Iowa Bill Proposes Faculty Play “Survivor” (updated)
A bill (Senate File 64) under consideration in the Iowa legislature, proposed by State Senator Mark Chelgren, would turn faculty positions into something like Survivor. Or maybe the Hunger Games. The bill would:
- Require that any professor employed by an institution of higher learning under the control of the board teach at least one course offered for academic c..
Philosophers Elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Eight philosophers have been elected into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (AAAS) as part of its 2015 class:
- Marilyn McCord Adams (Rutgers)
- David Z. Albert (Columbia)
- Johan van Benthem (Stanford/Amsterdam)
- Patricia Smith Churchland (UC San Diego)
- Sally Haslanger (MIT)
- Johan Anthony Willem Kamp (Stuttgart)
- John MacFarlane (Berkeley)
- Tim W.E…
Ludlow’s Appeal Fails
Peter Ludlow had sued Sun-Times Media, Cumulus Broadcasting, and Fox Television Stations, Inc., for defamation, including describing the sexual assault he has been accused of as “rape.” The lawsuit had been dismissed, and Ludlow appealed the dismissal. The appeal has now failed. The court “affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint alleging defamation and false..
“Not Really A Philosopher”
Chris Eliasmith holds a Canada Research Chair in theoretical neuroscience at the University of Waterloo. He has a joint appointment in philosophy and systems design engineering. He also holds an appointment in computer science there. Over at the Ideas Can blog he discusses the challenges of interdisciplinary work. He says:
Not really a philosopher. And not really..
Zero Philosophers Among New Carnegie Fellows
The Carnegie Corporation of New York has announced the winners of its new Andrew Carnegie Fellowship program, which awards up to $200,000 to each of 32 recipients. The aim of the fellowship program is to “provide support for scholars in the social sciences and humanities,” according to a press release at its website. You can check out the winners here. There are no ..
Philosophy at University of Alaska, Fairbanks Is “Terminated”
There will be no more philosophy program at the University of Alaska, according to an article in the UAF Sun Star.
In an e-mail sent to philosophy students, Eduardo Wilner, department chair of philosophy and humanities said the program “is terminated.” Wilner says there will be a “teach-out period, meaning that all majors will be given time to finish in a ‘timely..
What To Teach In A First-Year PhD Proseminar?
Alex Guerrero (Penn), is wondering what philosophers think should be done in a first-year PhD proseminar. He writes:
Given all the recent discussion about the canon, the problematic effects of policing the borders of philosophy, the white maleness of philosophy, and so on, what do people think should be done in a first-year PhD proseminar? Assume it’s a semester ..
Application Fees and Timely Decisions
A prospective graduate student—call him Prospecto—has reported the following:
I applied to the Philosophy Ph.D. program at , submitting a completed application and paying the substantial application fee by the deadline. I then I heard nothing. On April 16, the day after one has to decide -– if one is lucky –- what grad school offer to accept, I wrote to the s..
Philosophy Tag
I know what you’ve been wondering: where has Philosophy Tag been? Actually, maybe some of you are wondering: what is Philosophy Tag?
Philosophy Tag is, unsurprisingly, a game. Here’s how it works: Philosopher 1 is tagged and becomes it. When you’re it, you have a few weeks to do the following: choose an article or chapter by another living philosopher, Philos..
Ned Markosian from Western Washington to UMass (updated)
Ned Markosian, currently professor of philosophy at Western Washington University (current website, Academia.edu page), has accepted an offer as professor of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, effective Fall 2015. Professor Markosian received his PhD from UMass, Amherst. He works primarily in metaphysics.
(No word yet on whether the Bel..
Lesser-Known Trolley Problems
Kyle York at McSweeney’s presents a very funny selection of lesser-known trolley problem variations. Here are just a few. Feel free to add your own in the comments.
The Time Traveler
There’s an out of control trolley speeding towards a worker. You have the ability to pull a lever and change the trolley’s path so it hits a different worker. The different worker i..
Research On Excess Philosophy PhDs
Are there too many philosophy PhDs? Do those seeking PhDs in philosophy have an accurate understanding of their chances of securing a permanent academic position? Ingrid Robeyns (Utrecht), is beginning a research project on the topic. She writes that, in the Netherlands,
In those debates, one often hears the rough number that about 9 out of 10 PhD students aspire..
George Yancy from Duquesne to Emory
George Yancy, currently professor of philosophy at Duquesne University, has accepted an offer from Emory University and will be professor of philosophy there starting in Fall of 2015. Professor Yancy works mainly in critical philosophy of race, as well as critical whiteness studies and philosophy of the Black experience. You can read more about his research here. Re..
What Is It Like To Be A Philosopher?
