teaching
When To Engage With Harmful Ideas
Are some ideas so harmful or offensive that scholars should not work on them, or even bother to respond to them? And if so, how do we figure out which ones? (more…)
More Philosophers Should Run for Office… as Independents (guest post by Jay Geyer)
The following is a guest post* by Jay Geyer. Mr. Geyer is a PhD candidate in philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder, working on moral uncertainty. He has recently declared his candidacy for the Colorado House of Representatives. (more…)
Germain Grisez (1929-2018)
Germain Grisez, professor emeritus of philosophy and Christian ethics at Mount St. Mary’s University, died this past Thursday at the age of 88. (more…)
“Research Active Faculty” Criteria
(NOTE: I’m reposting this because there appeared to be problems with commenting on the original version.) A philosophy professor writes in with some questions about whether, and if so, how, various universities classify tenured faculty and distribute responsibilities among them: (more…)
Another Network Comedy To Feature a Philosopher
Is philosophy hot? Following the commercial success of The Good Place, a television sitcom on NBC with a moral philosophy professor as one of its main characters (which, by the way, recently featured a discussion of Jonathan Dancy’s moral particularism, not to mention a re-enactment of part of the trolley problem), the network will be releasing A.P. Bio.
Philosophers Object to Denial of Asylum to Humanist Unfamiliar with Plato & Aristotle
Two weeks ago, the British government’s Home Office rejected the asylum request of Hamza Bin Walayat because, while he described himself as a “humanist” worried about religious persecution in his home country of Pakistan, be could not answer questions about Plato and Aristotle. Now, 120 philosophers have signed onto a letter objecting to the decision. (more…)
Mini-Heap
Here’s the latest Mini-Heap—10 recent items from the Heap of Links, the frequently updated list of links to material that might be of interest to philosophers. (more…)
Failing Well and Challenging Authority
“But what I loved about philosophy, and what got me hooked in that intro course to begin with, was the sense that you could fail well. That you could think and think and think and never be assured of being right: that you could be good at philosophy and careful, indeed obsessive, and still end up being wrong.” (more…)
Mini-Heap
Looking for interesting stuff around the web, philosophers? Here’s the latest Mini-Heap—10 recent items from the Heap of Links, the frequently updated list of links to material elsewhere you might want to check out. (more…)
The Evidence Supporting Pre-College Instruction in Philosophy
“A growing body of controlled and randomized research suggests that philosophical instruction in primary and secondary education positively impacts students’ subsequent cognitive development, sometimes for years after that instruction ceases.” (more…)
Philosopher Richard Feldman Will Be Interim President of Univ. of Rochester
Richard Feldman, professor of philosophy at the University of Rochester and former dean of the university’s College of Arts, Sciences & Engineering, will be interim President of the University of Rochester, beginning in March, 2018. (more…)
Symbolic Conscription, Part II (guest post by Amy Olberding)
The following is a guest post* by Amy Olberding, professor of philosophy at the University of Oklahoma, in response to the discussion of Sam Liao’s post here, “How Is This Course Intro to Philosophy?” A version of it first appeared at Feminist Philosophers. (more…)
How Is This Course Intro To Philosophy? (guest post by Shen-yi Liao)
The following is a guest post by Shen-yi Liao, assistant professor of philosophy at University of Puget Sound. A version of it first appeared at Medium.
Coming Soon: PhilPeople
David Bourget (Western) and David Chalmers (NYU), the directors of the online philosophical database PhilPapers (and its associated sites, PhilArchive, PhilEvents, and PhilJobs), have announced a forthcoming new service called PhilPeople, a “searchable database of philosophers.” (more…)
The Underproduction of Philosophy PhDs (guest post by Daniel Hicks)
The following is a guest post* by Daniel Hicks (UC Davis), in which he explains how it could be that, contrary to conventional wisdom, there aren’t enough people getting PhDs in philosophy. (more…)
Mini-Heap
Here’s the latest edition of Mini-Heap—10 recent items from the frequently updated Heap of Links. Feel free to discuss. (more…)
What Proportion of Philosophy Majors Are Women? (guest post by Eric Schwitzgebel)
The following is a guest post* by Eric Schwitzgebel, professor of philosophy at University of California, Riverside. It first appeared at his blog, The Splintered Mind.
Online Philosophy Resources Weekly Update
Here’s the weekly report of what’s new at some useful online philosophy resources. (more…)
Recent APA Grants Fund Projects on Outreach and Diversity
The American Philosophical Association (APA) has announced the winners of several of its grants for the 2017-2018 academic year. All of the funded projects appear to be aimed at growing philosophy’s constituency, focusing especially on younger students (including high schoolers) and members of groups traditionally underrepresented in professional philosophy in the U..
Disbelief, Inaction, and the Persistence of Harassment and Assault
Helen Beebee (Manchester) and Heather Widdows (Birmingham) have co-authored an essay at IAI, “Weinstein, Westminster, and Philosophy: Structures of Abuse,” on the recent spate of accounts of sexual harassment and assault. (more…)
Laptops in Classrooms Revisited
Nearly two years ago, prompted by a Columbia professor’s decision to ban laptops in his classes, we discussed classroom computer and phone policies. The subject has been gaining more traction recently, owing to recent studies and an op-ed last week in The New York Times by University of Michigan education, public policy, and economics professor Susan Dynarski. (more..
Philosophy for the Police
In 2015, Freddie Gray suffered fatal injuries in the back of a police van. Since then, the Baltimore police department has instituted various reforms, including an educational program for police that includes philosophy and literature. (more…)
Chignell from Penn to Princeton
Andrew Chignell, currently professor of philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania (and before that, at Cornell University), will be joining the faculty at the University Center for Human Values (UCHV) at Princeton University as a Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor. (more…)
Mentoring Workshop For Women Graduate Students In Philosophy
Athena in Action is a networking and mentoring workshop for graduate student women in philosophy. Applications are now being accepted for its third annual workshop, which will be taking place this summer. (more…)
What Philosophers Are Asking Today (for World Philosophy Day 2017)
“What is the meaning of life?” That’s probably the question that springs to mind when a non-philosopher is asked what philosophers study. And while some philosophers do in fact work on that question, like any single question it does not capture the extraordinary range and diversity of subjects philosophers are thinking and writing about. (more…)
Why Science Education Needs Philosophy
Many of the young people who attend my classes think that philosophy is a fuzzy discipline that’s concerned only with matters of opinion, whereas science is in the business of discovering facts, delivering proofs, and disseminating objective truths. Furthermore, many of them believe that scientists can answer philosophical questions, but philosophers have no busines..
Mini-Heap
Here’s the latest edition of Mini-Heap—10 recent items from the frequently updated Heap of Links. Feel free to discuss. (more…)
Tax Proposal Would Make Getting a PhD in the US Very Expensive (Multiple Updates)
The tax plan introduced by Republicans in the U.S. Congress last week would have drastic effects on graduate education in the United States, according to reports at The Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed.