law
TagFree Speech Fine Against Sussex Following Philosopher’s Resignation Overturned
About a year ago, the UK government’s Office for Students (OfS) (whose “free speech czar” is philosopher Arif Ahmed) levied a fine of £585,000 on the University of Sussex after investigating how the university handled the case of philosopher Kathleen Stock, who resigned after students protested her views and called for her to be fired. (more…)
Trial Starts Today for Philosophy Lecturer Who Tossed Away Tear Gas Canister Thrown by ICE (updated)
The trial of Jonathan Caravello, a lecturer in philosophy at California State University Channel Islands, begins today. The trial concerns his actions at a protest during a Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid of a cannabis farm near the university. (more…)
When Philosophy Enters the Criminal Court: Black Male Studies as Expert Testimony (guest post)
To what extent should theoretical approaches to understanding the world offered up by the humanities be sensitive to empirical evidence? And how might the humanities be different if its scholars took the demands of evidence more seriously? The emergence of Black Male Studies provides one lens through which to look at these questions. (more…)
Philosophers File Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Cases on Transgender Athletes
A group of 24 philosophers has submitted an amicus curiae brief for two US Supreme Court cases concerning laws about the participation of transgender athletes in sports. (more…)
When to Be a Hero (guest post)
“Is now the time to be a hero?” (more…)
Ordinary Language Philosophy in Supreme Court Gun Case (updated)
What is a weapon? That question was the focus of a recent US Supreme Court decision, Bondi v. Vanderstock. (more…)
Bill Introduced in Kansas Legislature Would Effectively End Tenure (updated)
A bill introduced into the Kansas State House of Representatives last week would, if made law, make it impossible for state institutions of higher education to award faculty a status that substantially protects their employment, as tenure traditionally does. (more…)
Patriotism, etc.
In light of Donald Trump’s election victory, there are both substantive and strategic reasons to take up questions about what patriotism is and what it asks of us.
21 Yale Philosophers File Amicus Brief on Case about Medical Care for Transgender Minors
“Amici are professors of philosophy who are trained to identify flaws in arguments. Philosophers assess arguments in a variety of ways, but most relevant here is by examining the logical structure of arguments. This requires identifying the premises underlying arguments as well as the ways that arguments can attempt to hide those premises.” (more…)
Official & Unofficial Action
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States, issued yesterday, concerns the extent to which the president is immune from criminal prosecution. (more…)
Defamatory Remarks Prompt Resignations & Legal Restructuring at Philosophical Society
Four members of the executive committee of the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain (PESGB) resigned in the wake of complaints that Impact, the society’s journal, published defamatory remarks about a philosophy graduate student. (more…)
Is Someone Selling Your Dissertation Without Your Permission?
A lecturer in philosophy at a UK university discovered that a company has been selling his recent dissertation as a book online through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, and Blackwell’s, complete with a cover.
Dennett on AI: We Must Protect Ourselves Against “Counterfeit People”
“Creating counterfeit digital people risks destroying our civilization.”
Logic and the Law
“‘And’ may be read ‘or,’ and ‘or’ may be read ‘and’ if the sense requires it.” (more…)
A Philosopher Helps A Former Prisoner Dig Deep Into His Experiences, Thoughts, and Art
“I realized I couldn’t be what the officials were expecting of me. You got to put that in your head so they can’t break you. They want to break you. If you’re not broken, they say you’re crazy.” (more…)
Supreme Court Rules Civil Rights Law Protects LGBT Workers, Echoing Philosophers’ Brief
The United States Supreme Court issued a ruling this morning in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, holding that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects gay and transgender employees from workplace discrimination. (more…)
Protesting the Murder of George Floyd
Protests against the institutionalized racist violence against blacks in the United States, most recently exemplified by the recent murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, took place in cities around the country this weekend. (more…)
Why Ethicists Advising in Crises Should Take a SEAT (guest post by Per Sandin)
“For academic philosophers, being solution-oriented can be a challenge.”
Philosophers File Amicus Brief on LGBT Discrimination Cases
This fall, the Supreme Court will be looking at a trio of cases concerning the protection Federal employment discrimination law provides to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons. An amicus curiae brief signed by 80 philosophers, in support of the employees in the cases, has just been filed. (more…)
Bowling Green Receives $1.6 Million to Expand Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law Program
Bowling Green State University (BGSU) has received a $1.6 million donation from the Charles Koch Foundation to expand its Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law (PPEL) program. (more…)
Philosopher Named to New State Dept. Commission on Unalienable Rights
U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo earlier this week announced the creation of a new “Commission on Unalienable Rights,” comprised of scholars and activists interested in various dimensions of human rights, law, and religion, to provide him with “advice on human rights grounded in our nation’s founding principles and the principles of the 1948 Universal Declarat..
Philosophers On the Ethics and Politics of Abortion
This year, nine U.S. states have passed legislation that bans early abortions in an attempt to provoke a challenge to the abortion rights protected by the 1973 Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision. (more…)
Philosophers: Consider Signing Amicus Brief on Insanity Defense
“Does a state’s abolition of the insanity defense comport with fundamental principles of justice and pluralist toleration?” That is the question taken up in an amicus curiae brief by Gideon Yaffe, professor of philosophy and law at Yale University, in regards to Kahler v. Kansas, a case the Supreme Court will be hearing. (more…)
Williams from Columbia to Northeastern
Patricia Williams, currently the James L. Dohr Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, will be moving to Northeastern University, where she will have a joint appointment in the School of Law and the Department of Philosophy and Religion. (more…)
2019 Fred Berger Memorial Prize Winner Announced
Deborah Hellman, the David Lurton Massee, Jr., Professor of Law and Roy L. and Rosamond Woodruff Morgan Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, is the winner of the 2019 Fred Berger Memorial Prize. (more…)
Raz Wins Tang Prize in Rule of Law
Joseph Raz (Columbia Law School, Kings College London), well-known for his work in legal, political, and moral philosophy, is the 2018 winner of the Tang Prize in Rule of Law. (more…)
Separating Migrant Children From Their Parents Is Not Required By Law, But Even if It Were…
There is no law requiring family separation at the border. And even if there was, that still would not be enough to justify the administration’s cruel policy. (more…)
Judge Cites Philosophers in Decision on Chimpanzee Case
The State of New York Court of Appeals rendered a verdict yesterday in a case involving the question of whether chimpanzees are persons, and in doing so, cited the work of Tom Regan and an amicus curiae written by several philosophers. (more…)