Daily Nous - news for & about the philosophy profession

Ted Cohen (1939-2014)

Ted Cohen, a professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago, has died. Professor Cohen worked mainly in aesthetics, the history of aesthetics, and on some topics in the philosophy of language. He is especially known for his work on metaphor and the philosophy of humor, including his 1999 book, Jokes: Philosophical Thoughts on Joking Matters.

Sara Bernstein (D..

Open Borders Day

Today is Open Borders Day, which seems to be the creation of the people who run the Open Borders website. The site is well put together, and considers various moral, economic, and practical considerations regarding migration. Though certainly pro-open-borders, they consider various objections, too. The site would certainly be of interest to social and political phil..

Philosophers among the 10 most famous people. Ever.

The NY Times Magazine has an article on MIT’s new Pantheon project, which aims to map “cultural production.” According to it, the top ten most famous people of all time, anywhere, include these philosophers: Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, Confucius, and Pythagoras. Philosophy: come for the money, stay for the fame.

Philosophy Majors & IQ

If you were to rank undergraduate majors by average IQ, where would philosophy majors be on that list? Here is one such list, with IQ and SAT scores. I have no clue as to its methodology, but it has philosophy majors near the top. If accurate, it may cut against some claims often made about the benefits of majoring in philosophy.

Petition Asks APA to Develop Comprehensive Accessibility Policy

Shelley Tremain has launched a petition asking the APA to develop a comprehensive accessibility policy and to create an advisory group to oversee its implementation. You can sign the petition, as well as read a response to it from APA Executive Director Amy Ferrer, here.

Philosopher App Store (Friday Fun — an occasional series)

It’s Friday, and it is apparently a slow news day in the world of philosophy, so let’s make some fun. The Philosopher App Store is an idea some FB friends and I had a good time with several months back. At the time, one of them said, “someone needs to to post this on a blog.” Who am I to disagree? Here are some of my contributions from the first iteration of the sto..

Three Philosophers Win ACLS Fellowships

The American Council of Learned Societies has announced the winners of its 2013-14 Charles A. Ryskamp and Frederick Burkhardt Fellowship competitions. Three philosophers are among the winners. Congratulations to Sarah McGrath (Princeton) and Karl Schafer (Pittsburgh) for winning Ryskamp Fellowships, and to Andrew Chignell (Cornell) for winning a Burkhardt Fellowship.

Epistemic Humility

Ellen Fridland, a philosopher at King’s College London, reflects on recent upheavals in the philosophy blogosphere in this brief “Plea for Humility“.

…in times of upheaval, in times when the social norms change, there will be many people, many good-‐intentioned and good-‐willed people for whom the injustices of the status quo remain invisible, who don’t really u..

When An Offer Is Rescinded Mid-Negotiation

A candidate received an offer from Nazareth College, a small liberal arts college. She replied with a list of provisions that would “make my decision easier.” Then Nazareth withdrew the offer. The story is recounted in this article at Inside Higher Ed, including the text of the email exchange between the candidate and the college, and discussed in depth at The Philo..

Is “Life” Useless?

I have received lots of advice from friends about the blog, including “get a life.” Turns out this is easier said than done, since defining “life” is notoriously tricky. See t his post at Scientific American for some of the problems nailing down the concept, and for further discussion, check out this special issue of Synthese.

Gillian Russell (Washington University in St.Louis) to North Carolina

Gillian Russell, currently associate professor of philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis has accepted an offer from UNC Chapel Hill and will be joining them as full professor starting in July, 2015. Professor Russell specializes in philosophy of language, philosophy of logic, and epistemology.

Philosophy for Children: How To

It has been said over and over that children are philosophers by nature. Less often said is that they aren’t particularly good philosophers. I don’t mean that as a criticism; after all, they’re just children. So what can we grown-up philosophers do to nurture their philosophical inquisitiveness and develop their reasoning skills–all while making sure they don’t use..

How to Reject

The job-seeking process in philosophy is, to put it politely, generally long and drawn out and tiring and discouraging and costly and anxiety-ridden, a perfect storm of stress, self-doubt, and probably a bunch of other things that start with ‘s’ (no suggestions in the comments about that, please). What can those on the hiring side of the table do to make things bett..

The Royal Institute of Philosophy’s Youtube Channel

There are a number of interesting videos of philosophy lectures collected on the Royal Institute of Philosophy’s Youtube Channel, including the annual lecture, this past year given by David Chalmers, entitled “Why Isn’t There More Progress In Philosophy?“

The Art of Teletransportation

Take Parfit’s teletransporters, add “someone’s modus ponens is another’s modus tollens,” throw in a dash of existentialism, and you’ll get “The Machine“, an interesting philosophy comic from Existential Comics (there are some other goods ones there, too; be warned that at least one of them is bit racy). See also John Weldon’s animated story about teletransportation,..

What Should a Statement of Professional Ethics for Philosophers Say?

As I noted last week, a petition was started, calling for the APA to create a “Code of Conduct and Statement of Professional Ethics for the Academic Discipline of Philosophy.” Meanwhile, Amy Ferrer, executive director of the APA, responded, saying that the matter will be considered at an upcoming meeting of the APA board of officers, and that it is currently APA pol..

APA Data on Graduate Programs

The APA has released its 2013 Guide to Graduate Programs in Philosophy, and Andrew Carson at Philosophy News helpfully breaks down the information in a couple of reports, one on degrees awarded and time to degree, the other on attrition and placement. A few things to note: participation in the guide was voluntary and some schools did not participate, the data is sel..

Famous Philosophy Majors in the News: Stokely Carmichael

NPR has a story about a new biography of civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael, who majored in philosophy at Howard University.

Need £100,000?

If so, and if you work at an institution of higher learning in the UK, and you received your PhD less than 10 years ago, you can attempt to get nominated for a Philip Leverhulme Prize in Philosophy and Theology. The deadline for nominations is May 14, 2014.

New Spin on Hegel’s Science of Logic

If you thought that Andrew Stephenson’s diagram of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason was wild, wait until you see this interactive wheel depicting Hegel’s Science of Logic. If anyone knows who created this, let me know and I will update this post accordingly. (via David Pereplyotchik, Kent State University)

New Journal: Science, Religion, and Culture

A new, peer-reviewed, open-access, interdisciplinary journal, Science, Religion & Culture, has been launched by Smith & Franklin publishing. There are a number of philosophers on the editorial board, including editor-in-chief Gregg D. Caruso (Corning Community College, SUNY), who explains what the new journal is about in this piece.

SEP & InPhO

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has a new look. Also, in case you hadn’t heard, Colin Allen, the SEP’s associate editor, has been working on a research tool called InPho, which maps out philosophical ideas, thinkers, and journals.

On the Write Track

Amtrak is offering writing residencies aboard its trains. Lasting from two to five days, the residencies are roundtrip journeys that include accommodations on board a sleeper car equipped with a bed, a desk, and outlets. The program is open to all sorts of writers, not just philosophers. Amtrak says that “A passion for writing and an aspiration to travel with Amtrak..

APA Seeks to Raise Money for Its Committee on the Status of Women

In honor of International Women’s Day the American Philosophical Association is seeking to raise $10,000 to support the work of its Committee on the Status of Women. Read more about the initiative here.