Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog

"Against the Metaphysical Turn in Recent American Jurisprudence"

A new paper that may be of interest to those who follow literature in jurisprudence; it will appear in my forthcoming book, From a Realist Point of View (Oxford University Press, 2026), which will include previously published papers (some revised a lot), plus new material (including this chapter), all related to realism in legal and political theory.  Here's the abstract:

I argue against the recent fad in American general jurisprudence of characterizing debates about the nature of law as debates about how “legal facts” (the content of law) are determined by “social facts” and “moral facts.”  The reframing is due to Mark Greenberg in a 2004 article (“How Facts Make Law”), but was popularized by Scott Shapiro in a 2011 book (LEGALITY).

In Part I, I argue that (1) Greenberg’s reframing distorts the historical debates in jurisprudence (which were about validity, not content); (2) Greenberg’s own view of legal content cannot explain how law guides conduct outside the courts and, in any case, is unmotivated by any realistic considerations; and (3) Greenberg demands that legal philosophers answer a metaphysical question about determination that neither Saul Kripke (in philosophy of language) nor Nelson Goodman (in philosophy of science) could answer on the terms Greenberg proposes and which are, in any case, irrelevant to important jurisprudential questions.

In Part II, I argue that (1) Shapiro’s adoption of the Greenberg framing of the core questions of general jurisprudence erases the major natural law positions in the field (e.g., those of Finnis and Murphy), and results in a version of “positivism” that major legal positivists (e.g., Hart) do not accept; (2) Shapiro’s explanation of how answers to questions about the nature of law matter for how judges should decide cases is confused; and (3) Shapiro is incorrect that Hart commits a “category mistake.”   At various places I note the ways in which Shapiro, nominally a legal positivist, in fact commits to views characteristic of anti-positivists, like Dworkin and Greenberg.

It would really help if American legal philosophers knew more about the history of their subject and engaged more with scholars outside the Anglosphere.

Princeton, the richest university in the U.S., asks all departments to make plans for permanent 5-10% budget cuts, warns of possible lay-offs

Yikes!  The linked article suggests the looming increase in endowment tax is the culprit, since Princeton would pay the highest rate:

[The House bill] still uses the same $500,00 per-student threshold for the original 1.4 percent endowment tax, which was passed during the first Trump administration in 2017. From there the tax rate increases in tandem with the endowment per-student ratio. Institutions with endowments of $750,000 to $1.25 million per student would be hit with a 7 percent tax. That rate would climb to 14 percent for colleges with endowments valued at $1.25 to $2 million per student, while colleges with endowments of $2 million or more per student would pay 21 percent.

A subtler change, which was not identified in the draft bill, says that international students can no longer be included in the enrollment tally. That means that a few institutions that have large endowments but also high head counts made up largely of international students, like Columbia University, will now be subject to the tax

It's not just Columbia that will be affected, since many elite research universities enroll 20% or more international students.  (I suspect UChicago will end up in a higher bracket if international students are excluded in the per-student calculation.)

 

A wide-ranging interview with philosopher Galen Strawson

Here.

Legal challenges to the actions of the Trump Administration

All in once place, via thje Just Security site!

(Thanks to John Bullock for the pointer.)

Philosopher Alex Guerrero talks about lottocracy...

...at Brain in a Vat.

Republican proposals for endowment tax coming into focus

CHE reports (drawing on various sources, which have slightly different details):

[T]he proposed new system would be tiered, and only colleges with endowments valued at more than $750,000 per student would pay a higher tax rate. (Currently, colleges that have endowments valued at $500,000 or more per student — and meet certain other conditions — pay a 1.4-percent tax on endowment earnings. Fifty-six institutions paid the tax in 2023, according to the Internal Revenue Service.)

In one version of the newly proposed structure, reported by Punchbowl News, colleges with endowment values over $2 million per student — fewer than half a dozen — would pay a 21-percent tax rate on endowment earnings. Princeton and Yale Universities and the Massachusetts Institute for Technology could qualify for this bracket, according to an analysis by James Murphy, who leads Education Reform Now. Depending on how you calculate value, Stanford and Harvard Universities could fall into either this group or the one just below it.

