Sandra Bartky (1935-2016)
Sandra Lee Bartky, Professor Emerita of Philosophy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, died earlier today. (more…)
Pick One Book for One Person to Read
Making its way around the internet is the question, “If you could get everybody to read one book, which would it be?” That’s an interesting question, but there are a lot of unspecified variables that will drive philosophers nuts. For example:
Online Philosophy Resources Weekly Update
Greetings and welcome to the weekly report on what’s new at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP), Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (NDPR), and Wi-Phi. (more…)
Philosophy Departments and Journals Ranked by Gender Data at New Website
A new website presents data on women in philosophy in a novel manner: it orders departments by number of women faculty and journals by number of women authors. (more…)
Philosophers On Bob Dylan’s Words, Ideas, and His Nobel Prize Win
Yesterday, Bob Dylan was selected as the 2016 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” Dylan is the first musician to win the award, and there has been controversy over the boundary redefining move, as well as reflection on the significance of his work. (more…)
Data on Diversity in (mostly) US Philosophy
The American Philosophical Association (APA) has released a new report on its membership demographics over the past three years. Has philosophy become more demographically diverse during this period? It’s not easy to tell from the data.
Why Policy Needs Philosophers As Much As It Needs Science (guest post)
The following is a guest post* by Adam Briggle and Robert Frodeman, both professors of Philosophy at the University of North Texas and co-authors of Socrates Tenured: The Institutions of 21st Century Philosophy. This essay originally appeared in The Guardian and is reposted here with permission of the authors.
Advice for a Philosopher Being Used By a Scam
As reported last week, there is a phony version of the International Journal of Philosophy and Theology in existence, tricking authors into submitting to it rather than to the legitimate one.
To φ Or Not To φ (Daily Nous Philosophy Comics)
To φ Or Not To φ
by Tanya Kostochka
Applied Philosophy Courses Outside Value Theory
Philosophy departments face increasing pressure to demonstrate their value to their universities. One type of response is to attempt to increase enrollment in philosophy courses. There are various ways to do this. One way is to offer courses that apply philosophy to matters of personal or social concern. The result is a familiar variety of courses in applied ethics,..
Starting and Maintaining a College Philosophy Club
A professor of philosophy at a U.S. college writes in with a request for information about undergraduate philosophy clubs:
My university currently does not have a philosophy club. For various reasons my department thinks such a club would be a good idea, and I, perhaps foolishly, volunteered to help get it started. (more…)
The Pathologies of Philosophers
Pathologies of Philosophers
an incomplete list
Enthymemalysis – the inability to proceed with a conversation because one’s interlocutor has neglected to explicitly state a step in their thinking that any normal listener would have automatically filled in. (more…)
Follow Daily Nous on Facebook & Twitter
Just a little while ago Daily Nous gained it’s 10,000th follower on Facebook. (more…)
Update on the Persecution of Academics in Turkey
The Turkish government, under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has continued its crackdown on those it deems enemies of the state in the wake of an attempted coup this past July. According to The Independent, over 70,000 people have been arrested during this time. (more…)
Naturalism, Evolutionary Biology and Theism
In yet another excellent interview at 3AM: Magazine, Richard Marshall talks with Elliott Sober (Wisconsin). There is a lot of interesting material in this interview, including Sober’s takes on the criticisms of evolutionary theory by Jerry Fodor (Rutgers) and Thomas Nagel (NYU).
On Nagel, he says:
Nagel thinks that “remarkable facts” can’t have low probabiliti..
Online Philosophy Resources Weekly Update
Good morning, philosofriends. Below is the weekly report on what’s new at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP), Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (NDPR), and Wi-Phi. (more…)
![Why Did You Go Into Philosophy? [reposting]](http://web.archive.org./web/20161018063849im_/http://dailynous.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/skylight-1024x308.jpg)
Why Did You Go Into Philosophy? [reposting]
Note, October 7, 2016: This post was published nearly two years ago. Today is not World Philosophy Day. I’m bringing the post to the top of the page because sometimes one needs a reminder.
It’s World Philosophy Day, but for some reason my school is not giving me the day off. What’s up with that?
Anyway, let’s do something to mark the day. The profession has h..
The Injustice Boycott and Academia
Influential activist and writer Shaun King—currently “senior justice writer” at the New York Daily News—has announced plans for a potentially massive boycott of “cities, states, businesses, and institutions which are either willfully indifferent to police brutality and racial injustice or are deliberately destructive partners with it.”
The boycott is set to b..
Philosophers, Neighbours, and Tartars (Guest Post by Justin E. H. Smith)
Philosophy of Jazz
Philosophy of Jazz is a new site—“currently in its initial stages”—on topics at the intersection of jazz and philosophy. The site, created by David C. Ring (Orange Coast College) is set up as an editable wiki, and you can find in the top menu a link to request to become an editor. (more…)
Three Philosophers Received Feces in the Mail (Update: Four Philosophers)
Sally Haslanger (MIT), Carrie Ichikawa Jenkins (UBC), and David Velleman (NYU) each received envelopes in the mail this past summer containing feces, according to an article at Buzzfeed by Katie J.M. Baker. As the article notes, “All three philosophy professors were embroiled in a 2014 academic brawl over what they perceived as an abuse of power within their field,”..
Mind Chunks (Daily Nous Philosophy Comics)
Mind Chunks
by Pete Mandik (more…)
APA To Launch Graduate Student Council
The American Philosophical Association (APA) has announced that it will be launching a new group responsible for “reporting to the board of officers on issues of interest, concern, and relevance to philosophy graduate students.” The APA Graduate Student Council, as it has been named, will be composed of twelve graduate students, with eight appointed by a selection c..
Charles Taylor Wins Million Dollar Berggruen Prize
Charles Taylor, professor emeritus of philosophy at McGill University, is the winner of the inaugural Berggruen Prize. (more…)
Publishing Scam Mimics Legitimate Philosophy Journal
When Chris Kramer, associate professor of philosophy at Rock Valley College in Illinois, learned that a paper of his had been accepted to the International Journal of Philosophy and Theology, he was excited. And then suspicious. (more…)
Glasgow Hires Six New Philosophers
The Department of Philosophy at the University of Glasgow made six new permanent appointments this summer. That’s an unusually large number of hires at one time for one department. (more…)
Mary Hesse (1924-2016)
Mary Hesse, professor emeritus of philosophy at University of Cambridge, died this past Sunday. Professor Hesse worked in philosophy of science. She had been at Cambridge since 1960 in its Department of History and Philosophy of Science, becoming a fellow of Cambridge’s Wolfson College in 1965. (more…)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Writing a Tenure Letter But Were Afraid to Ask (guest post by David Boonin)
The following is a guest post* by David Boonin. He is currently professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he has also been department chair and associate dean. He noticed that there did not appear to be much in the way of guidance when it came to writing external review letters for people under consideration for tenure, and sought to reme..