SEP, IEP, NDPR, Wi-Phi Weekly Update
Here are the past week’s additions and updates to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP), Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (NDPR), and Wi-Phi Wireless Philosophy, appearing here via special arrangement with Philosophical Percolations. As usual, they were first posted in PhilPercs’ “Saturday Linkorama” along with ..
“American Society for the Protection of Philosophers” Proposed
In a comment in the ongoing discussion regarding the reaction to George Yancy’s “Dear White America,” University of Oregon professor of philosophy Naomi Zack puts forward the idea of an “American Society for the Protection of Philosophers.” She volunteers herself for it and asks interested others to contact her:
The American Philosophical Association should expre..
Philosophers Detained in Turkey (updated)
As reported the other day, academics in Turkey are at risk of investigation and prosecution by the Turkish government for signing a petition calling for “the state to abandon its deliberate massacre and deportation of Kurdish and other peoples.” There were several dozen philosophers among the signatories.
According to one source, two philosophers from one univers..
Persecution of Academics in Turkey (updated)
Academics in Turkey are facing official accusations of ““terrorist propaganda,” “inciting people to hatred, violence and breaking the law,” and “insulting Turkish institutions and the Turkish Republic” for signing a petition calling for peace and objecting to their government’s treatment of citizens in the country’s Kurdish provinces. In part, the petition reads:
..
Internet Abuse of Philosophers (2 updates)
A few weeks ago, George Yancy (Emory) published an essay in The New York Times philosophy column, The Stone, called “Dear White America.” In it, he calls for white Americans to acknowledge their racism and their complicity with racist institutions. Yancy asks his readers to “listen with love” to what he has to say. But he knows that what he is saying is bound to pro..
NEH Summer Programs in Philosophy
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) offers summer programs for pre-college teachers and for those who teach at colleges and universities. Below are ones related to philosophy.
For pre-college teachers:
Existentialism
Deadline:March 1, 2016
Dates: June 27-July 29 (5 weeks)
Project Director(s): Thomas Wartenberg
Location: South Hadley, MA
For mo..
William Craig (1918-2016)
William Craig, professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, has died. Craig worked mainly in logic and philosophy of science, and is known for, among other things, what has come to be called Craig’s Interpolation Theorem.
UPDATE: See this announcement from the Berkeley Philosophy Department (via Richard Zach).
To Live After, and During, the Reflection
Nakul Krishna, a graduate student at Oxford, has written a beautiful essay at The Point called “Add Your Own Egg.” Go read it, and we can talk about it here, if you’d like.
The essay originates from the feeling that something is missing from contemporary philosophical practice. It is not a piece of simple declinism that romanticizes the past. Rather, it wonders whe..
Tips for Writing Letters for Applicants to Grad Programs
The recent spate of posts on letters of recommendation (students writing for profs, things best left out of the letters, and being asked to write your own letter) prompted a reader to send in another query about them—one we arguably ought to have started the week with:
Many of us teach philosophy at an institution without a graduate program. So while we write ..
New Philosophy Program for Female and Transgender Undergrads
A new initiative going by the name of “Compass Workshops” is starting up next month. Billed as “a philosophy workshop for female and transgender undergraduates,” the workshops
provide women and gender minority undergraduates a chance to meet each other, and to explore various sub-disciplines within philosophy, in a relaxed and supportive environment. The workshop..
Percentages of U.S. Doctorates in Philosophy Given to Women and to Minorities, 1973-2014 (guest post by Eric Schwitzgebel)
The following is a guest post* from Eric Schwitzgebel (UC Riverside). It also appears on his blog, The Splintered Mind.
Percentages of U.S. Doctorates in Philosophy Given to Women and to Minorities, 1973-2014
by Eric Schwitzgebel
The Survey of Earned Doctorates is a questionnaire distributed by the U.S. National Science Foundation to doctorate recipients at a..
Steup to Leave Purdue to Become Chair of Colorado (updated)
Matthias Steup, currently professor of philosophy and head of the Philosophy Department at Purdue University, will become chair of the University of Colorado Philosophy Department starting in fall of 2016. Steup works in epistemology and metaphysics. A press release about the appointment is here.
UPDATE: David Boonin, currently interim chair at Colorado, writes:
..
The Social Dimension of the Professor-Student Relationship
In a comment on a previous post, Natalie writes:
I would really like to see a post/some discussion about how different people manage the socialising-with-students thing. Thinking of my own lecturers, mentors, etc, they mostly fell into one of two extreme groups—either no socialising at all, or ill-thought out (and sometimes inappropriate) socialising—and so I..