The next group in the breakdown reported by Punchbowl News — subject to a 14-percent tax rate on earnings — covers endowment values between $1.25 million and $2 million per student, which could include a group of roughly 10 institutions like Amherst, Swarthmore, and Grinnell Colleges, and the California Institute of Technology.

Then there’s a third group in that proposal, covering endowment values between $750,000 and $1.25 million per student that would pay a 7-percent rate. That could include roughly a dozen institutions, such as Wellesley and Claremont McKenna Colleges and Washington and Lee University, and potentially the University of Pennsylvania — again, depending on how you calculate value.

In the tiered structure reported by Politico, the tax rates would be 10 percent for colleges with endowment values between $750,000 and $1 million per student, and 20 percent for colleges with values over $1 million.

Major research universities with lower per-student endowments--like UChicago, Columbia, Cornell and Johns Hopkins--will be spared, although UChicago, at least, will continue to pay the 1.4% rate.  Northwestern, based on endowment numbers from a couple of years ago, may be on the cusp of a higher rate.  (The Murphy list, cited by CHE above, does not include UChicago, even though we pay the endowment tax, which leads me to wonder about how he is calculating the figures.)

Spacetime, Einstein, and the Hole Argument

Philosopher John Norton discusses at IAITV.

Trumpistas threatening to suspend habeas corpus for migrants

Trump's henchman Stephen Miller, who not only thinks like Joseph Goebbels but looks like him (see below the fold), has indicated that they are "thinking" [sic] of suspending habeas corpus for migrants.  Law professor Stephen Vladeck has a clear explanation of why Miller's claims are false, misleading and dangerous.  Habeas corpus and courts are all that stand between the worst tyrants and their potential victims.

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Family, "Emotions," 1969

ORIGINALLY POSTED APRIL 23, 2016

These Brits are not quite as obscure as some of the others recently featured, but they hardly achieved the success they probably warranted.  Psychedelic, "progressive," even some British folk influences.  This is one of my favorite tunes by the band, though their first album, Music in a Doll's House, is probably their best, though their second album, from which "Emotions" comes, is quite good too.  It's downhill after that, however!

 

5/10/25 UPDATE:  Feel free to post links to other favorite Family songs in the comments, including live performances.

Federal judge orders immediate release of Turkish Tufts student detained...

...because of her lawful political speech.  Three cheers, again, for the courts!

A memorable "funding statement" in the Journal of Value Inquiry

A philosophically-minded political scientist, Professor Michael Munger, was asked to review an OUP book of political philosophy for the Journal of Value Inquiry, published by Springer.   Here is his required "funding statement":

For reasons that are literally incomprehensible, the publisher is insisting that I include a “funding statement” in the manuscript. It is worth pointing out that this is a book review. But the publisher has refused to process the manuscript unless a “funding statement is included in the manuscript. So, here goes: Oxford University Press failed to provide a copy of the book, in spite of repeated requests to do so. I purchased the book, paying for it out of my own pocket. I believe the source of those funds was a consulting job that I did in 1989, and the money had been aging in my bank account since that time, and frankly losing considerable value because of inflation. I paid for the book on Amazon, using an American Express card. The time I spent writing the review was during nights and weekends, but I suppose that it was funded by Duke University. My job at Duke University, Department of Political Science, in Durham, North Carolina, involves writing and doing research, and I read the book and wrote the review during the time that I was employed at Duke University. In fact, I am still employed by Duke University, and expect to continue to be employed at Duke University for a considerable period, because I have tenure. In fact, I have a University Endowed Professor Chair, funded by Pfizer. They make Viagra. So, now that I think of it, this research was funded by Viagra.

(Thanks to James Taylor for the pointer.)

Tenured philosophy professor at West Point will resign in protest over the attack on education at the military academies by the Trumpistas

Professor Graham Parsons explains what's going on here; an excerpt:

Mr. Trump’s order prohibited any educational institution operated by the armed forces from “promoting, advancing or otherwise inculcating” certain “un-American” theories, including “gender ideology” and the idea that “America’s founding documents are racist or sexist.”

