journals
Philosophy Journal Hosts Debate on “Jewish Influence” (updates: Article Retracted; Journal Gets New Editor)
Have Jews insinuated themselves into positions of power and influence in politics and culture because they are innately gifted with higher IQs, or is it also because they are ethnocentric and hypocritical networkers good at using non-Jews in their self-serving mission of “transforming America contrary to white interests”? Race science and/or conspiracy theory? This-..
2021 In Review
This is the end, philosofriends…
John O’Connor (1937-2021)
John Morris O’Connor III, professor emeritus of philosophy at William Paterson University, has died. (more…)
Stepping Outside of Philosophy: Reflections on a Transdisciplinary Career (guest post)
Universities say they want their faculty to pursue “interdisciplinary” and “transdisciplinary” work. Yet it might be difficult to figure out how to do that given the structure of academia and the nature of academic training. (more…)
Ng Wins Journal of the History of Philosophy Book Prize
The Journal of the History of Philosophy has announced that the winner of its 2021 Book Prize is Karen Ng, associate professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University. (more…)
Simons Wins 2021 Distinguished Woman Philosopher Award
Margaret “Peg” Simons, Professor Emerita at the University of Illinois at Edwardsville, is the winner of the 2021 Distinguished Woman Philosopher Award. (more…)
Comparing Three (No, Four) Top 20 Lists in Philosophy (guest post)
What, if anything, can be learned by comparing several different accounts of philosophers’ citation rankings and other indicators of disciplinary impact? (more…)
Citations and the Ethics of Credit
A philosopher putting together resources for a professionalization seminar for graduate students in his department writes in with concerns about the “ethics of credit” in philosophy. (more…)
“Very often, corralling is not an option in philosophy”
That’s philosopher Frank Jackson (ANU), in a recent interview published in The Undergraduate Philosophy Journal of Australasia. (more…)
How Military Veterans Contribute to Academic Philosophy (guest post)
Before becoming a philosopher, Descartes studied and then taught military engineering as a soldier. Wittgenstein penned the Tractatus as an artilleryman in World War I and sent out his manuscript while confined at a prisoner of war camp in Italy. Quine was a codebreaker during World War II, while Davidson trained spotters to distinguish Allied planes from Axis plane..
Christian Student Group Sues University Over Denial of Funds for Talk by Robert Audi (updated)
The University of Nebraska, Lincoln chapter of the evangelical Christian student group Ratio Christi is suing the university, claiming it was discriminated against when it was denied funding for a talk by philosopher Robert Audi (Notre Dame). (more…)
Advice for Applying to PhD Programs in Philosophy (guest post)
In the following guest post*, Alex Guerrero, professor and director of graduate admissions in the Department of Philosophy at Rutgers University, offers some advice to those considering applying to philosophy PhD programs. (more…)
Philosophy of Well-Being: A “Dysfunctional” Situation?
A “responsible definition of wellbeing,” says Anna Alexandrova (Cambridge), “needs to be appropriate to the goals of the project—epistemically accessible, reasonably simple, in other words fit for purpose… Philosophers of wellbeing in the analytic tradition think very differently.” (more…)
Mini-Heap
The latest links… (more…)
Rejection After Positive Referee Reports
When an author gets all fairly positive referee reports (acceptance, conditional acceptance) on a manuscript, but the editors decide not to accept it, what kind of explanation, if any, is it reasonable for the author to expect? (more…)
Journal News: Philosophical Psychology and Neuroethics (guest post)
This guest post* provides some information about recent changes at two interdisciplinary journals, including one from which a previous editor resigned last year following a controversy surrounding a piece published in it. The authors are Lisa Bortolotti, professor of philosophy at the University of Birmingham, and Katrina Sifferd, professor of philosophy at Elmhurst..
Co-Authorship in Philosophy over the Past 120 Years (by Bourget & Weinberg)
“We think philosophy is due an ethos change; one where the myth of the ‘lone genius’ is dispelled and where co-authoring is both encouraged and acknowledged.”
Levelling the Linguistic Playing Field within Academic Philosophy (guest post)
Stylistic norms for writing affect philosophers’ professional prospects in unfair ways, and what one thinks should be done about this may be tied to one’s conception of what philosophy is supposed to do. (more…)
Discipline Size and Progress, in General and in Philosophy
When a field of study becomes large enough, its size “may impede the rise of new ideas,” according to Johan S.G. Chu and James A. Evans, in a new paper, “Slowed canonical progress in large fields of science,” in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (more…)
Rudolf Makkreel (1939-2021)
Rudolf Makkreel, professor emeritus of philosophy at Emory University, has died. (more…)
An Empirical Approach to the Analytic-Continental Divide
What’s the difference between analytic philosophy and Continental philosophy? In a new paper, a pair of researchers use a computer analysis of the content of different journals to test one way the distinction is sometimes characterized. (more…)
A Tale of Two Resignations
Two philosophy professors recently announced their resignations from their respective universities. Both say that their administrations failed to adequately defend their freedoms and protect them from harassment and threats. But there are some differences between the stories that affect what might be learned from them. (more…)
Analytic Philosophy, Inclusiveness, and the English Language
Philosophers are endorsing a set of principles “to address the structural inequality between native and non-native speakers , and to provide as many scholars as possible globally a fair chance to contribute to the development of contemporary philosophy.”
Britain and Ireland Association for Political Thought Prizes
The Britain and Ireland Association for Political Thought (BIAPT) has announced the winners of its Early Career and Mid-Career Prizes. (more…)
Your Paper Has Been Accepted. Now What? (guest post)
A graduate student who had an article accepted for publication asked Jonathan Ichikawa, professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia, about the post-acceptance process. (more…)
Bringing Philosophy to Those in Need (guest post)
“There are those who are unable to attend formal classes in philosophy because of life situations, i.e., homelessness, re-entry from prison, working several jobs, working a fulltime job, can’t afford to pay for classes, anxious about formal education, caring for others, and of course, most recently, a global pandemic. That’s why we go to these communities and offer ..
Strange Philosophical Claims By Scientists
Did you know that the brain cortex has “an amount of free will exceeding 96 terabytes per second”? No? Is it because… umm… you thought it was some other number of terabytes? (more…)
Long-Running Ethics Blog Seeks New Editors
PEA Soup, a blog about “philosophy, ethics, and academia” that has been running for 17 years, is in need of new leadership. (more…)