professionalism

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Why I’m a Shameless Sophist (guest post)

A “more vocational attitude to philosophy is a constant temptation; I still sometimes slip into it now. But what calls me away from it is always just being reminded of the mundane ways in which this is just a living.” (more…)

Seeking Feedback on “Good Practices Guide” – Part 2

This is the second of several posts soliciting comments on a draft “Good Practices Guide” for advancing diversity in philosophy. (more…)

Seeking Feedback on “Good Practices Guide” – Part 1

A group of philosophers associated with the Demographics in Philosophy project have taken up the task of creating a “Good Practices Guide” to advance diversity in philosophy and are seeking suggestions, criticisms, and comments on the initial draft.
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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…)

APA Publishes “Good Practices Guide”

The American Philosophical Association (APA) has published its Good Practices Guide, “a set of recommendations to help philosophers create and maintain an academic community based on mutual respect, fairness, inclusivity, and a commitment to scholarship and learning.”

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Philosophers and Petitions

Numbers generate a pressure to believe that isn’t grounded in explanatory force, because having more and more adherents to a view doesn’t give rise to better and better accounts of why the view is correct… (more…)

Mentoring Workshop for Early-Career Women in Philosophy

The Mentoring Project for Early-Career Women in Philosophy, “an ongoing effort to foster mentoring relationships between senior women in the field and women just beginning their careers,” is once again offering its Mentoring Workshop. (more…)

Room for Uncertainty in Online Philosophical Communities

“Uncertainty, I once thought, is what philosophers do. Now I have doubts.” (more…)

Fawning Sycophancy Is Unprofessional, Gross, and if Ongoing, the Professor’s Fault

“I only now your beautiful and exquisite message… I thank you for your infinite understanding and sensitivities which are always beyond measure.” (more…)

Luck and Precursive Belief (guest post by Amy Olberding)

“I was lucky. There were multiple joints in this path where things could well have gone sideways. Indeed, sideways was my more natural trajectory and temperament. But my luck, I hasten to say, was not just dumb luck. Instead, much of my luck was given to me by others.” (more…)

Symbolic Conscription, Part II (guest post by Amy Olberding)

The following is a guest post * by Amy Olberding, professor of philosophy at the University of Oklahoma, in response to the discussion of Sam Liao’s post here, “How Is This Course Intro to Philosophy?” A version of it first appeared at Feminist Philosophers. (more…)

Reporting of Sexual Assault and Harassment in Philosophy (updated)

I recently saw a post on social media comparing the current deluge of accusations of sexual harassment and assault being made and taken seriously in entertainment, news media, and politics, with how little of that seems to be happening in philosophy. (more…)

APA Releases Draft of “Good Practices Guide” for Comment (reposting)

The American Philosophical Association (APA) has published a 77-page document, the “Good Practices Guide.” While some parts of the guide overlap with the recently issued APA Code of Conduct, it is “not intended to play the same role in regulating the conduct of academic life.” Rather, the guide is

a set of recommendations based upon the accumulated experi..

Virtues of Philosophers: Humility, Curiosity, Charity, Courage, and Grace

What are the virtues of a philosopher?

I won’t pretend this is an uncontroversial question, but I leave aside the tasks of defending it and arguing for particular specifications of its concepts. What I have in mind are aspects of character in virtue of which philosophers are able to do whatever it is they are supposed to do, well—especially in light of the fact..

Hypatia Controversy Updates (updated)

Below is a list of assorted commentaries on the ongoing Hypatia controversy, mostly lifted from one of the updates on the original post on the story. Recent additions at time of posting include: (more…)

Philosophy: “Not A Meritocracy”

The latest edition of What Is It Like To Be A Philosopher? is out, with Clifford Sosis (Coastal Carolina) interviewing Sally Haslanger (MIT). (more…)

Marquette Update: McAdams Sues, University Releases Report

John McAdams, the associate professor of political science at Marquette University who, in the fall of 2014, launched a political attack on philosophy graduate student Cheryl Abbate based on falsehoods, misleading claims, and a surreptitious recording of her, and who was later suspended from his position for it, is suing Marquette. The Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Se..

When To Say Yes & When To Say No in Academia

An assistant professor of philosophy writes in with an important question that I imagine a lot of academics spend time pondering: (more…)

A Response to Brian Leiter from the Margins (guest post by Christopher Lebron)

The following is a guest post * by Christopher Lebron, assistant professor of philosophy and African American studies at Yale University.

A Response to Brian Leiter from the Margins
by Christopher Lebron

Take a look around you. It’s a new day. Campuses around the country have put the world on notice that there is no last place of refuge for marginalization. Ap..

The Internet: Good for Philosophy

On a recent trip I was introduced to a senior philosopher who soon turned the conversation away from the standard opening pleasantries with this: “If it were up to me, the internet—especially blogs and social media—would go out of existence. It is just a place philosophers go to do terrible philosophy and act thoughtlessly. It’s embarrassing.”

Naturally, I aske..

Not Legally Actionable, But…

A tenure-track woman professor at a private U.S. university writes:

In light of a situation that recently came up in my department, I’ve been thinking quite a lot about the following question… I’m honestly at a loss for how to deal with this, and I’d love to hear some (sensible) thoughts of others on the issue.

The issue is this: Take it as a given that ther..

Should Professional Philosophy Be More Like Grad School?

Graduate student Nick Byrd (Florida State) sends in an interesting thought to ponder: maybe professional philosophy would be improved in certain respects if it were more like graduate school. He writes:

If grad students were paid better, I’d be a serial PhD student. Grad school seems more fun than many of the post-grad experiences I hear about. Now I am beginnin..

What Kind of Jerk Are You?

Henry Shevlin, a PhD student at CUNY, has posted about the philosophy of jerks:

What makes someone a jerk? Is it merely being rude, or selfish, or is there something more subtle that underlies the behavior of the jerk? And just as important, how do you know if you’re a jerk yourself?

Following up on Eric Schwitzgebel’s prolific jerk work, Shevlin offers a situ..

The Point and Practices of Conferences

Christy Wampole (Princeton) lays out a series of complaints and concerns about conferences in the humanities, including:

We have sat patiently and politely through talks read line by line in a monotone voice by a speaker who doesn’t look up once, wondering why we couldn’t have read the paper ourselves in advance with a much greater level of absorption.

We have..

Marquette: An Update (several updates)

The Marquette University administration continues to figure out what to do in response to associate professor of political science John McAdams’s unprofessional and harassing conduct towards philosophy graduate student Cheryl Abbate (previously), the abusive hate mail and commenting it led to, the media attention it generated, the visit by Westboro Baptist Church, a..