Mr. Hegseth’s memo went further, adding that the service academies were prohibited even from providing instruction about such topics. Mr. Trump and Mr. Hegseth also ordered that the academies shall “teach that America and its founding documents remain the most powerful force for good in human history.”

These were brazen demands to indoctrinate, not educate.

Whatever you think about various controversial ideas — Mr. Hegseth’s memo cited critical race theory and gender ideology — students should engage with them and debate their merits rather than be told they are too dangerous even to be contemplated. And however much I admire America, uncritically asserting that it is “the most powerful force for good in human history” is not something an educator does.

Stanford, one of the three or four richest universities in the country, preparing for possible budget cuts...

...on the order of 10-15%, thanks to the Trump war on the universities.  Stanford has a huge medical school and a huge investment in the life sciences, so is a top recipient of NIH money (and, I would expect, also NSF money).  Notice the possible cuts are across the board.

Blast from the past: "Ayn Rand defended" (not by me!)

Back in 2009.   Of the three cults that afflict philosophy and philosophy-adjacent fields--the Derrida cult, the Strauss cult, and the Rand cult--the last one is certainly the weirdest and most pernicious.

As expected, the NSF has cut "indirect cost" reimbursements to 15%...

...and many universities have filed suit.  As with the cut to NIH funding, the problem is the way the Trumpistas did it, without following any of the required procedures under the Administrative Procedure Act.   I expect the courts to enjoin this as they did the NIH cuts.  But the fact remains that unless the Democrats take over Congress in 2026 (possible, but unlikely), then the Trumpistas can lawfully cut these reimbursement rates as part of their effort to destroy the research eminence of American universities.

Legal actions on behalf of those whose NEH grants have been terminated?

MOVING TO FRONT FROM APRIL 16--UPDATED

A scholar elsewhere writes:

Though I haven’t been notified, so I am not completely sure, it seems [my NEH Fellowship] has been terminated. At least that is what I have just now gleaned from the website for my grant. Are you aware of any legal actions by individuals or organizations whose grants have been terminated?

Readers, any information?

UPDATE:  There is now a lawsuit.  Meanwhile, the NEH has announced grants for statutes for the "National Garden of American Heroes."  Does anyone doubt that a proposal for a Trump statue will receive money?

Richard Marshall interviews Dennis Diderot...

...at 3:16 AM.  I don't know how he manages to land these guys!

The imbecile RFK Jr. ramping up his war on vaccines, one of the great public health triumphs of the 20th-century

He's interfering with vaccine development (which may interfere with updated Covid shots in the fall, unbelievably); and instead of a massive vaccination campaign for measles, the imbecile is directing a study for miracle treatments, including vitamins.  Of all the awful and unqualified Cabinet appointees, I still suspect RFK Jr. is the most dangerous.  Just horrible. 

Harvard "fights" Trump in court, but does his bidding on campus

Revealing report from the Harvard Crimson.  Of course, these changes are relatively benign compared to the outrageous demands the Trumpistas were making.

A strong piece by the Columbia philosophy student unlawfully detained by the Trumpistas in Vermont

Here; an excerpt:

The American government accuses me of undermining U.S. foreign policy, a patently absurd pretext for deportation for political speech that the Trump administration dislikes. The government is scraping the bottom of the barrel in its attempts to smear me. My only “crime” is refusing to accept the slaughter of Palestinians, opposing war and promoting peace. I have simply insisted that international law must be respected. I believe the way to a just and long-lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis is through diplomacy and restorative justice.

By seeking to deport me, the Trump administration is sending a clear message: There is no room for dissent, free speech be damned. It seems willing to shield an extremist Israeli government from criticism at the expense of constitutional rights, all while suppressing the possibility of a peaceful future for both Palestinians and Israelis, a future free of trauma and fear.

