teaching

Search Results for:

The Quality and Reach of Philosophical Writing

In an epic interview at Emotion Researcher, Martha Nussbaum answers questions about her life and her work and philosophy. At one point, the interviewer says:

Another distinctive aspect of your philosophical work is its ambition to have practical import. In your The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics, you cite approvingly Epicurus’ claim ..

When Professors Express Intimidating Opinions

We’ve seen the following: the questioning of a professor’s ability to teach well because of the effect on his or her students of the professor’s expression of a controversial opinion. This was one element of the debate surrounding Steven Salaita’s tweets. For example, he wrote on Twitter, “If you’re defending #Israel right now you’re an awful human being.” Concerns ..

“On The Brink of Collapse”: The Philosophical Society of South Africa

The Philosophical Society of South Africa (PSSA), a professional association of philosophers “representing the interests of the academic philosophical community in Southern Africa,” is “on the brink of collapse over allegations of racism,” according to the Mail & Guardian. At its annual meeting last month, the organization’s president, Vasti Roodt (Stellenbosch), an..

$2 Million in Fellowships for Improving Public Discourse

Humility and Conviction in Public Life, an interdisciplinary endeavor at the University of Connecticut directed by philosopher Michael P. Lynch and funded by the John Templeton Foundation, has awarded a total of $2 million to ten scholars engaged in various projects to improve public discourse. (more…)

Self-Doubt and “Publish or Perish”

It took a while for Jonathan Dancy (University of Texas, University of Reading) to come around to the idea that he had any philosophical talent, he says, in an interview with Clifford Sosis (Coastal Carolina) at What Is It Like To Be A Philosopher? As a result, he did not publish much in the early part of his career.

He received his BPhil from Oxford in 1971, for w..

Millions Of Students Fail To Protest Curriculum (updated)

Millions of college students over the past decade have not protested their curricular requirements or assigned readings, a new study reports. The study, by Daryl B.X. Sepshuns and Yuall Nothis (both of Common Sense University) was published as news was breaking of students making unusual academic demands of their schools. (more…)

2016 Philosophy News in Review, Part 4

Here’s the last installment in our look back at some of the most-discussed news, issues, and events in the philosophy profession in 2016. (Here are parts one, two, and three.)

(more…)

2016 Philosophy News in Review, Part 3

Here’s part three of our look back at the news, issues, and events that occupied the attention of the philosophy profession in 2016 (part one, part two). (more…)

Hiring Couples (guest post by Felicia Nimue Ackerman)

The following is a guest post * by Felicia Nimue Ackerman, professor of philosophy at Brown University, on the practice of preferential spousal hiring. As with a previous guest post of hers, this one includes a poem and an essay, both of which were previously published in The Providence Journal (poem on July 27, 2014, essay on May 27, 2008). (more…)

Philosophy Music Videos

Can you get your students to sing about philosophy? Sara Bernstein, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, can. With a little incentive, her students at Notre Dame (and before that, at Duke) have belted out some surprisingly sophisticated philosophical covers of popular songs. (more…)

A Broad Conception of Philosophical Skills (guest post by David Wallace)

The following is a guest post * by David Wallace, professor of philosophy at the University of Southern California, on the skills an academic philosopher needs.

(more…)

The Effective Altruism Challenge (guest post by Holly Lawford-Smith)

The following is a guest post * by Holly Lawford-Smith, lecturer in philosophy at the University of Sheffield (and soon-to-be senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of Melbourne), on teaching about altruism. (more…)

APA Issues Statement on 2016 US Presidential Election

The board of officers of the American Philosophical Association (APA) today issued the following statement on the 2016 U.S. presidential election:

Leading up to the United States presidential election one month ago and in the weeks since, the nation has experienced increasingly divisive rhetoric and a rise in bias-based attacks on members of vulnerable groups. In..

APA Awards Nine Project Grants

The American Philosophical Association (APA) has announced that it has awarded grants to nine projects—seven under its Small Grant Program and two under its Diversity and Inclusiveness Program. (more…)

Philosophers on the Professor Watchlist (Updated)

The “Professor Watchlist” is a website listing professors who someone has thought “discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.” The list was created by Turning Point, a student-oriented non-profit organization which takes as its mission “to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fi..

Post-Election Changes To Philosophy Curriculum By Subject: Critical Reasoning / Informal Logic

Continuing in our series of posts about changes to teaching materials and lessons for particular philosophical fields in light of the 2016 U.S. election (see previous installments on epistemology and philosophy of language), today’s post will be on courses variously described as “critical reasoning,” “critical thinking,” and “informal logic.” (more…)

Post-Election Changes To Philosophy Curriculum By Subject: Language

Yesterday I published the first in a series of posts about subfield-specific changes to philosophy curriculum in light of the 2016 U.S. election. That post is soliciting suggestions for readings, lessons, and teaching strategies for epistemology courses—keep them coming. (more…)

Post-Election Changes To Philosophy Curriculum By Subject: Epistemology

The shock of the 2016 presidential election is still being felt keenly by educators, many of whom see in its victor, Donald Trump, the embodiment of so much of what we aim to overcome: ignorance, incompetence, carelessness, and a lack of concern for the truth. (more…)

Productive in Publishing 2: Reply to Brennan (guest post by David Enoch)

Yesterday, I posted an outline of Jason Brennan’s advice to graduate students on how to be productive in publishing (when you read that, do note the further details Brennan supplies in response to some of the comments). In what follows, David Enoch, the Rodney Blackman Chair in the Philosophy of Law in the Faculty of Law and the Philosophy Department at Hebrew Unive..

Philosophers On The 2016 U.S. Election

Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2016 United States Presidential Election. There is a substantial portion of the U.S. population—including supporters of both candidates—who did not think this outcome was even remotely possible. For many who supported Trump, his victory is a glorious surprise. Many of those who opposed him, though, are grappling not j..

Productive in Publishing (guest post by Jason Brennan)

Jason Brennan received his Ph.D. in philosophy in 2007. Since then, he has authored or co-authored seven books, and has two more books currently in progress. He has also written a good number of peer-reviewed articles, reference entries, and pieces for popular consumption. He’s currently Robert J. and Elizabeth Flanagan Family Chair and Provost’s Distinguished Assoc..

Departmental decisions—including hiring, budgeting and funding, curricular requirements, departmental policies, use of space, event planning—affect graduate students. What say do graduate students have in these decisions? What say should they have? (more…)

Philosophy on TV

Have you noticed all the philosophy that’s been happening on television lately? (more…)

Daily Nous