by David Ottlinger ___ I used to brag about the state of philosophy to people concerned about the humanities. Philosophy had fought valiantly on the side of the scientists in the “Science Wars” of the 1980’s and 90’s. Sociology, literary studies and anthropology may have, to varying degrees, succumbed to postmodernism and other such fashionable nonsense, but philosophy stood strong. […]
by Daniel A. Kaufman My dialogue with Robert Gressis, on his essay, “Is Philosophy OK?” and on the recent “white paper” on publication ethics. First aired on Sophia, MeaningofLife.TV, May 30 2019.
by Robert Gressis Lately, I’ve been wondering whether it’s OK for me to be a philosophy professor. You might wonder, “Why on earth should anyone wonder whether it’s OK to be a philosophy professor?” I have a simple argument. It goes like this: The Conceptual Claim: Professors do three things as part of their jobs: produce research, teach, and provide […]
by Daniel A. Kaufman ___ When one hears the expression “white paper,” one thinks of a document of great historic significance, typically issued by a government. Winston Churchill’s famous 1922 white paper clarifying the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which set in motion a series of events that changed the face of the Middle East, immediately comes to mind. What one doesn’t […]
by Daniel A. Kaufman ___ Over at the Daily Nous, an influential philosophy-insider’s blog, editor Justin Weinberg kicks off a celebration of its five year anniversary by congratulating himself. [1] He says that he is proud that he and the Nous have played a role in “breaking up a toxic concentration of power in our profession” and ushering in a […]
by Daniel A. Kaufman My article on Philosophy’s past and future in the current issue of Philosophy Now. https://philosophynow.org/issues/130/The_Decline_and_Rebirth_of_Philosophy
by Daniel A. Kaufman ___ Over at Leiter Reports, probably the most well-read philosophy-insider’s blog, Brian Leiter has run a two-day poll, in which he asked the following question: Would you leave the APA [American Philosophical Association] and join a new dues-charging professional philosophy association that does much of what the APA does, but without the current political agendas/projects? The […]
by E. John Winner 1. John Dewey was one of America’s most important philosophers. He’ll be better remembered in the future than he is today. With philosophers on both sides of the Atlantic fascinated with the ambiguities of language and otherwise unsure of what they are expected to explain – is that science or ethics or good taste? – Dewey’s […]
By Daniel A. Kaufman ___ Do epithets have a place in philosophical disputes? Is it useful, productive, or even appropriate to call people “racist,” “misogynist,” or “transphobic,” when engaged in philosophical arguments about the ethics of affirmative action, or whether we are properly described as living in a “rape culture” or whether gender identity is such that trans-women are in […]
by Mark English I once watched a nature documentary about a group of lions in the wild. At one stage a lioness and her cubs found themselves separated from the group. After a period of time during which she almost starved and her cubs were killed, she finally managed to rejoin the group. The other lions certainly recognized her and […]
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