public philosophy
A Whole Course About Combating Bullshit
The world is awash in bullshit. Politicians are unconstrained by facts. Science is conducted by press release. So-called higher education often rewards bullshit over analytic thought. Startup culture has elevated bullshit to high art. Advertisers wink conspiratorially and invite us to join them in seeing through all the bullshit, then take advantage of our lowered g..
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..
Reconsidering Implicit Bias
At the time of this post, bibliographic philosophy database PhilPapers has 1,975,719 entries. Of these, only 74 works seem to be about “implicit bias”—subconscious bias concerning, for example, race, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexuality. One might think, then, that the idea of implicit bias hasn’t been of much importance in philosophy. Yet, while there is n..
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…)
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.
Questions about Terminal MAs at PhD-Granting Programs
A philosophy professor advising an undergraduate, who did not major in philosophy, about her options for graduate school quite reasonably suggested she first pursue a Master’s degree. He let her know about a number of well known terminal MA programs (most of which are on Geoff Pynn’s list, discussed here). She had found out a little about some MA programs that mostl..
Two New Zealand Philosophers Win NZ$600,000
Two philosophers have been awarded Fast Start grants for early-career researchers by the Marsden Fund. Administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand, the Marsden fund is the major source of research funding in New Zealand. The application process is highly competitive, with success rates of around 11%. (more…)
Beyond Bullshit
The following is an excerpt from an essay by Jacob Levy, Tomlinson Professor of Political Theory, Professor of Political Science, and associate member of the Department of Philosophy at McGill University, published by the Niskanen Center. (more…)
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…)
Four Early Career Philosophers in Australia Awarded over AU$1.3 Million
Four philosophers are among this year’s winners of the Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards (DECRA) issued by the Australian Research Council (ARC). They are: (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..
A Neglected Philosophical Pessimist — For Our Times?
The following is a guest post* by on an English translation of On the Tragic by Norwegian philosopher Peter Zapffe, known for his pessimistic views.
“Can I Look Myself in the Eye and Decide to Become an Academic?”
A reader writes in with the following concerns:
The results of this election have substantiated some feelings I’ve been having for a while. For a few years I’ve been planning (not without a lot of consideration and some hesitation) to go to graduate school and play my cards with the hope of entering academic philosophy. Now, however, it is harder for me to see th..
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..
Humanities Center at Johns Hopkins Might Be Closed (incl. petition; guest post from JHU PhD Student) – Updated
The Johns Hopkins University Humanities Center, which counts several philosophers among its core and associated faculty, puts on philosophical programs, and describes its members as sharing “a commitment to philosophical questions,” is under threat of closure. (more…)
Tough Enough: Resilience in Academia
Part of what’s behind the disagreements over freedom and security in academia that we’ve been seeing a lot of lately (over things like political correctness, trigger warnings, safe spaces, etc.) are two different attitudes. (more…)
Philosophers On Bob Dylan’s Words, Ideas, and His Nobel Prize Win
Yesterday, Bob Dylan was selected as the 2016 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” Dylan is the first musician to win the award, and there has been controversy over the boundary redefining move, as well as reflection on the significance of his work. (more…)
Why Policy Needs Philosophers As Much As It Needs Science (guest post)
The following is a guest post* by Adam Briggle and Robert Frodeman, both professors of Philosophy at the University of North Texas and co-authors of Socrates Tenured: The Institutions of 21st Century Philosophy. This essay originally appeared in The Guardian and is reposted here with permission of the authors.
Naturalism, Evolutionary Biology and Theism
In yet another excellent interview at 3AM: Magazine, Richard Marshall talks with Elliott Sober (Wisconsin). There is a lot of interesting material in this interview, including Sober’s takes on the criticisms of evolutionary theory by Jerry Fodor (Rutgers) and Thomas Nagel (NYU).
On Nagel, he says:
Nagel thinks that “remarkable facts” can’t have low probabiliti..
Philosophers, Neighbours, and Tartars (Guest Post by Justin E. H. Smith)
Charles Taylor Wins Million Dollar Berggruen Prize
Charles Taylor, professor emeritus of philosophy at McGill University, is the winner of the inaugural Berggruen Prize. (more…)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Writing a Tenure Letter But Were Afraid to Ask (guest post by David Boonin)
The following is a guest post* by David Boonin. He is currently professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he has also been department chair and associate dean. He noticed that there did not appear to be much in the way of guidance when it came to writing external review letters for people under consideration for tenure, and sought to reme..
Message from the Editor regarding “A Tale of Two Conferences”
Running a news and discussion site for professional philosophers involves, among other things, making judgments about what is and what is not newsworthy.
That a story is newsworthy is not to say that a post about it will appear at Daily Nous, for there may be countervailing considerations that provide reasons not to post about it, or there might be circumstances ..
A Tale of Two Conferences (UPDATED)
Last weekend, the Society for Analytical Feminism (SAF) held its 2016 conference. This weekend, the Society of Christian Philosophers (SCP) held its 2016 Midwest conference. I did not attend either of these conferences, but I did hear about them. As one might expect, they had a lot in common with other conferences: a fair amount of anticipation in advance, a mix of ..
The Autonomy of University Ethics Centers
Wednesday afternoon, Gordon Hull, associate professor of philosophy at University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and director of the school’s Center for Professional and Applied Ethics, put up a post on the Center’s webpage about the recent police shooting of an unarmed black man, Keith L. Scott (see the bottom of this post for that text). (more…)
APA Issues New Guide For Philosophers Seeking Non-Academic Jobs
The American Philosophical Association (APA) has published a new guide for philosophers seeking non-academic employment, entitled Beyond Academia: Professional Opportunities for Philosophers. According to a press release about the publication, (more…)