public philosophy
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Thoma from LSE to Bayreuth
Johanna Thoma, currently associate professor of philosophy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, has accepted a senior offer from the University of Bayreuth. (more…)
Gifts Made By Philosophers
The holiday season is upon us. As you go about your holiday shopping, might I suggest you to consider some gifts made by philosophers? (more…)
Birkbeck Graduate Students on Proposed Cuts
As noted last month, the Department of Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London and other units there are facing drastic cuts. The department’s graduate (post-graduate, or PGR) students have now written a letter to the administration objecting to the cuts. (more…)
Article Spotlight: “The Ordinary Meaningful Life” by Joshua Glasgow
After a bit of a delay, we’re resuming the Article Spotlight series, in which the authors of recent journal articles are invited to write brief posts here about them. (more…)
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APA Announces Grant Winners
The American Philosophical Association (APA) has announced which projects will be funded during the 2022-23 academic year by its Diversity and Inclusiveness Grant Program and its Small Grant Program. (more…)
Technology and the Near Future
Apropos last week’s “We’re Not Ready for the AI on the Horizon, But People Are Trying,” here is economist and policy analyst Samuel Hammond on what the near future holds: (more…)
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We’re Not Ready for the AI on the Horizon, But People Are Trying
Ongoing developments in artifical intelligence, particularly in AI linguistic communication, will affect various aspects of our lives in various ways. We can’t foresee all of the uses to which technologies such as large language models (LLMs) will be put, nor all of the consequences of their employment. But we can reasonably say the effects will be significant, and ..
Philosophical Work on “Gaslighting” — Merriam-Webster’s 2022 Word of the Year
This morning, Merriam-Webster declared “gaslighting” its 2022 Word of the Year. (more…)
Trade Secrets: From Academic Literature to Trade Books (guest post)
Erik Angner, professor of practical philosophy at Stockholm University, has authored a book intended not mainly for academic readers, but for the general public—a trade book, as they’re known. Switching from writing academic articles and getting them published to writing How Economics Can Save the World and getting it published was a process he found surprisingly ..
Progress at Philosophical Psychology (guest post)
Lisa Bortolotti (Birmingham), who took over the editorship of Philosophical Psychology following a publication controversy in 2020, and who announced some changes to the journal last year, writes in with an update about their implementation and results. (more…)
David Dick (1979-2022)
David Dick, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Calgary, has died. (more…)
Remarks about Graduate Student Raise Questions about Journal’s Editorial Policies
The Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain is investigating the editorial processes at one of its journals, Impact: Philosophical Perspectives on Education Policy (Wiley), after its latest issue included defamatory remarks about a graduate student in philosophy. (more…)
Social Media at Conferences
What are the norms for using social media to publicly discuss the conference sessions you’re attending? (more…)
Interview With “Candy Mom” Philosopher
The latest development in “things that make you think our universe is a simulation created for the entertainment of more advanced beings” is that a philosopher is being pilloried online for how she limits her children’s consumption of Halloween candy. (more…)
No Limit to Goodness: Remembering Sarah Broadie (guest post)
“When you manage to pin down a philosophical issue and give it a fully precise answer, often the answer turns out to be boring. Philosophy is just like that. But it also makes possible the most beautiful dreams.” — Sarah Broadie. (more…)
Found: Five Boxes of New Hegel (updated)
Five boxes of previously unknown transcriptions of lectures by G.W.F. Hegel have been found. (more…)
Brown from UT Dallas to Southern Illinois
Matthew J. Brown, recently professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at Dallas, has moved to Southern Illinois University (SIU), where he is the Jo Ann & Donald N. Boydston Chair of American Philosophy and the
Director of SIU’s Center for Dewey Studies. (more…)
JESP to Pause New Submissions
The Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy (JESP) will temporarily stop accepting new submissions on November 1st. (more…)
Floridi Wins Italy’s Highest Honor
Luciano Floridi, Professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Information at the University of Oxford, Director of the Digital Ethics Lab of the Oxford Internet Institute, and Distinguished Research Fellow of the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at Oxford, as well as Professor of Philosophy and Legal Studies at the University of Bologna, has been awarded the Cavaliere di..
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If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them: GPT-3 Edition
“How to deal with GPT-3-written essays? Instead of scolding students not to use it, we ask them to generate a ten, choose the best one, and explain why. Unless they have a paid account, the word-count limit would make it impossible to use GPT-3 to also generate the explanation…” (more…)
A Philosophical Note #for Mahsa: Fighting for Truth in an Epistemologically Polluted Area (guest post)
On September 13th, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was arrested in Tehran by the “Guidance Patrol” or “morality police” for allegedly not wearing a hijab properly. A few days later, she died in police custody “under suspicious circumstances, due to police brutality according to witnesses.” In the weeks since, large protests have taken place across Iran and elsewhere to cond..
2022 Sanders Metaphysics Prize Awarded
David Builes, assistant professor of philosophy at Princeton University, and Michele Odisseas Impagnatiello, a graduate student in philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, are the winners of the 2022 Sanders Prize in Metaphysics. (more…)
Teaching and Writing About Abortion in Idaho (and elsewhere?)
“Academic freedom is not a defense to violation of law, and faculty or others in charge of classroom topics and discussion must themselves remain neutral on the topic and cannot conduct or engage in discussions in violation of these prohibitions without risking prosecution.” (more…)
Change Their Minds, Win Money
The Future Fund, a philanthropic collective funded primarily by the creator of a crypto-currency exchange and aimed at supporting “ambitious projects to improve humanity’s long-term prospects,” has launched a contest offering substantial prizes for arguments that change their minds about the development and effects of artificial intelligence. (more…)