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The “Social Harm” of Philosophy
While once I used to think that professional philosophy was a place where it would be easy to do no social harm, I have come to recognize that not only do professional philosophers harm each other distressingly often, but also in our social role as, say, expert-ethicists (not just in medical and professional contexts), we can, in fact, generate and facilitate non-tr..
The Research about Student Evaluations of Teachers
We’ve discussed student evaluations of teachers here before, focusing on the various problems associated with them. Yet the picture may be more complicated. Elizabeth Barre, assistant director of Rice University’s Center for Teaching Excellence, recently posted about her “deep dive” into the voluminous research about student evaluations—research which is typically..
SEP, IEP, NDPR, Wi-Phi Weekly Update
The new edition of the massive amassing of philosophically relevant links known as the Philosophical Percolations‘ “Saturday Linkorama” is up. As usual, thanks to a special arrangement with the crew there, I present below a sample of what they have on offer: last week’s updates and new additions to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), the Internet Encyclop..
Philosophers Interview Edward Snowden
John Perry and Ken Taylor (both Stanford), hosts of the radio program Philosophy Talk, interviewed former NSA analyst Edward Snowden, “the world’s most famous whistleblower” back in May. They just released a series of five video excerpts from the interview.
In one segment, Snowden describes the disillusionment that he and some of his colleagues experienced upon r..
Benefits of Teaching Philosophy in Primary School (updated)
A study suggests that teaching primary/elementary school students philosophy may benefit their language and math skills, with those from particularly disadvantaged backgrounds showing the most improvement:
Teaching philosophy to primary school children can improve their English and maths skills, according to a pilot study highlighting the value of training pupils..
Microaggressions and Academic Freedom
Any characterization of the United States as “a melting pot,” for example, is classified in widely used training materials as a microaggression signaling a refusal to acknowledge the role that race plays in American society. The same goes for saying “Everyone can succeed in this society if they work hard enough” or “I believe the most qualified person should get the..
Philosophy Syllabi Study Needs Volunteers
Jennifer Saul (Sheffield) says: “Procrastinate and help women in philosophy!” She elaborates:
Have you been meaning to get around to making your undergraduate syllabus less male, but not got around to it yet? I have a study I’d like to do on gender differences in student attitudes toward philosophy, and I need to compare the attitudes of those in classes with ver..
Distance PhD in Philosophy?
The Philosophy Department at Staffordshire University is advertising a new distance-learning option for its PhD program:
Our doctoral programme can now be run on either an attendance or distance learning basis. The principles are the same – i.e. a course of high-level supervised research leading to a substantial and original thesis. However, the supervision happe..
Israel Proposes Philosophy for Elementary Students
The Education Ministry of Israel has proposed to add philosophy to the country’s elementary school curriculum. The proposal would have students “be taught the works of the prominent philosophers, develop critical thinking and learn how to ask meaningful questions and answer them in a serious manner,” starting in the third grade, according to an article at Israel Hay..
A Guide for Applying to Jobs at SLACs
You received your PhD from a major research university. Your advisors work at a major research university. Your placement director works at a major research university. But if you are on the job market, you are likely applying to some jobs that are not at major research universities. Among the various other institutions of higher learning you might be applying for j..
SEP, IEP, NDPR, Wi-Phi Weekly Update
Each week, the folks at Philosophical Percolations put together a massive list of philosophically relevant links they call the “Saturday Linkorama.” These include updates and new additions to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP), Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (NDPR), and Wi-Phi Wireless Philosophy, which app..
Getting Credit for Peer Review
It is a great service to the profession to peer review articles, and service to the profession counts at most institutions towards tenure and promotion. But how much does peer reviewing count?
My sense is that the credit one gets for peer reviewing is disproportionately small compared to how important peer reviewing is for the academic enterprise, but it would be..
Introducing “Ought Experiment”
Have you ever had a problem and thought, “I bet a professional philosopher could help”? If so, you are almost certainly a professional philosopher yourself, and if so, you almost certainly do need help. Here it is. Announcing Ought Experiment, a new Daily Nous guest column offering personalized advice for your academic life.
My name is Louie Generis (no it isn’t)..
What Explains Female Under-Representation Among Philosophy Majors?
Evidence from a new study seeking to explain why women are under-represented among philosophy majors suggests that they are not discouraged by introductory philosophy courses, but rather come to college already with certain attitudes that discourage them from studying philosophy. The findings are presented in “Why Is There Female Under-Representation among Philosoph..
