The Most Disruptive Philosophical Idea
On the occasion of its 85th anniversary, Businessweek put together a list of the 85 “most disruptive” ideas during the past 85 years. Containing some predictable entries like the birth-control pill and email, as well as some odd ones such as kitty litter and name-brand jeans, the list offers not one philosophical idea. It is, of course, a business magazine; no surpr..
Separating Philosophy from Religious Studies and Theology (Updated)
In research on higher education, philosophy majors, religious studies majors, and theology majors are often grouped together. This is because the questionnaires used to create the main data sets on which this research is based group these majors together. This is not merely weird, given how different these fields are, but possibly detrimental to the reputation of ph..
New Center for Ethics and Education
Harry Brighouse (Wisconsin) and Anthony Laden (University of Illinois, Chicago) are launching the Center for Ethics and Education, the chief aim of which is to bring philosophical thinking to bear on educational policies and practices. The Center will be funded by a $3.5 million grant from the Spencer Foundation. In an article at the University of Wisconsin website,..
Bratman wins 2014 Quinn Prize
Michael Bratman (Stanford) has won the 2014 Philip L. Quinn Prize. The annual prize “is awarded in recognition of service to philosophy and philosophers” and includes $2500 and an engraved plaque.
APA Code of Conduct Interim Report (updated)
The American Philosophical Association’s Code of Conduct Task Force submitted an interim report to the APA’s Board of Officers, and the report was approved by the Board at its recent meeting. The primary agenda item of the task force to date had been the consideration of whether to create a code of conduct, and the task force did conclude that such a code was needed..
Mulhall on Philosophy and Culture
This past October, Stephen Mulhall (Oxford), delivered the Grahame Lock Memorial Lecture, and it contains interesting reflections on philosophy and its significance in the broader culture:
Sometimes philosophy finds that its own continued existence does not matter to anyone else… But philosophers shouldn’t deny their own responsibility for this fate. For how many..
Drop in Graduate Applications?
A philosopher who prefers to remain anonymous has noticed a marked drop in applications to his graduate program and is wondering whether this is part of a general trend. As such information might be useful to the profession as a whole, please consider sharing any knowledge you have regarding increases or decreases in the recent volume of applications to the PhD and ..
University of Tehran Statement on Khatami
The University of Tehran has issued a statement on the plagiarism allegations against Mahmoud Khatami (reported earlier here and here). I have been provided with two translations of the statement. One is by someone who prefers to remain anonymous. It is reprinted below. The other is by Shirzad Peik Herfeh, assistant professor of philosophy at Imam Khomeini Internat..
Open Letter on the Damage to UIUC
More than three dozen scheduled talks and multiple conferences across a variety of disciplines – including, for example, this year’s entire colloquium series in the Department of Philosophy – have already been canceled, and more continue to be canceled, as outside speakers have withdrawn in response to the university’s handling of Dr. Salaita’s case…
An open ra..
Response to McAdams’s Attack on Abbate
The following is a guest post* from a philosopher who has been in communication with Marquette University philosophy graduate student Cheryl Abbate about the events that occurred in her class and that have been at the center of much controversy recently. The post aims to correct several mistaken and misleading elements in associate professor of political science Joh..
Being a Philosopher of Color — a New Blog
A new blog project, What Is It Like to be a Person of Color in Philosophy?, has just launched. From the “about” page:
This blog contains narratives of personal experiences, submitted by readers, of life in philosophy as a person of color. Some of these stories will undoubtedly be accounts of racial bias, whether explicit, unconscious, or institutional. However, o..
Westboro Baptist Church to Picket Marquette (updated)
The Westboro Baptist Church, a bizarre anti-gay cult comprised largely of the extended family of its late founder, is planning to picket on the campus of Marquette University this Sunday (correction: next Monday) morning, citing Fox News’ misleading account of Marquette graduate student Cheryl Abbate’s handling of an undergraduate’s desire to discuss same-sex marri..
The Specialty Rankings
Selections from the 2014 Philosophical Gourmet Report (PGR), a controversial ranking of the reputations of PhD-granting philosophy departments, have been appearing at Leiter Reports recently. Parts of the following specialty rankings, along with the names of those philosophers who did them, have been released: philosophy of physics, Kant, metaethics, 19th Century Co..
A Charmed Circle
The profession runs on reputation — basically the shared perception that you’re a smart guy. But how do you get reputation? Not by having a chair at a major school; that helps your visibility, but doesn’t protect you from being perceived as none too bright…. Nor does having the support of a powerful person do very much; you can be the favorite student of the top p..
