Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog

The Internet: inspiration for murder

Yet one more reason the free speech norms that worked for the traditional media won't work for the cyber-world of unmediated insanity and nonsense.

Historian Richard Evans did not like historian Norman Stone's life...

...and said so in a remarkable obituary.

(Thanks to Ruchira Paul for the pointer.)

Some hopeful news in American politics

Senator Elizabeth Warren is creeping up the polls, overtaking Bernie Sanders in some of them to move into second behind Biden (who is busy doing what Biden does, i.e., self-destructing with his mouth--I'd vote for Biden too at the end of the day).  On substance, Warren and Sanders are close, except Warren has clearer plans, in part because she's smarter (indeed, she's the smartest candidate in the race, by several orders of magnitude, and that includes the fake Cory Booker and the current vacuous media darling, the Mayor from South Bend).  She's also younger, and a she, and is from Oklahoma, and a better talker, and is not a "democratic socialist," which Sanders isn't either, but he stupidly claimed that label long ago and stuck with it (the difference between a "democratic socialist" and, say, Stalin, will be lost in some parts of America, hard as that may be to believe).   Warren will also do to Trump what is needed, namely, expose his vacancy and venality on the substance of what he's done and stands for.   I've given money to Senator Warren, and will do so again if the momentum continues.   I just hope that if she gets the nomination she chooses an African-American man as her running-mate, to both (1) motivate African-American voters who are crucial to any Democratic candidacy, and (2) counteract the sexism of some portion of the electorate.

150 million GBP (about U.S. two hundred million) gift for humanities at Oxford University...

...from U.S. hedge fund manager Stephen Schwarzman (who could have afforded to give a lot more!).  It will also include a new institute for the study of the ethics of artificial intelligence.  Philosopher Alan Thomas (York) summed it up well on FB (he gave me permission to quote):  "The 'ethics of AI' is about as complex as the ethics of pencils. ('Don’t stab people with your pencil!') But, you know, follow the money."

ADDENDUM:  It's a bit unclear where all the money is going--it sounds like most of it is going to a new building which will finally permit Timothy Williamson to interact easily with his colleagues in literary studies and religion!

ANOTHER:  This article tells you everything you need to know about Mr. Money Bags.

Plato's case for "political correctness"

Political theorist Johnny Thakkar (Swarthmore) comments.

The jury verdict against Oberlin, a brief comment

A number of readers have written me about this case.

Large jury verdicts for libel at the trial level are not uncommon, and are frequently overturned on appeal, as I expect this will be, on First Amendment grounds.  But the verdict about tortious interference with contract is a different matter, and that may survive.  (This is a strange tort, but plaintiffs sometimes prevail on it, with dramatic results.)  This is all unfortunate publicity for Oberlin College, of course, which has a track record of students doing foolish things.

Gulf of Oman...

...or Gulf of  Tonkin?   That's the question.  (See also.)  This is an ominous development.  So far, Trump's only redeeming attribute as the alleged President has been his aversion to military force.  Will it last?

Here's what actual harm looks like

Feminist speaker assaulted by trans person after lecture.

Twitter bans yet another gender critical feminist

This is unbelievable, especially when one remembers that serially abusive people like Rachel McKinnon still have a platform on there.   Will some journalist out there please do an expose of what's going on with Twitter and its campaign against feminists and lesbians?  Professor Lawford-Smith is one of many who have been shut down.

Lawyer Bryan Stevenson's commencement address at Penn

Law professor Robert Condlin (Maryland) sent me this video of Stevenson's address about "changing the world" (it starts at about 2 hours and 12 minutes).  It's a very powerful and essentially Christian message, although he never once mentions what would actually be required to change the world.  He does a very good job emphasizing the extraordinary mistreatment of African-Americans in this country, a useful reminder for those who think affirmative action is about "diversity" rather than justice for the victims of world-historic wrongdoing.

 

An article about Quillette at CHE

It even includes a tweet from the rabid and deranged Katja Thieme who is, unsurprisingly, still rabid and deranged!  That Quillette has enemies like that is a good sign.  I've occasionally linked to essays there, and have read some others I didn't find link-worthy, but c'est la vie.  

