public philosophy
Escaping the “Feedback Loop” of Sexism in the History of Philosophy
“Some of the women discussed in this Issue cannot be slotted easily into a history that did not include their ideas in the first place.” (more…)
Philosophy & Activism (guest post)
While some people have argued that political activism is in tension with academic inquiry (here, for example), there have been plenty of well-regarded scholars who have engaged in such activism, including in philosophy. (more…)
“Geo-Academic Inequalities” in Philosophy
Ingrid Robeyns, professor of philosophy at Utrecht University, recently came across something that captured extraordinarily well a problem she had long been aware of, and was prompted to write about it: (more…)
A Little Rough Data About Journal Refereeing in Philosophy
Is there a refereeing crisis in philosophy? There has been a fair amount of discussion about this over the past couple of months. What was missing from much of this discussion, though, was data. So I asked for some. (more…)
A Philosophy Journal That Won’t Accept Submissions from Iranian Citizens? (updated)
In a recent interview about Russia and Ukraine at Truthout, Noam Chomsky (MIT), discussing sanctions and the toleration dissident voices in public in the United States and elsewhere, notes an example of intolerance: (more…)
“The Way Philosophy Is Personal”
Wittgenstein’s early private notebooks have just been published in English, translated by Marjorie Perloff (Stanford). Towards the end of an essay about them, Kieran Setiya (MIT) draws attention to “the way philosophy is personal.” (more…)
New Data on Women in Philosophy Journals
How much writing by women do philosophy journals publish? How does this vary by quality and type of journal? How does it vary by the type of reviewing manuscripts undergo? How have women’s rates of publication changed over time? (more…)
Philosophy TikTok
Who’s doing philosophy on TikTok? Enough people that Slate ran an article about the phenomenon. (more…)
Positions for Philosophers Forced from Ukraine / #philosophyforukraine
Over 2 million people so far have fled Ukraine during the Russian attack. Among them are philosophy faculty and students who may be in need of temporary ways of supporting themselves and their family, and if possible, continuing their work. The purpose of this page is to provide a centralized location for the listing of positions, opportunities, funding, and other f..
Philosophy Professor Suspended for Criticizing “Wokeness”
Gregory Schulz, a tenured professor of philosophy at Concordia University in Wisconsin, a private Lutheran university, was “suspended and barred from campus” following his publication of an essay critical of the school on the blog Christian News, according to Inside Higher Ed. (more…)
When Philosophizing in Public, Remember How Strange We May Seem
Philosophers have a long history of being misunderstood by others. The risk of dangerous misunderstandings have led some philosophers in previous eras to take a variety of strategies—careful phrasings, flattery, literary devices, understatement, pseudonyms, running away—to avoid getting in trouble with the masses or their rulers. (more…)
How to Fix the Referee Crisis in Professional Philosophy (guest post)
In the following guest post, Eric Schliesser (Amsterdam) provides a two-step solution to the referee crisis in philosophy. (more…)
Is Peer Review in Philosophy “Broken Beyond Reasonable Repair”?
Over at The Philosopher’s Cocoon, Helen de Cruz (SLU) laments her experiences with peer review from the perspective of an editor trying to get submissions refereed, saying “it is my strong suspicion that the peer review system is finally broken beyond reasonable repair.” (more…)
Nebraska Board of Regents Cuts Philosophy at Nebraska-Kearney
The ax came down on the philosophy major at University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) this past Friday. (more…)
Plagiarized Articles at the Internet Encylopedia of Philosophy? (updated)
Mark Thakkar (St. Andrews) says he has discovered plagiarism in around 40 articles in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (more…)
UMass to Create Center for Philosophy and Children, High School Philosophy Summer Program
The Department of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, is creating a Center for Philosophy and Children, and part of its development is the piloting of a summer philosophy program for high school students that will serve as a “bridge-to-college experience” for the participants. (more…)
Why a Crowd-Sourced Peer-Review System Would Be Good for Philosophy (guest post)
Would “an online, crowd-sourced peer-review system” work better than traditional peer-review as a “quality control device” in philosophy? In a paper forthcoming in The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, three philosophers, Marcus Arvan (Tampa), Liam Kofi Bright (LSE), and Remco Heesen (Western Australia), argue for a positive answer to this question. (m..
A Public Database of Referee Service (guest post)
A few years ago, Neil Sinhababu, associate professor of philosophy at the National University of Singapore, wrote about the “publication crisis” in academic philosophy in a post entitled “2,000 Spaces for 10,000 Papers: Why Everything Gets Rejected & Referees Are Exhausted.” In this guest post*, he follows up with a proposal for how to help make things better. (more..
Philosophy Reading Group “Blueprints” & What’s Not Taught at University
Students and others may be interested in a philosophical topic, yet not have access to a course on it. One option is for them to form a reading group, but it’s not always easy to figure out what to read, in what order, what to pay attention to in the readings, what questions to discuss, and so on. Now there’s a new resource that provides “blueprints” for readings gr..
Former Postdoc Allegedly Threatens Philosophy Department (several updates)
A former postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) yesterday by email made “general threats… against the philosophy department and members of it,” according to a message circulated in the department. (more…)
Areas/Topics of Submissions to Generalist Philosophy Journals
Some philosophical areas (and topics) don’t show up often in the pages of prestigious generalist philosophy journals. Is it because the journals don’t get many submissions in those areas? (And if so, why not?) (more…)
Ignored Editor Departs PGR, Raising Questions About Its Leadership & How to Best Guide Prospective Philosophy Grad Students (updated)
As mentioned in an update to last week’s post about the new edition of the Philosophical Gourmet Report (PGR), a ranking of the reputations of some PhD programs in philosophy, one of its editors, Berit (“Brit”) Brogaard (Miami), has announced that she is no longer associated with it. A statement made this evening by her and Carolyn Dicey Jennings (UC Merced) provide..
Philosophy Journal Hosts Debate on “Jewish Influence” (updates: Article Retracted; Journal Gets New Editor)
Have Jews insinuated themselves into positions of power and influence in politics and culture because they are innately gifted with higher IQs, or is it also because they are ethnocentric and hypocritical networkers good at using non-Jews in their self-serving mission of “transforming America contrary to white interests”? Race science and/or conspiracy theory? This-..
Stepping Outside of Philosophy: Reflections on a Transdisciplinary Career (guest post)
Universities say they want their faculty to pursue “interdisciplinary” and “transdisciplinary” work. Yet it might be difficult to figure out how to do that given the structure of academia and the nature of academic training. (more…)
Online Philosophy Resources Weekly Update
The weekly report on new and revised entries at online philosophy resources and new reviews of philosophy books… (more…)
Sanders Foundation Announces New “Philosophy in the Media” Fellows
The Marc Sanders Foundation has announced the inaugural class of fellows in its recently launched “Philosophy in the Media” program. (more…)
World Philosophy Day & the Growth of Philosophy
Today is World Philosophy Day, a day designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to celebrate “the enduring value of philosophy for the development of human thought, for each culture and for each individual.” (more…)
Save Philosophy at Bloomsburg
“In its desperate need to scapegoat something other than its own misadventures overbuilding, over-spending on everything but education… BU finds itself unable to fulfill its central mission: educational opportunity across that wide swath of disciplines that define a university.” (more…)