I dream of justice and peace, a dream shaped by the nightmarish memories of my childhood. I was born a third-generation refugee in Al-Far’a camp in the West Bank under Israel’s apartheid system. When I was 8 years old, I buried my brother when he died a few years after an Israeli military siege blocked his access to medical care, ultimately resulting in fatal health issues. Instead of celebrating my 11th birthday, I walked in my uncle’s funeral procession after he was killed by the Israeli military. I witnessed an Israeli soldier kill my best childhood friend when I was 11....

Group of Yale faculty call for hiring freeze on administrative staff...

...and a faculty-led audit of administrative bloat.   Other universities should probably do the same, although some of the administrative bloat is surely brought on by legal requirements, but much of it is not.

(Thanks to Michael Clune for the pointer.)

Hübner from Cornell to UCLA

Karolina Hübner (early modern philosophy, Jewish philosophy, history of metaphysics, philosophical theology), Associate Professor of Philosophy at Cornell University, has accepted a tenured offer from the Department of Philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she will start this fall.

Lateral moves/retirements since the 2024 Philosophical Gourmet Report: 2024-25 edition

In addition to the separate posts announcing (generally tenured) faculty moves, I will keep a running list of all lateral moves (and retirements and deaths) not reflected in the faculty lists for the 2024 PGR (some moves that took place after the 2024 PGR were reflected in the faculty list, because the editors knew of them--the ones listed here were not reflected in the faculty lists evaluators saw).  I will start a new list for each academic year, so that the list does not get unwieldy.    I will move this to the front periodically, putting recent additions in bold.  Untenured lateral moves will be noted as such, otherwise the move is with tenure.  A lateral move is one from one tenure-stream position to another either into or out of a program offering the PhD or terminal MA.  In addition I will list retirements and also deaths of non-emeritus faculty.  Please e-mail me with additions or corrections.

Santiago Amaya (moral psychology, philosophy of action) from the University of Los Andes (Colombia) to Rice University.

Kristin Andrews (philosophy of mind & cognitive science [esp. 'animal minds']) from York University, Toronto to the City University of New York Graduate Center.

Jc Beall (philosophical logic; philosophy of logic, mathematics & language; metaphysics) had to rescind (for personal reasons) acceptance of an offer from the National University of Singapore, so remains at the University of Notre Dame.

Elizabeth Brake (ethics, applied ethics, political philosophy, feminist philosophy) from Rice University to the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Sophia Dandelet (ethics, epistemology) from Cambridge University to the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Jeremy Fantl (epistemology) from the University of Calgary to Ohio State University.

Stephen Finlay (metaethics), formerly at the Australian Catholic University to the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Michael Friedman (Kant, philosophy of science, 20th-century philosophy) took emeritus status at Stanford University in 2024 (and died in 2025).

Sebastian Gardner (Kant, 19th-century German philosophy) retired from University College London in Januray 2025.

John Heil (metaphysics, philosophy of mind) will retire from teaching at Washington University, St. Louis and Durham University at the end of the 2024-25 academic year.

Grace Helton (cognitive science, epistemology, moral psychology) from Princeton University (untenured) to the University of Rochester (tenured).

Karolina Hübner (early modern philosophy, Jewish philosophy, history of metaphysics, philosophical theology) from Cornell University to the University of California, Los Angeles.

Barry Loewer (philosophy of language & mind, philosophy of physics) will retire from Rutgers University, New Brunswick at the end of the 2024-25 academic year (but will continue to do a graduate seminar for a few years).

Brake from Rice to Wisconsin/Madison

Elizabeth Brake (ethics, applied ethics, political philosophy, feminist philosophy), Professor of Philosophy at Rice University, has accepted a senior offer from the Department of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, she she will start next academic year.

Law prof Michael Dorf on Trump's lawlessness

A remarkable catalogue, that deserves to be shared widely.  Unless the courts, the other branches of government and civil society get serious about this soon, we're doomed.  (As Professor Dorf notes, only one law professor of the 35 that the NYT consulted tried to make excuses for this orgy of lawlessness--Adrian Vermeule of Harvard [see, e.g.,].)

Federal judge frees Columbia philosophy student unlawfully detained by the Trumpistas

Good, but now it remains to be seen what the next move of the fascists will be.