Jonathan Trejo-Mathys (1979-2014) (updated)
Jonathan Trejo-Mathys, an assistant professor of philosophy at Boston College, has died. Trejo-Mathys worked mainly in political philosophy and critical social theory. Prior to his appointment at Boston College, he had been a Fulbright Scholar as well as a fellow at the Justitia Amplificata Centre for Advanced Studies in Frankfurt. He received his PhD in 2009 from N..
Colorado Won’t Allow Outside Observer at Barnett’s Hearing (updated)
A faculty group is concerned that David Barnett, the tenured University of Colorado philosophy professor fighting for his job will not be allowed to have an outside observer at his dismissal hearing next week.
Barnett and the Colorado conference of the American Association of University Professors sought to have one of the group’s members watch a closed-door facul..
Update on Khatami Plagiarism Case
University of Tehran philosophy professor Mahmoud Khatami, who has been accused of extensive plagiarism (including his Durham University PhD, several articles, and an allegedly ghost-written book about him) is on sabbatical in Canada and has not yet responded to inquiries about the charges, according to sources in Iran.
The story has been pursued in several Irani..
Whiting from Toronto to Pittsburgh
Jennifer Whiting, currently at the University of Toronto, has accepted an offer to become professor of philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh, starting January 2015. Professor Whiting has written extensively on ancient philosophy; her research interests include metaphysics, ethics, and philosophy of mind, both ancient and modern. (via Anil Gupta)
Philosophers Protest the Murder of 43 Students
Over a month has passed since the forced disappearance of the normalistas (student teachers) of the Raúl Isidro Burgos Rural Teachers College of Ayotzinapa, and still 43 remain missing.
On September 26, members of the Iguala municipal police and the Guerreros Unidos drug cartel ambushed the caravan of students as they traveled by bus within their home state of Gu..
Philosopher Accuses Queen’s University of Intimidation Tactics
Adèle Mercier, associate professor of philosophy at Queen’s University, has accused the school of using “intimidation tactics to silence her and two other professors” since she complained about gender discrimination in her department in 2008. That year, after being approached by several female graduate students, she and two other female philosophy professors filed c..
“The Cuts Make No Academic Sense”
As reported last month, the University of Southern Maine has announced drastic cuts to faculty and staff and an academic restructuring so as to make up for a budget shortfall. The philosophy department there was merged with the English department, and there is one (unconfirmed) report that one philosopher was forced into retirement on pain of termination with reduce..
Happy Thanksgiving
I am posting this today in the hope that I will not be spending tomorrow in front of a glowing screen.
For Thanksgiving, I am writing to express my appreciation of you, the people who visit Daily Nous, read the posts, comment on them, send in news, suggest topics, share posts, retweet tweets, write with an encouraging word, and keep me in line. If Daily Nous has ..
How Many Police Shootings Are Too Many?
Let’s step back and be honest. This is a big country. Thousands of dangerous confrontations occur between police and civilians, decisions need to be made in a split second and under duress. Tragic mistakes will happen. And beyond innocent mistakes” we can surely foresee some “mistakes” that won’t be innocent. In investigating these cases we can, sadly, also predict ..
Philosophers Among 2014 AAAS Fellows
The American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) has announced its elected fellows for 2014. Among the 401 new fellows are two philosophers: Joseph Pitt (Virginia Tech) and C.Kenneth Waters (Calgary).
APA Protests UIUC Treatment of Salaita
The American Philosophical Association (APA) Board of Officers have written a letter in which they “protest the action of the Chancellor and Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in withdrawing the offer of a tenured position to Professor Steven Salaita.” The Board condemns the actions of these officials based on considerations of free ..
Possible Graduate Strike at Univ. of Oregon (Updated)
Graduate student teaching fellows at the University of Oregon have published a letter expressing their intent to strike, starting on December 2nd, over the university administration’s unwillingness to offer the graduate teaching fellows (GTFs) two weeks of paid leave for illness or childbirth. The conflict between the negotiating parties has been exacerbated by the ..
Patrick Suppes (1922-2014) (several updates)
Patrick Suppes, emeritus professor of philosophy at Stanford University, has died. Suppes was known for his work in several areas, most notably philosophy of science. Stanford University has posted a memorial notice here. His complete bibliography and the text of an intellectual autobiography he wrote in 1978 can be found here, and here is another site that collects..
Sit-in At Northwestern Re: Ludlow Suit (updated)
A group of graduate and undergraduate students at Northwestern University, including members of the department of philosophy, are planning a sit-in for tomorrow at the office of university president Morton Schapiro to protest the university’s decision to mediate its lawsuit with Peter Ludlow (previously), rather than continue with it in court. The university is only..