Every country has mental illness...

...but those that have actual gun control don't have carnage when deranged people strike:  19 attacked, only two killed, because all the attacker had were knives.  

European parliament election results in the UK

From a UK friend, this is interesting:  Pro-Brexit parties (Brexit Party and UKIP) obtained 34.9% of the vote; Anti-Brexit parties (Green Party, Lib Dems, SNP, Plaid Cymru and Change UK) obtained 40.4% of the vote.

HiPhi Nation episode on civil (and uncivil) disobedience by animal rights activists in Australia

Here.  I actually talked with philosopher David Killoren (Australian Catholic U) about these issues, a bit more in the abstract, quite some time ago (and not with reference to providing help for victims of malaria!). (This episode is mainly hosted by Killoren and his philosophy colleague Richard Rowland at ACU.)  Philosophers featured include Peter Singer, Kimberly Brownlee, Jeff Sebo, and Candice Delmas, among others.  One nice thing that comes out in the interview is that Singer thinks there's no alternative to capitalism!  There are also, alas, unexplored assumptions about "harm" that play a role in Killoren's arguments towards the end.

"What is a woman?"

Philosopher Kathleen Stock (Sussex) discusses the topic at Philosophy Bites.

(Thanks to S. Wallerstein for the pointer.)

Taiwan becomes the first (!) country in Asia to fully legalize same-sex marriage

A remarkable step, and also remarkable how rare this is in Asia.  The reactionary stance of so many Asian countries on this issue leads to absurd situations like this one in Japan, where a trans woman has her new gender identity recognized by law, but her marriage of 19 years may be endangered because Japan does not recognize  marriage between individuals of the same legal gender!

Hair discrimination as race discrimination

Philosopher and lawyer Nicholas Serafin (Michigan) comments.

Irish President, presenting young philosopher award: "we [do not] exist to be made useful"

The Irish President is an admirably humane person: 

Ireland needs to guard against a reengineering of the education system under the assumption that “we exist to be made useful”, President Michael D Higgins has said.

Attending the Irish Young Philosopher Awards 2019 at UCD’s O’Reilly Hall, the President said “talk of a knowledge society and the demand to enable our young people to meet its needs has at times in the discourse on education, come to dominate our view as to the ultimate aim of a secondary school education. We need to be careful”.

Alas, under capitalism, we do all exist only "to be made useful," and if we're not, we are discarded.  Some of us--in virtue of job, or wealth, or even sometimes the society in which we live--manage a partial insulation from the market's demand to deliver "value."  One may only hope that President Higgins can really make Ireland such a society.

"Transphobia"

MOVING TO THE FRONT FROM FEBRUARY 1, 2019--STILL RELEVANT, ALAS

One of the tactics for shutting down rational discussion of the gender self-ID law in the U.K. is the accusation of "transphobia."   Because I've given attention to the important and substantive views of several feminist and gay philosophers writing about this issue--perhaps most prominently, Kathleen Stock (Sussex) (e.g, here and here), but also Leslie Green (Oxford)--I'm now being accused by the usual suspects of "transphobia."  (I suspect the additional reason for the smear is that I've also been vigorous in objecting to the harassment and defamation of Professor Stock, including by many philosophy faculty and students.) 

In any case, I thought it would help to collect examples of my horrifying "transphobia" such as here and here and here.

ADDENDUM:  This new piece in New York Magazine gives a sympathetic and clear account of some of the issues being debated about sex and "gender identity."  (It uses the term "TERF," but not dismissively or as an epithet.) 

Leaving the Mormon Church

A fascinating account from philosopher Spencer Case, which sheds interesting light on the techniques of indoctrination, although they didn't work in his case.

The Onion on self-satisfied "liberals" (read: the typical illiberal "woke" member of the Twitterati)

All-too-apt:

Taking a moment to reflect on his hard-won personal accomplishment, area liberal Tom Hudson expressed relief Monday that he would never again have to engage in self-examination after finally assembling all the correct opinions....“It’s such a huge weight off my shoulders. I never have to consider my place in society or my impact on the issues ever again now that I know exactly how to present myself as one of the good guys. This feels amazing.” Hudson was then immediately and savagely attacked by his fellow liberals, who insist that his current views are nowhere near progressive enough.