Art of the aphorism, part 2

"We are so used to disguising ourselves from others that we end by disguising ourselves from ourselves." --La Rochefoucauld

In Memoriam: Karl Ameriks (1947-2025)

Professor Ameriks, a longtime member of the philosophy faculty at the University of Notre Dame, where he was emeritus, was an internationally renowned expert on Kant and German Idealism.  Comments are open for remembrances from those who knew Professor Ameriks or from those who wish to comment on the significance of his work.

(Thanks to David Gordon and Fritz Warfield for the information.)

DOE's Office of Civil Rights finds Penn in violation of Title IX...

...for letting a trans woman compete on the women's swimmng team.   It's not clear to me what "investigation" was actually undertaken, but at least the proposed remedies do not involve cutting off federal funding for health and science research!   In the annals of th Trump war on universities, this is the least egregious bit of misconduct.

Now the National Science Foundation starts cancelling grants

A report from Northwestern University, but I don't know how widespread this is yet.  The targets at Northwestern are all "DEI"-related in some sense or others.  Are cancellations reaching beyond that, and is this affecting other schools?  Links to more information welcome in the comments.

Virtual dissertation groups, 2025

From Joshua Smart:

Virtual Dissertation Groups (VDG) is shifting to a summer schedule. Open sign ups for this summers’ groups go through Saturday, May 10^th at www.jasmartphilosophy.com/virtual-dissertation-groups.

What it is: Virtual Dissertation Groups is a free service for those currently working on their doctoral dissertations in philosophy departments (or philosophy of science or the like). Since 2014, VDG has connected students from over 30 countries to provide low-stakes peer feedback on dissertation work with a minimal time commitment.

How it works: Dissertators are organized into groups of three, based on information provided about their project/area of work. Once a month for June-August, one of the members takes a turn sending work from their dissertation (3k–6k words) to the other two for feedback. (Feedback is typically in the form of written comments, though some groups choose to have video discussions.)

Why it’s good: While advisors and committees are important, it can be incredibly helpful to discuss one’s work with peers in a lower-stakes environment, and particularly enlightening to do so with those who have a different approach, outlook, or focus. There is even some evidence from psychology that thinking about problems in relation to geographically distant persons can promote creative insights. With students at a variety of programs and from around the world, VDG is a great way to capture some of these benefits!

Signing up is easy, just fill out a few brief questions on your project at www.jasmartphilosophy.com/virtual-dissertation-groups. Hope to see you there!

Art of the aphorism

"Neither the sun nor death can be looked at steadily." --La Rochefoucauld

The media's mostly incompetent coverage of Trump's illegal rampage against the universities

Josh Marshall makes the key point, using the New York Times as his target:

I wanted to point your attention to this recent article from the Times on the battle between Trump and Harvard University. It captures the Times’ feature quality. It contains good factual detail, but it radiates what I can only describe as a Chernobyl-level condescension and contempt, not so much for anything “liberal” but anything not conservative, or not in line with what it terms the “rightward shift of the country” — anything that can be construed as a posture of opposition to Donald Trump. The Harvard board is portrayed as reflexively and out-of-touchedly liberal, repeatedly shocked in a weak-kneed sort of way and yet also, paradoxically, headstrong in its inability to resist outmoded Trump I-era “resistance” thinking. In a few words, weak, out-of-touch and contemptible.

 

There’s not a single mention of the fact that the entire campaign is illegal on its face and an unprecedented and corrupt power grab with no antecedent in the U.S. government’s almost 80-year research-focused partnership with the country’s leading university. But why get stuck in the nitty gritty?

 

The NYT has found the courage to refer, correctly, to Trump's repeating lying about the 2020 election.  Every article should begin by noting that Trump's demands on the universities violate both Title VI and the Constitution, that just as Trump lies he also makes unambiguously unlawful demands on universities, law firms, and othres.  He is a serial law breaker, and always has been (he is, after all, the Holmes Bad Man).

 

(Thanks to Keith Nightenhelser for the pointer.)

