Writing

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.”

So says Brian Weatherson, Marshall M. Weinberg Professor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan, in a recent interview at the Blog of the APA. (more…)

Virtual Dissertation Groups

Once again, Joshua Smart (Oklahoma) is organizing virtual dissertation groups. (more…)

A Case For Co-Authorship In Philosophy (guest post by Joshua A. Miller and Eric Schliesser)

The following is a guest post * co-authored by Joshua A. Miller (Georgetown) and Eric Schliesser (Amsterdam). A version of it was previously published at both of their blogs: Miller’s Another Panacea and Schliesser’s Digressions & Impressions. It includes information about the frequency of co-authorship in different disciplines, discusses varieties of co-authorship a..

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 distinctive aspect of your philosophical work is its ambition to have practical import. In your The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics, you cite approvingly Epicurus’ claim ..

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 philosophy PhD students. (more…)

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 rules of writing.” They are:

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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 for students working on philosophy dissertations. He writes:

While advisors and committees are important, it can be incredibly helpful to discuss one’s work with peers in a lower-stakes environment, and it..

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 improve their writing skills. I have in mind anything from general style guides, to guides aimed more specifically at academics (or even professional philosophers!).

One thing that helps writers improve is read..

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. A reader has written in asking us to revisit the topic, noting that when it comes to information technology, a year and a half is a long time. What new options are out there? Have people’s preferences changed? Let us know. T..

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 and running soon. He writes:

While advisors and committees are important, it can be incredibly helpful to discuss one’s work with peers in a lower-stakes environment, and it can be particularly enlightening to do so w..

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 of her insights about those kinds of writing seem just as relevant to—and helpful for—the kind of writing philosophers typically do.

Chronicle: Is there a way in which writing fi..

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, but the changes are vast and drastic and have an enormous effect on several of the features of the past; features which users used to have control over. For instance, they completely del..

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 are important, it can be incredibly helpful to discuss one’s work with peers in a lower-stakes environment, and it can be particularly enlightening to do so with those who take..

Training Graduate Students in Academic Writing

The kind of research and writing experience received up until the moment of candidacy does not train students to a writing practice where months of research lead into months of writing lead into months of revision — where a good, finished, ‘in the bag’ chapter will reasonably take two semesters to complete, if not more. The structure of the system has set us up to ..

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 very concern to be clear can lead to the creation of precise definitions and fine distinctions marked with technical terms. Especially but not only when logical formalization is used, the resulting writ..