This is even funnier (via Jake Wojtowicz on twitter); an excerpt:

Matthew Edwards, 41, was canceled early Friday evening after he was seen in his car singing along to “Remix to Ignition.” Mr. Edwards has not watched the R. Kelly documentary, but colleagues say he was aware of its existence and general content. He leaves behind his intersectional feminist wife Julia and two woke children....

After many close brushes with cancellation, Jeremy Warble, a 30-year-old bartender and drummer, was canceled on Friday after asking exactly zero questions on a Tinder date. Mr. Warble’s earlier, narrowly evaded cancellations include: a culturally appropriative Halloween costume, repeatedly DMing a woman without receiving a response, and a conspicuous silence on social media during the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings....

On Wednesday, three-day-old Lily Hobbes became the youngest person ever to be canceled, when her father read to her from Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming and she immediately started crying....

Katharine Halloran was a well-liked medical school student at Columbia University with a lifelong passion for snowboarding. Ms. Halloran was canceled in a tragic accident on Thursday, after retweeting an article with a link to a different article by an author who once retweeted a known bigot. She is 24.

An episode of HiPhi nation on the transgender debates in the UK

[LINK FIXED]

It begins, unfortunately, with some silly sociology, which reports the breathtaking discovery (who would have guessed?) that the public is more concerned with trans women entering female-only spaces, than with trans men entering male-only spaces.   Now one might have thought everyone knew that we have sex-segregated spaces importantly, but not only, for the protection of women from men, i.e,. people with penises, because rape and sexual assault is overwhelmingly done by people with penises.   We certainly needed social "science" for that discovery! (As this first part of the show proceeds, it becomes obvious that these social "scientists" are ideologues and activists.)  The two philosophers--Holly Lawford-Smith (Melbourne) and Robin Dembroff (Yale)--come in around 18 minutes, if you want to skip ahead.

Another triumph of infantile stupidity and faux outrage, this one at Harvard...

MOVING TO FRONT FROM YESTERDAY--UPDATED

...as the university caves in to calls to oust a clinical law professor from his role as head of one of the residential colleges.  Harvard law professor Randall Kennedy made all the right points about this a couple of months ago. 

UPDATE:  A NYT story with more details.   We're learning something about the hierarchy of marginalization and oppression at Harvard:   being on the "wrong side" of sexual harassment allegations trumps being African-American!   Good to know that's how the Harvard Red Guard currently thinks!

ANOTHER:  Philosopher Michelle Mason Bizri kindly shared and gave permission to post her letter to Dean Khurana at Harvard, who made the decision to remove Professors Sullivan and Robinson:

Dear Dean Khurana,

As a moral philosopher who strives to teach her students the values of seeking the truth, promoting the good, and remaining courageous in the face of those who would sacrifice both in the interests of expediency, I am appalled at your recent cowardice in failing to come to the defense of your colleagues, Professor Ronald Sullivan and Stephanie Robinson. If someone of your stature and privilege cannot be counted on to defend principles such as the constitutional right of the accused to counsel and the contractual right of professors to defend themselves against politically motivated attack, then the academy is in a sorry state, indeed. As professors, our first allegiance should be to educate those students in our care. You, Sir, have revealed yourself to be derelict in that duty. I respectfully request that you resign.

Yours most sincerely,

Michelle Mason Bizri
Adjunct Associate Professor | Department of Philosophy
Brown University
Website: Researchers at Brown 

Associate Professor | Department of Philosophy
University of Minnesota
Website: @cla.umn.edu

AND ANOTHER:  This article suggests there may have been other factors at play in the decision to remove Professors Sullivan and Robinson; unfortunately, the Dean's statement does not shed any light on that.  As it stands, it appears the trigger for this decision was the misguided student protests.

Open letter of support for Prof. Wojciech Sadurski (Sydney)

Professor Sadurski, a leading legal theorist and scholar of constitutionalism, has been a vigorous and penetrating critic of the reactionary and authoritarian "Law and Justice" party in Poland ("PiS" is the Polish acronym); he has now become the target of both civil and criminal legal actions attempting to silence him.  The open letter is here, and they are accepting additional signatories in the comments.