 

UPDATE:  Today's NYT, as luck would have it, at least has a strong piece in the opinion section on Trump's lawlessness.  This qoute from Columbia law professor David Pozen sums things up quite well:

More important than any specific example of unconstitutional conduct is the overall pattern. The depth and breadth of this administration’s disregard for civil liberties, political pluralism, the separation of powers and legal constraints of all kinds mark it as an authoritarian regime. That is the crucial thing to see.

Consciousness and the allegedly "unified, objective" world

Philosopher Christian List comments.

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Rory Gallagher, "Bullfrog Blues," live in 1976 and 1980

ORIGINALLY POSTED AUGUST 13, 2016

From the band Taste in the late 1960s, through his solo performances into the 1990s, the great Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher was a "big name" throughout Europe, but never got the same level of recognition on this side of the Atlantic.  A fabulous rock, blues and slide guitarist, as well as phenomenal stage performer, these two versions of one of his live staples, the "Bullfrog Blues," give a fine taste for those not familiar.  The first, from 1976, is a live performance on an old BBC show, in which each member of the band gets his moment in the spotlight:

 

The second version was recorded live in 1979, and is several minutes shorter, because it's all Rory (and the audience)--it doesn't really start until a minute in:

More on the capricious deportation of human beings to the El Salvador concentration camp

A striking account from NYT columnist Michelle Goldberg.

New APA Prize in ethics in honor of Stephen J. White...

...who taught philosophy at Northwestern and died tragically young.

What if AI is making our lives worse?

Philosopher Benjamin Mitchell-Yellin discusses.

Authoritarian rulers need friends in the capitalist class....

...and Shari Redstone, owner of Paramount (which owns CBS), is one.

Law professor Michael Klarman on Congressional Republicans: "One of the most shameful capitulations in American history"

Indeed.

8 philosophers elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

They are:  Lucy Allais (Johns Hopkins), Noel Carroll (CUNY Graduate Center), Jenann Ismael (Johns Hopkins), Jennifer Lackey (Northwestern), Liam Murphy (NYU), Peter Singer (Princeton), and Oystein Linnebo (Oslo).   In addition, philosopher Harry Brighouse (Wisconsin) was elected in the Education section of the Academy.

Blast from the past: Trump, the fascist wannabe

Back in 2015--I was right about one thing (he wanted to rule as a tyrant) and spectacularly wrong about another!

An interview with Graham Priest about Wittgenstein, paradox...

...truth, and non-Western philosophy.

"The Authoritarian Attack on Truth"

Philosopher Michae Lynch comments.

Statement from Jewish faculty at Northwestern University...

...on the attempts to weaponize anti-semitism to attack academic freedom and university autonomy.

Canadian boycott of American products picking up speed

Predictable and understandable, given the behavior of the monster child.

(Thanks to Charles Bakker for the pointer.)

Advice for universities on how to resist the Trumpistas...

...from Ars Technica.  Some sensible advice, although it's a shame they don't understand the Kalven Report's idea of "institutional neutrality":  academic institutions must, of course, speak out about public issues that affect their ability to function!

Harvard sues the Trumpistas

Harvard's statement, including a link to the complaint.  May they prevail, and quickly!  (I am assuming that the Trumpistas will comply with court decisions.  If that assumption is wrong, then we're all dead, perhaps literally.)

War on the universities, Texas edition

Amazing:

SB 37, authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton, fundamentally reshapes how colleges and universities approach curriculum, course selection and other elements tied to instruction. Among its provisions:

• It establishes a method to file complaints about schools suspected of not complying with such changes 
• It creates a state-appointed committee to assess which core curricula are "foundational" and which could be cut 
• The group would include members appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor  and Texas House speaker—none of whom are required to be students, faculty or university administrators to serve on the committee
• It calls for colleges and universities to end or revise degree programs if the state (under the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board review) deems the programs do not offer a return on investment for students 
• It requires that courses cannot "require or attempt to require a student to adopt any race, sex, or ethnicity or social or political or religious belief is inherently superior to any other."