.
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Philosophical Writing’s (Lack of?) Appeal to Other Academics
“It would be great for philosophy if more philosophical papers were written in a way that was appealing to scholars from across the academy.”…
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Virtual Dissertation Groups
Once again, Joshua Smart (Oklahoma) is organizing virtual dissertation groups.
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The Quality and Reach of Philosophical Writing
In an epic interview at Emotion Researcher, Martha Nussbaum answers questions about her life and her work and philosophy. At one point, the interviewer says: Another…
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Virtual Dissertation Writers Groups for Philosophy PhD Students
Once again, Joshua Smart, a graduate student at the University of Missouri and instructor at Christopher Newport University, is organizing virtual dissertation writers groups for…
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Writing Philosophy With Style
Lou Andreas-Salomé, who was at one time a friend and romantic interest of Friedrich Nietzsche’s, included in her book on the philosopher his “ten…
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Virtual Dissertation Groups
Once again, Joshua Smart, a PhD student at the University of Missouri and an instructor at Christopher Newport University, is organizing virtual writing groups…
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What To Read To Improve Your Philosophical Writing
A professor writes in with a question: I’d be very curious what books or other resources your readers might recommend for graduate students looking to…
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Reference Management Software Revisited
Back in Fall of 2014 we discussed reference management software and apps. Bibdesk and Zotero seemed to be the most popular options at the time.…
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Virtual Dissertation Groups
Working on a dissertation? The latest round of the Virtual Dissertation Groups, organized by Joshua Smart of the University of Missouri, will be up…
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Writers: Love Your Ideas, But Love Your Readers, Too
Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, a philosopher who has written nonfiction for non-philosophers, as well as novels, is interviewed in The Chronicle of Higher Education about writing. Some…
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Problems with Academia.edu?
A professor who prefers to remain anonymous writes in: Academia.com has recently, and without previous announcement, changed its appearance. This is, in itself, not remarkable,…
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Virtual Dissertation Writing Groups
Joshua Smart at the University of Missouri writes to let graduate students know about Virtual Dissertation Groups (previously): Virtual Dissertation Groups While advisors and committees…
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Training Graduate Students in Academic Writing
The kind of research and writing experience received up until the moment of [PhD] candidacy does not train students to a writing practice where…
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A Case for Clarity
This stark opposition between analytic clarity and continental obscurity must be qualified. Certainly, analytic philosophers tend to see clarity as a virtue. Yet the…