Goswami Lawsuit Against DePaul to Proceed
Namita Goswami was denied tenure in the Department of Philosophy at DePaul University in the 2009-2010 academic year. She claimed that discrimination played a role in the decision and sued. Her story was covered a few years back in Inside Higher Ed:
“I was teaching exactly what I was hired to do and it was used against me,” said Goswami, a native of India who all..
Survey on the Value of Philosophy
Andrew Mills (Otterbein) is conducting a survey about what philosophers think is distinctively valuable about philosophy. I’ve reproduced his note about it, below, and I encourage you to complete the survey. As he says, the survey might help us adjust our teaching “so that we are emphasizing those skills and content that we think are most important for students to k..
Should Philosophy Articles Be Shorter?
“If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.”
This line is attributed to several authors, but probably originated with Pascal. Writing shorter is hard, as anyone who has tried to cut several thousand words from a paper in order to submit it to an APA meeting will attest. Yet, when stripped of most non-essential material and organized as efficiently..
Al Mele Interviewed at “What Is It Like…?”
Clifford Sosis (Coastal Carolina) continues his series of interviews at “What Is It Like To Be A Philosopher?” (previously) with Florida State University’s Al Mele. A synopsis:
In this interview, Al Mele talks about his early love of sports (especially football), games and reading, being an East Detroit greaser, getting a football scholarship, being disinterested..
SEP, IEP, NDPR, Wi-Phi Weekly Update
Each week, the folks at Philosophical Percolations put together a massive list of philosophically relevant links they call the “Saturday Linkorama.” These include updates and new additions to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP), Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (NDPR), and Wi-Phi Wireless Philosophy, which app..
Philosophers on the Supreme Court’s Gay Marriage Ruling
On Friday, June 26th, the Supreme Court of the United States announced its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, holding that the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the recognition and provision of same-sex marriage. It requires each of the 50 states in the US to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples seeking them, and to recognize legi..
If You Want to Do Good, Should You Get a Philosophy PhD?
Suppose you wanted to choose a career based on how much good it will allow you to do. Assessing careers with that in mind is one of the aims of 80,000 Hours, a non-profit organization co-founded by philosopher Will MacAskill. The group looks at four aspects of a job: (1) Role Impact — the extent to which the career enables you to help others; (2) Career Capital — ..
What Would Be in a Philosophy Museum? (updated)
How can we introduce those outside of higher education to philosophy? One little-used means is the museum.
I was not aware of any philosophy museums, but a recent news item on the Empathy Museum, ” the world’s first museum dedicated to helping visitors develop the skill of putting themselves in others’ shoes” put the idea in mind. (The Empathy Museum is the crea..
Metaphysics as Intellectual Ergonomics (guest post by Elijah Millgram)
This is the fifth in a series of guest posts* by Elijah Millgram (Utah) based on themes from his new book, The Great Endarkenment: Philosophy for an Age of Hyperspecialization. (Here are the first, second, third, and fourth entries.) (more…)
“Sleeping Beauty” Papers in Philosophy (updated)
“Sleeping Beauty” papers “lie dormant for years before experiencing a sudden spike in citations as they are discovered and recognized as important.” A recent article in Nature discussed scientific papers that have slumbered for decades, as well as a way of assigning a “beauty coefficient” to papers.
The coefficient, B, is “a value based on the number of citations..
Journal Editor Resists University “Vetting” of Content
A Northwestern University professor who edits a bioethics magazine has shelved the publication over a dispute with administrators, who demand that public relations staff approve content. Katie Watson, a professor in the university’s Medical Humanities and Bioethics program who edits the journal Atrium, said the demand followed recent controversy over the school’s ce..
A New Structure for Philosophy PhD Programs? (updated)
Under the so-called 5+2 program, humanities graduate students at Irvine will receive additional funding designed to push them through course work and their dissertations within five years. Those who finish within that time frame are eligible to apply for an up to two-year, teaching-intensive postdoc. Assistant adjunct professors, as they’re called, will receive rela..
Philosopher Awarded $5.1 Million for Study of Happiness
Philosopher Daniel Haybron (St. Louis University) has won a $5.1 million for a three year project on happiness and well-being. Most of that funding—$4.6 million— is coming from the John Templeton Foundation, with the remaining $453,000 coming from St. Louis University. From a press release from SLU:
Titled Happiness and Well-Being: Integrating Research Across..