Wittes on Attorney General Barr

Benjamin Wittes, of the Brookings Instiution and Lawfare, is not exactly a radical bomb-thrower, so this assessment is all the more damning.

Someone is running for President who has well-informed proposals...

...and the media can't cope, unsurprisingly.

(Thanks to Ruchira Paul for the pointer.)

An illuminating analysis of what's at stake in the Supreme Court's decision to hear a case about discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity

This is a smart analysis by Linda Greenhouse, and a hopeful one.

Philosopher Sophie Allen (Keele) on Gender Critical Feminism and a recent confused critique in the popular media

This is a really good essay, heads-and-shoulders above the sneering nonsense from the "narcissistic half-wits" on social media (to borrow Professor Stock's apt description).  It's been nearly a year since I first called attention to some of Professor Stock's writing, and there has literally been only one remotely serious and (mostly) substantive response--although, to be sure, there has been a lot of hand-waving about "the literature," content-free mockery, and moral indignation at verboten thoughts.   This, in itself, is revealing:  for some reason, the opponents of Gender Critical Feminism seem unable to successfully defend their views philosophically.

Not sure which Democrat to support for President? Wall Street to the rescue!

Big players at Wall Street firms gave nothing to Sanders and Warren, but lots to Booker, Gillibrand, and Harris.  Case closed.

(Thanks to Joel Pust for the pointer on twitter.)

Some more pieces by philosophers on transgender and related issues

One by Kathleen Stock (Sussex); an excerpt:

On one hand, many women feel blindsided by the argument that trans women should be considered literal women, and question the effect of the trans movement on female sex-based rights and protections, as they have come to define them. On the other, many trans people are aghast at what they feel are attempts to block their political advancement toward equal social and legal status.....

To understand what’s at stake, it’s helpful to delineate two argumentative positions at play: (1) sex eliminationism, which argues for the abolition of the recognition of biological sex as a meaningful category; and (2) gender eliminationism, which argues for the abolition of gender. As a feminist and philosopher who finds herself stuck between these two positions and their passionate advocates, I see it as a defining challenge of our complicated modern times to carve out some pragmatic middle ground: to find a narrative and set of policies protective of both the rights of trans people in a gender-conforming society, and those of females in a misogynist society. In attempting this, we should recognize that many on both sides of the dispute share at least some common ground. Specifically, they both share a deep discomfort with the sociocultural norms and stereotypes associated with being a woman or a man. I believe that this common ground may provide some basis for rapprochement.

And another by Leslie Green (Oxford & Queen's U); an excerpt:

I had not been aware that the "American Thinker" was a racist outfit...

...until I came across this piece of craziness; an excerpt:

The Left has shown itself to be dedicated to the destruction of Western civilization itself.  We have not been faced with such an existential threat since European armies threw the Turks back from Vienna in 1529.  The fascists of the mid–2oth century, for all their loathsome policies, were not the kind of threat to the fabric of our society that we face now.  Bad as they were, they did not seek the destruction of Europeans as a people, or of European culture as a living, breathing thing.  Progressivism does.  What could be more worthy of, if you will forgive the word, "resistance"?

U.S. Supreme Court will hear cases and decide whether Title VII (forbidding "sex discrimination") applies to sexual orientation and gender identity

This is bad news, I fear:  although many U.S. courts of appeals have applied the law to discrimination against gay and transgender employees, I strongly suspect this now very conservative Supreme Court will hold that Title VII does not cover either.   That means Congress will have to pass, and the President sign, similar employment discrimination legislation covering sexual orientation and transgender status, which won't happen without a significant change in the Senate and the Executive.  Many states may step into the breach with state laws, but of course equally many or more states will not.

Religious fanatics murder 290 people in Sri Lanka

The grief and the misery in photos.  Given the size of the country, this is an atrocity comparable to 9/11 in the U.S.   RAWA remains right and will always remain right:  "religious fundamentalism is the mortal enemy of all civilized humanity."