What Is It Like To Be A Philosopher? is the new project of Clifford Sosis (Coastal Carolina). What’s it all about? He says:
I decided to start What Is It Like To Be A Philosopher? because one of the things I like most about conferences, and hanging out with philosophers generally, is learning about the people who do philosophy. How we are similar. How we are diff..
World’s Largest Philosophy & Music Festival
HowTheLightGetsIn bills itself as “the world’s largest philosophy and music festival.” With 650 events, 370 acts, and 200 speakers on 9 stages over 11 days, it probably is. It takes place in the town of Hay-on-Wye, about 160 miles or so west of London. The schedule for the festival was recently released, and includes panels and debates with philosophers such as Sim..
In a Possible World Far, Far Away
By now you’ve all seen the new Star Wars trailer, so, philosofriends…
“I find your bad faith disturbing” — Sartre Vader
Philosophy Prof is Co-PI on $10.6m NIH Grant
Bert Baumgaertner, assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Idaho, is one of the co-principal investigators on a nearly $10.6 million grant won from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant is to support the university’s new Center for Modeling Complex Interactions. According to a press release from UI, “the center will focus its efforts on u..
Bioethicist Live-Tweets Her Son’s Sex-Ed Class (updated)
Alice Dreger, a professor in medical humanities and bioethics at Northwestern, sat in on her son’s sex-ed class at East Lansing High School and live-tweeted commentary about it to the world. The tweets were simultaneously disturbing and hilarious.
The kid has invited me to his health class on sex ed to see how bad it is, so I’m going. But hands over my mouth m..
Will Computers Do Philosophy?
Plus, an online magazine that “aims to introduce readers to the beauty and the practical applications of mathematics” has an interesting article on whether mathematicians will ever be replaced by computers. The article, “The Future of Proof,” by Marianne Freiberger and Rachel Thomas, reports on a recent British Applied Mathematics colloquium on the topic, and introd..
Five Philosophers Win NHC Fellowships
Five philosophers are among the winners of fellowships from the National Humanities Center. They are:
- Sara Bernstein (Philosophy, Duke University) What Might Have Been: Causation and Possibility (Philip L. Quinn Fellowship)
- Owen Flanagan (Philosophy, Duke University) The Geography of Morals: Varieties of Moral Possibility (Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship)
..
ACLS Fellows in Philosophy
Seven philosophers were awarded fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). Johnny Brennan of the ACLS writes with the details:
- Jacob Beck, Assistant Professor at York University, “Beyond Language” How the Mind Represents the World”
- Tim Maudlin, Professor at New York University, “Space-Time and the Theory of Linear Str..
Logic Problem Goes Viral (updated)
Perhaps you saw this logic problem, purported to have been given to fifth graders in Singapore, flying around social media yesterday:
That’s right: a logic problem has gone viral.
It turns out that the problem was from a math olympiad test for high-school students, but perhaps the “are you smarter than a fifth grader from Singapore” framing helped propel t..
Paying Their Own Way For Job Interviews
A junior job candidate reports that twice this season she has been invited for on-campus interviews but told that the inviting departments would not be able to pay for her travel to the campuses. At all. This is like being invited over for dinner but then told that you will have to bring all of the food and drink. It’s like being taken out for a night on the town bu..
Center for Dewey Studies Is at Risk
The Center for Dewey Studies at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, is facing drastic budget cuts that would severely curtail its activities, according to a report in The Daily Egyptian, the school paper.
Over the past fifty years The Center for Dewey Studies put together and published 37 volumes of John Dewey’s Collected Works, and over 22,000 pieces of De..
Peter Singer’s AMA on Reddit
Peter Singer (Princeton) did an “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit today to tout his new book, The Most Good You Can Do. He says he may come back tomorrow to answer some more questions. In the meanwhile, here are some excerpts:
Q: If you weren’t doing what you do now, what do you think you’d be doing?
A: I suppose I might be a political activist of some kind. B..
Pleshette DeArmitt (2015)
Pleshette DeArmitt, chair and associate professor of philosophy at the University of Memphis, has died. Professor DeArmitt work was in contemporary continental philosophy, feminist theory, psychoanalysis, and social and political thought. Before taking up a position at Memphis, she held held visiting positions at Grinnell College and Villanova University.
The dep..
Philosophers Pick Philosophical Movies
The Guardian had Julian Baggini, Christine Korsgaard, Ursula Coope, Peter Singer, Susan Haack, Kenneth Taylor, and Slavoj Žižek each pick a movie and draw out its philosophical themes. The movies picked were Memento, It’s a Wonderful Life, Gattaca, Ida, Galaxy Quest, Force Majeure, and Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter … and Spring. Can you guess which philosopher pi..
Sexism in Academic Hiring — A Myth? (updated)
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences produced findings that appear to show that hiring practices in certain fields are not biased against women. Here is the paper’s “significance” summary:
The underrepresentation of women in academic science is typically attributed, both in scientific literature and in the media, to sexist ..