Daily Nous - news for & about the philosophy profession

APA Joins Condemnation of Turkey’s Attacks on Academic Freedom

The board of officers of the American Philosophical Association (APA), in a unanimous vote, decided to officially sign on to a statement from the Middle East Studies Association condemning the Turkish government’s recent attacks on academic freedom, according to a post at the Blog of the APA. (more…)

Chicago State’s Sudden Layoffs Include A Tenured Philosopher

Chicago State University has been facing a financial crisis. It relies on the state of Illinois for about 30% of its budget, but, owing to the previous financial and budgeting decisions the university’s administrators had made, along with the state’s “budget stalemate that left higher education without a dime for most of last year—and then provided only partial fu..

Should You Continue To Teach The Work of Sexual Harassers?

Thomas Pogge, whose alleged extracurricular activities, including sexual harassment, have been the subject of numerous posts here, is having his own place in the curriculum questioned. Pogge retains, for now, a prestigious named professorship at Yale. An article at Inside Higher Ed this morning discusses whether professors who believe he has acted at least problemat..

Ad Hoc (Daily Nous Philosophy Comics)

Ad Hoc
by Rachel Katler

(more…)

Applying To Programs That Previously Rejected You

A reader writes in with a question about applying to graduate programs in philosophy:

I applied to several Masters programs and PhD programs in philosophy last year, and got into a Masters program. I was wondering if you and/or your readers could answer the following question for me: when it comes time for me to apply to PhD programs again, is it alright for me t..

Boxill Denies All Allegations

In October of 2014, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill published the results of an internal investigation into an academic fraud scheme in place for years, accusing philosophy faculty member Jan Boxill of involvement in directing students to take “fake” classes and providing them with impermissible degrees of assistance. This was followed by a report by..

“What Matters To Philosopers?” Asks Central APA President

Valerie Tiberius, professor of philosophy at the University of Minnesota and current president of the Central Division of the American Philosophical Association, wants to know “what matters to philosophers.”

She writes:

Dear Colleague,

As chair of a philosophy department at a large state institution (University of Minnesota), I’ve frequently been called upo..

Philosophy: Splendidly Polyphonic, Historically Limited, Problematically Magical

In the latest interview at What Is It Like To Be A Philosopher?, Clifford Sosis (Coastal Carolina) asks Kwame Anthony Appiah (NYU) how he sees the future of philosophy. Appiah answers:

I’m not much of a prophet and I feel very stuck in the present of the subject, which strikes me as splendidly more polyphonic than it was when I started out. (more…)

The “Grad School Takeover”

Even in four-year colleges that emphasize undergraduate education, new appointments are going to top graduates from a mere handful of prestigious doctoral programs that emphasize research and professional advancement over teaching. The academic job market and tenure expectations focus ever more intently on publications, whether in book or journal form, that tend to ..

Univ. of Minnesota Philosophy Receives $1.23 Million Donation

The Department of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota has received a $1.23 million donation from Stephen Setterberg. Dr. Setterberg is the president of PrairieCare, a mental health provider. He also majored in philosophy as an undergraduate at Minnesota before going to medical school there. (more…)

The Philosophy Twitterverse

What, if anything, should philosophers do on Twitter? The Blog of the APA has an interesting interview with longtime Twitterphile Kelly Truelove (@TrueSciPhi), who, among other things, keeps statistics on philosophers and their followers on Twitter, and he addresses this question. (more…)

Chaospet (Daily Nous Philosophy Comics)

Chaospet
by Ryan Lake

(more…)

New £30,000 Prize for Philosophers, Writers, & Architects

The new Judd-Hume Prize, named for artist Donald Judd and philosopher David Hume, includes a £30,000 prize and a two-month fellowship at the University of Edinburgh. The prize was created by Peter Ballantine, who helped Judd construct his sculptures over a 25-year period. (more…)

What Are Philosophers Supposed To Do?

The summer issue of The Hedgehog Review is out and features a symposium, “On the Business of Philosophy.” The main element of the symposium is Richard Rorty’s Page-Barbour Lectures at the University of Virginia, with responses from Susan Haack (Miami), Robert Pippin (Chicago), and Matthew Crawford (Virginia). (more…)

Getting Ethics into Non-Philosophy Courses & other Strategies for Expanding Ethics Instruction

Questions about right and wrong action, what kinds of things are of value, and what kinds of persons we should be—i.e., ethics—arise in nearly every area of scholarly inquiry. This provides opportunities for philosophy departments to play a role at their universities outside their traditional courses. (more…)

Online Philosophy Resources Weekly Update

Here’s what new or changed over the past week at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP), Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (NDPR), and Wi-Phi: (more…)

“Staring Contests That Make Philosophy Interesting”

Imagine two people arguing about free will. One of them, let’s call her Olga the Optimist, has just heard about compatibilism and happily accepts the view that of course she has free will—after all, if she wants to raise her arm she raises her arm and if she doesn’t she does not. The other one, let’s call him Paul the Pessimist, points out to her that she hasn’t c..

Job-market Mentoring: How Are Programs Doing? (Guest Post by Marcus Arvan)

The following is a guest post * by Marcus Arvan (Tampa) seeking information about what graduate programs in philosophy are doing, doing well, or failing to do, in regards to job placement. It originally appeared at The Philosophers’ Cocoon. Of particular value would be the perspectives of those who have recently been on the market and current graduate students curren..

“Crazy Genius” Philosophers, Logic, and Mental Illness

Interestingly, having studied a lot of logic in graduate school, I observed that the culture of logic is more accepting of mental illness, though not for most people. Given the stereotype of the “crazy genius logician”—exemplified, for instance, by Kurt Gӧdel—neuro-typicality does not seem to be a precondition for success. (more…)

How To Find A Philosophy Tutor or Mentor

A student in the University of London’s distance undergraduate international program who is majoring in philosophy is seeking advice on how to get help with her studies. She writes: (more…)

Referees With Attitude Problems

Everyone involved in the academic journal publishing process, it seems, is overworked. It’s true of the editors, of course, but also of the referees who say yes. And when people are overworked, they often become especially concerned with how their time is used up, by themselves and others, and frustrated when they feel their time is wasted. (more…)

Philosophy Talk’s Fundraising Troubles

During its last fundraiser, Philosophy Talk, the weekly radio show hosted by Stanford University’s John Perry and Kenneth Taylor, failed to make it more than 4% of the way to its $150,000 goal, according to The Stanford Daily. (more…)

Academic Purges In Turkey

The government of Turkey appears to be using the recent attempted coup as an excuse to purge universities of opposition. According to recent reports, the licenses of approximately 21,000 teachers have been revoked, nearly 1,600 deans have been ordered to resign. Additionally, the government has banned academics from travelling abroad. (more…)

To φ Or Not To φ (Daily Nous Philosophy Comics)

To φ Or Not To φ
by Tanya Kostochka

(more…)

Designing a High School Logic & Critical Thinking Course

Landon Hedrick is a PhD student at the University of Nebraska who is also a high school philosophy teacher at Vanguard Classical School in Colorado. He is looking for some help meeting the specific challenges of designing a logic and critical thinking course in which the materials “are all appropriate for the audience, both in terms of content and in terms of ..