Weird times at Middlebury (UPDATED with corrections)

Last week, news broke that Middlebury College had cancelled a talk by a Polish philosophy professor with very close ties to the ruling "Law and Justice" party in Poland, due to "safety" concerns.  Calling this professor a "conservative" is quite misleading:  he's a reactionary, with strong authoritarian leanings.   (A subsequent report says the event was cancelled because of concern about the safety of the students protesting the event, which is even weirder:  who was threatening them?  Other students?  Off-campus fascists in rural Vermont?)   

The professor was invited by a student group [BL:  SEE UPDATE], so there are no academic freedom issues here, since students don't have academic freedom rights of their own.  (There would be an academic freedom issue if a scholarly department at Middlebury had invited him.)   So the issues here are more general ones about freedom of expression on campus.  Insofar as student groups are generally permitted to invite speakers at Middlebury--which I'll assume is true--then this is a loss for freedom of expression at Middlebury.   And, personally, I'd much rather hear from a reactionary philosophy professor than the typical member of "Law and Justice," a party that represents neither.  (I'm told by friends in Poland that, his reactionary social and politcial views notwithstanding, this professor is quite "smart," a Plato scholar in fact, and one who probably thinks Plato was right about democracy!)

Diversity blather watch: NYT edition...

...as the newspaper continues its transparent and disgraceful campaign against Bernie Sanders.   Might one not hope to have a reliably progressive candidate at the helm, unlike in 2016?  Cory Booker isn't that candidate, nor is Kamela Harris, nor Kristin Gillibrand etc.  I will say this:  given the nature of voting behavior (vide Achen and Bartels, Democracy for Realists), if the nominee is not an African-American, it will be important that the V-P nominee be one.  Depressed turnout among African-American voters in 2016 (compared to when Obama was on the ticket) was one of several clear "but for" causes of Clinton's loss.

Mueller Report post-mortems, one day later

I recommend the Lawfare analysis, as well as the observations of many of the lawyers and academics quoted at Politico (unsurprisingly, you can ignore the absurd Alan Dershowitz).  It's pretty clear now that Attorney General Barr disgraced himself with his initial misrepresentation of the report.

NYT reporters' "live updates" on the Mueller Report

Here.  So far, it confirms what everyone awake has already known:  Trump is a gangster at heart, always trying to bend people to his will, legally or otherwise.  Too soon to pass judgment on the legal questions.

ADDENDUM:  Readers might also want to watch the Twitter feed of George Conway, a very good (conservative) lawyer who is also an astute and vigorous critic of Trump.

Alan Dershowitz sued for defamation by victim of billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein

I hope this one doesn't settle, as others have.  The plaintiff is represented by a powerhouse law firm.  From the complaint:

19. Dershowitz has repeatedly, publically claimed that he wanted to have a trial that would determine the facts concerning his conduct. He said on national television that he would waive the statute of limitations so that Roberts could sue him for sex abuse. However, when Robert’s counsel asked Dershowitz to do so, Dershowitz refused -- and continues to refuse.
20. Similarly, when Dershowitz was faced with an actual case brought by Edwards and Cassell which would have determined the veracity of Roberts’ claims, Dershowitz settled to avoid that determination.
21. More recently, Dershowitz, perhaps believing that Roberts who is now living with her husband and children in Australia would not be prepared to engage in litigation, has again taken to claiming publically that he demands a trial on the question of whether Roberts committed perjury and made up her statements about him for money. For example on March 2, 2019: My “accusers are Virginia Roberts and Sarah Ransome…I hereby accuse my false accusers of committing the felony of perjury and challenge them to sue me for defamation.” (Exhibit 6).
22. Mr. Dershowitz now has what he claims to have been looking for

I wonder whether the plaintiff will try to establish a Dershowitz "modus operandi" by calling Noam Chomsky or Norman Finkelstein to testify?  (Just kidding, but that would be priceless.)

Andrea Dworkin on Bill, Hillary, and Monica Lewinsky...back in 1998

Following some links from friends on Twitter, I came upon this old essay, which has, indeed, aged well, and is scathing and funny at he same time.

Wolff on "The Future of Socialism," Part Three

Here.