Unsolved Problems in Philosophy
Did you know that Wikipedia has a “List of Unsolved Problems in Philosophy” page? It lists only 20 problems (philosophy’s doing better than I thought!) including: “the problem of the criterion,” “the mind-body problem,” “the hard problem of consciousness,” and “the problem of induction.” Ironically, mereology and universals are left off of the list. (Admittedly, it ..
Being Asked To Write Your Own Recommendation
Yes, this is “letters of recommendation” week at Daily Nous. On Monday, there was an inquiry from a student about how to write letters in support of faculty. Yesterday, we began a discussion of what not to include in letters of recommendation. Today, we turn to the egregious practice of recommenders asking recommendees to write their own letters of recommendation, w..
Chaospet (Daily Nous Philosophy Comics)
Chaospet
by Ryan Lake
What NOT to Say in Your Letters of Recommendation
Sometimes one comes across a letter of recommendation in which the author, presumably with good intentions, nonetheless says something that is bizarre, inappropriate, counterproductive, or downright creepy. In the interests of grad school applicants, job seekers, tenure candidates, etc., as well as those writing letters for them, I am opening up a thread here for ex..
On Students Writing Letters for Faculty
A graduate student in philosophy writes in with the following query:
I’m a philosophy PhD student and avid reader of Daily Nous. I particularly enjoy reading the posts that provide advice for graduate students, and I was wondering if you had considered having a post on how to write letters of support for your supervisors and/or faculty members? It’s something tha..
The Purification of Philosophy
institutionalization of philosophy made it into a discipline that could be seriously pursued only in an academic setting. This fact represents one of the enduring failures of contemporary philosophy.
So argue Robert Frodeman and Adam Briggle (both of University of North Texas). Philosophy’s institutionalization in the modern research university was a kind of “pu..
SEP, IEP, NDPR, Wi-Phi Weekly Update
Here are the past week’s additions and updates to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP), Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (NDPR), and Wi-Phi Wireless Philosophy, appearing here via special arrangement with Philosophical Percolations. They were first posted in PhilPercs’ “Saturday Linkorama” along with many other..
Philosophy Travel & Tourism
Guy Crain, professor of philosophy at Rose State College, writes in with the following inquiry:
I’m wondering if there is a resource with collected information about philosophy-related travel/site-seeing. For instance, is it possible to visit John Stuart Mill’s birthplace? What libraries or museums (if any) have first editions of philosophical works on display?..
Overheard at the Eastern
An open thread to report those funny or odd things one tends to overhear at gatherings of philosophers, for folks at the Eastern Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association.
Play nice, please.
The Paradox of Unanimity
Under ancient Jewish law, if a suspect on trial was unanimously found guilty by all judges, then the suspect was acquitted. This reasoning sounds counterintuitive, but the legislators of the time had noticed that unanimous agreement often indicates the presence of systemic error in the judicial process, even if the exact nature of the error is yet to be discovered. ..
Are Journal Rejections a Hazing Ritual (Ought Experiment)
Welcome back to Ought Experiment! Today’s question is from a philosopher reeling from yet another journal rejection, and starting to wonder if publishing is an arbitrary (or even intentionally cruel) ordeal:
Dear Louie,
My favorite paper was just rejected for the 7th time. Let’s see, I’ve had desk rejections, rejections without referee comments, rejections..
Trump’s Rhetoric and Frogs in Warming Water
Princeton University Press has begun an “Election 2016: Hot Button Issues” series at its blog and its inaugural post, “Donald Trump and Mass Incarceration” is by Jason Stanley (Yale). In the post, Stanley argues that Trump’s articulation of xenophobic, Islamophobic, racist, and harshly retributivist views is problematic not only because his campaign success so far r..
Issues with Graduate Admissions
“Ph.D. programs are one of the few parts of higher education where admissions decisions are made without admissions professionals.” So begins Inside Higher Ed’s discussion of Inside Graduate Admissions: Merit, Diversity and Faculty Gatekeeping by Julie Posselt (Michigan). Posselt observed ten different U.S. departments as they narrowed down their pool of PhD program..
To φ Or Not To φ (Daily Nous Philosophy Comics)
To φ Or Not To φ
by Tanya Kostochka
New Philosophy and Dinosaur Blog
Philosophy and dinosaurs. Is it philosophy of paleontology, or just really really really ancient philosophy? Whatever it is, I love this combination. And now there is a way to get your philosophy of paleontology in compsognathus*-sized bites at Extinct — “a resource for philosophers, palaeontologists, and enthusiasts.”
Extinct is a group blog featuring contribu..