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“Fixing” the Definitions of Philosophical Terms

October 29, 2025

Sometimes, philosophical terms mean one thing, but sound like they really ought to mean something else.
Philosophy Websites

The Geography of Philosophy Project

September 27, 2018

The Geography of Philosophy Project, initiated last year with a $2.6 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation, is “an interdisciplinary cross-cultural exploration of…
Awards Grants Honors

$2.6 Milllion Grant for “The Geography of Philosophy”

October 19, 2017

Philosophers Edouard Machery (Pittsburgh) and Stephen Stich (Rutgers) and anthropologist H. Clark Barrett (UCLA) have been awarded a $2,569,563 grant from the John Templeton…

Heap of Links

“The best investment in education is to become the most human human—-a challenging, fulfilling, exciting pursuit that connects us across generations” — an interview with Christa Acampora, philosopher and dean of Arts & Sciences at UVA
“What would happen if we tried to live without the mythology of agency at all?” — It's worth pondering, since "agency is just an internal command hallucination," says Alexander Douglas
“Reading List” is a free Mac app for keeping track of papers to read — philosophy PhD student Hayden Kajercline created this productivity tool for researchers, with help from Claude
How should we react to scary predictions about AI? “First: by asking questions” — "If you believe predictions uncritically, it amounts to obeying in advance," says Carissa Véliz
“I feel unbelievably lucky that I was able to make philosophy my profession” — Karen Ng reflects on her path into philosophy, at #first-genphilosophers
The ordinary concept of knowledge “doesn’t work at all the way philosophers said it does” — a round-up of studies shows how weird the philosophers' version of the concept is
1000 or so psychiatrists were asked to diagnose standardized clinical case vignettes. “Two doctors agreed on the diagnosis only 55% of the time” — What does this tell us about psychiatry? Or about other fields in which experts disagree?
Where Aristotle taught Alexander — "this newest dig may be the most revealing yet, offering insight into the specifics of Alexander the Great’s education"
Over 4000 of the Justice Department’s lawyers have left their jobs since Trump’s second term began — The New Yorker on the moral dilemma facing some government employees: resign and avoid complicity, or stay and resist where one can?
Underappreciated philosophy published between 1970-2019 — some old posts to which you can still add works that should be better appreciated
The AI threat to independent student writing is not necessarily a threat to student learning — what's needed, says Joe Cruz, are courses "in which ideas are expressed in real time and analytical thought unfolds as a debate or an oral defense or a group discussion"—and small enough classes to make that work
Would you take a pill that allows you, with no ill health effects, to permanently forgo sleep? — Rebecca Lowe thinks you have no good reason not to, though she neglects to consider that sometimes it's the world that needs a break from you
Fifty essays in the philosophy of paleontology — by Max Dresow at the Extinct blog
“Asking whether [an AI] model ‘has a world model’ leaves much unresolved. Our findings point toward mechanistically studying its world modeling; uncovering the structures it learned [and] the world modeling capacities that recruit these” — further research on the internal representations of AIs
Sixty Years of Philosophy in America — Ernest Sosa's Dewey Lecture from the 2024 APA Eastern Division Meeting
“You’re responsible for other people’s learning of this material, so you better know it at a higher level yourself” — for 20 years, the Socrates Project at the University of Toronto has hired senior philosophy undergrads to run weekly tutorials for introductory students
“Suddenly, my problems stop being problems in the world. They become problems in my head. The problem is no longer: ‘my job is demoralizing, but I can’t leave it’… It’s: ‘I have a chemical imbalance that prevents me from enjoying life'” — Justin Garson on “the pathologizing tendency”
A political theorist and a comedian discuss the American presidency — "The Oath and the Office" is the podcast of Corey Brettschneider & John Fugelsang
An “evidence revolution” has taken place in medicine and other fields over the past 50 years — but, as Benjamin Santos Genta asks, there's still the question: "what counts as good scientific evidence?"
“Behind the scenes at Ethics” — editor Douglas Portmore shares how the journal works

All Links →

Latest Comments

Eric Steinhart on A Request from an AI (updated)
My only position on AI and philosophy is this: AI is having disastrous consequences for the disciplines of mathematics and computer science. I think the same will soon…
Lu Chen on Your One Piece of Philosophy Grad School Advice
Maybe it’s dirty but: talk to your faculty (a lot), ask questions (a lot), send them your writings (a lot), and actively chase useful feedback.
Current marketeer on Your One Piece of Philosophy Grad School Advice
@ERW: Like David, I find Leaver's advice personally helpful. There are some significant caveats: I didn't have so much debt from undergrad, I went to a program that…
Holothurian on A Request from an AI (updated)
So I'm responsible for breaking down my practical agenda for you when you won't even engage with my theoretical claims? That doesn't sound like a good-faith exchange to…
Eric Steinhart on A Request from an AI (updated)
I'm asking you to tell us your suggestions.
Holothurian on A Request from an AI (updated)
I feel I've explained the Library thing pretty thoroughly at this point. I'm not sure what more to offer if all you're going to give me to work…
Peter Finocchiaro on Your One Piece of Philosophy Grad School Advice
To be a bit more philosophical about it (yes, I see the performative contradiction): remember that "philosopher" is one mode of agency among many. While you will become…
Eric Steinhart on A Request from an AI (updated)
No, I don't see the relevance of the Library. I think these are serious issues, as our profession is probably soon going to face the same reckoning that…
Late-stage PhD on Your One Piece of Philosophy Grad School Advice
You’re missing the fact that (many) graduate students tend to read texts with an uncharitable eye, which leads to criticism that is superficial at best and completely off…
David on Your One Piece of Philosophy Grad School Advice
I spent years out of applying for academic jobs and working outside of academia, and this attitude was in fact helpful in dealing with my setbacks.
Thomas Aquino on Your One Piece of Philosophy Grad School Advice
I don’t understand what agreement or disagreement has to do with properly understanding a text. After all, couldn’t someone find themselves agreeing with a text and be mistaken…
David Wallace on Your One Piece of Philosophy Grad School Advice
Oops.
David Wallace on Your One Piece of Philosophy Grad School Advice
I'll cheat and offer three, but in my defense they're closely related. Ideas are often overrated; implementation is often what matters.Don't worry too much about being original. If…
Chris on A History of U.S. Philosophy Via APA Presidencies (guest post)
A couple mistakes: Atherton (2012) was not at UW Madison (instead: UW Milwaukee) and you missed Card (2010) president of APA from WU Madison
Ryan on Your One Piece of Philosophy Grad School Advice
Strongly consider moving from philosophy into clinical ethics consultation. The philosophy-to-bioethics pipeline is of course tried and true, but jobs in specifically clinical ethics are particularly desirable these…

Tag: concepts

“Fixing” the Definitions of Philosophical Terms

The Geography of Philosophy Project

$2.6 Milllion Grant for “The Geography of Philosophy”