What crime did British jihadists commit?

Philosopher Cecile Fabre (Oxford) comments.

Twitter may be a cesspool, but Redditt may even be worse...

...and especially in this respect.

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on fire...

...and the main spire has collapsed after burning.  (This is a link to live coverage.)  Pretty shocking for all those who, at some point in their lives, visited this iconic Paris landmark.  I first went there as a child in 1975, and have visited several times since.  Awful images.

Robert Paul Wolff on "The Future of Socialism"

Parts One and Two (with a third to come).   Well-informed and interesting, as always.

The attack on the Hungarian Academy of Sciences by the fascists in Hungary, and other mischief

And all this is happening while the EU does nothing.  As the author notes:

Hungary has committed suicide in plain sight, and it has done so with the inept assistance of the European Union – while the rest of the member states stand by and watch helplessly. The death dance of democracy has begun again, just like in the 20th century, by painting human rights, freedom of the press, judicial independence, science and art to be political questions. By portraying facts and reality as a matter of threatened identity. And by depicting hate and violations of the law as moral obligations. This is not just taking place within the EU, this is the EU itself, living up to the delirious nightmares of the far right. What right-wing nationalists call "bureaucrats taking away national identities" means, in practice, that Brussels continues to provide full financial support even as mentally ill rulers dictate the destruction of entire countries – their art, literature and science – in the name of resisting interference in domestic affairs, and by keeping borders open for those chased away. The mass moral hysteria of Hungarian political conservativism is the driving force of the cold civil war that has been battering Hungary since 2002.

The irony (albeit a dangerous one) here in the U.S. is that it's precisely those who imagine themselves to be "progressives" (and not fascists) who treat "science and art" as "political questions," and specialize in pleading "threatened [or vulnerable] identity" as the justification for just about anything.  (Recall the discussion of the academic lunatics on Twitter asserting that all scholarly citations are "political.")

Regarding the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the author writes:

The most recent victim was Central European University, but now, it is the turn of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Orbán's attacks usually start with a hateful press campaign against un-Hungarianness; in the case of the Academy, the prelude was an attack on "degenerate" gender studies as a representation of lazy humanities and therefore superfluous. It is followed by an extremely rapid legal and/or financial trick, rendering the victim dysfunctional – withholding the budget of the Academy, for example. Next, prominent Fidesz politicians reinforce the fabricated narrative by focusing on complex, incomprehensible and meaningless technical details. It is enough to confuse outsiders, but for those familiar with the matter, it is based on blatant lies to such a degree that it precludes any discussion....

Then, under the pretext of negotiations (which never actually took place in the case of the CEU), the whole matter is stalled until what's left of the opposition press loses interest and the public gets used to the underlying arguments of the government narrative (basic research is unnecessary, humanities are for liberals on the leftist fringe, gender studies spread homosexuality and the government's intervention isn't really much of a shift at all). After a few months, the original plan is carried out under the guise of a compromise solution: Every conciliatory step from the victim is used against her, the noise from the tired press and the confused public grows ever quieter and the government presents itself as being the solution to the conflict it generated in the first place. The fate of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the country's beholder of intellectual capital, appears to be sealed, because in the coming EU fiscal period support will primarily be available for innovation and research, and a directly controlled structure is necessary for Orbán to appropriate the funds.

(Thanks to Balazs Gyenis for the pointer.)

Lachlan Murdoch, the new reactionary head of Fox News, was a Princeton philosophy major...

...writing on Kant and Hegel under Beatrice Longuenesse and who also took David Lewis's time travel course (Alan Hajek [now at the ANU] was his preceptor!)  Now, of course, he is a wicked person responsible for much that is wrong with the world.

 

What is the most democratic resolution to the Brexit crisis?

Ten academics comment, including philosophers Rae Langton, A.C. Grayling, Katherine Hawley, and Robert Talisse, among others.

Maduro's Venezuela

A critical, and well-documented, account from philosopher Peter Ludlow.

On secession, and Brexit

Political theorist David Miller (Oxford) comments.

Turkish voters: "Fuck you, Ergodan"

God bless them, even if S/He doesn't exist.