Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog

A letter of reference for Bartleby

Appropriately cautious.

Call for papers for the 5th annual meeting of the International Society for Nietzsche Studies

This will take place in Oxford on June 30 and July 1, 2020; the CFP is here.   Those who have participated in ISNS in the past have often remarked that these are the highest quality discussions of Nietzsche they have ever experienced at any conference.  Graduate students have done very well in the CFPs in the past, getting the majority of the slots.  (Please note that this year, those successful in the CFP will need to secure their own funding for travel expenses.)

Adolph Reed on Obama, Warren, and Sanders

Professor Reed really does not like Elizabeth Warren, and he's clearly right that Democratic elites would prefer Trump re-elected than Sanders.

UPDATE:  Meanwhile, the absurd Mayor Pete is now leading in both Iowa and New Hampshire.  We may have a scenario in which the winner of the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries is then destroyed in South Carolina and Nevada, with heavily non-white Democratic electorates.

 

What are cover letters for? (Do's and don't's)

A graduate student in philosophy writes:

Would it be possible to pose the questions in the subject line to the blog? Some questions: how much tailoring to the department is necessary? How cheesy does tailoring (period) come off? Do you need to mention that you'd be excited to "collaborate" with people in the department? How do you say that without still sounding like a grad student fan? Do hiring committees really care if we mention that we want to advise the Philosophy Club? It'd be nice to hear from established academics whether they really matter, and if so, why. After all, all the information they contain could be gleaned from the CV and the research and teaching statement. And that just leads me to think that they are meant to carry all the relevant information that would let someone decide on their basis alone whether to continue looking at the rest of your dossier. If that is the case, and they are that important, then we could use a little more guidance. 

To be clear, placement officers in my program have given some advice on this, but not much. Many of the faculty in my program come from a time when cover letters were not even a thing. 

There are some jobs--"open" positions at research-intensive departments, for example--where cover letters don't really matter.   But for the vast majority of positions, they are important and should be responsive to the ad, especially with regard to areas the department looks to hire in.   (If the ad doesn't mention the "Philosophy Club" don't mention it in the cover letter!  But if you created the "Philosophy Club" for undergraduates, and you're applying to an institution where the main job is teaching undergraduates, you might mention it.)   Anyway, comments are open for advice from faculty who have been involved in hiring.  Submit your comment only once.

Blast from the past: "Jewish poker" philosophy

Back in 2010 (although the genre is still around).

Ibram Kendi, totalitarian

Amazing:

He wants unelected “formally trained experts on racism” (presumably all from critical race-theory departments) to have unaccountable control over every policy that won’t yield racial equality in every field of life, public or private. They are tasked with investigating “private racist policies.” Any policy change anywhere in the U.S. would have to be precleared by these “experts” who could use “disciplinary tools” if policymakers do not cave to their demands. They would monitor and control public and private speech. What Kendi wants is power to coerce others to accept his worldview and to implement his preferred policies, over and above democratic accountability or political opposition. Among those policies would be those explicitly favoring nonwhites over whites because “the only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.”

Mayor Pete's appeal to moderate Republicans

This is apt.

Spotted on the road in Kansas

Seriously.

Blast from the past: Fodor vs. Dennett on "adaptationism"

Back in 2007.

Mathematician comes out against "diversity statements" for job applications

IHE has the story.

The real history of "pragmatism" as a philosophy

An illuminating essay by two leading experts, Cheryl Misak (Tornoto) and Robert Talisse (Vanderbilt).

Richard Marshall interviews Hallvard Lillehammer (Birkbeck, London)...

...at 3:16 AM.

More on Poland's persecution of Sydney law professor Wojciech Sadurski...

...who has been a vigorous critic of the reactionary regime in his native country.

Velleman from NYU to Johns Hopkins

J. David Velleman (ethics, moral psychology, philosophy of action), Professor of Philosophy at New York University, will retire from NYU  and has accepted appointment as Miller Research Professor of Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University, starting January 1, 2020.  According to Professor Gross, "He'll be doing some teaching {"not more than one course per term"] and will be available for graduate advising, though not as primary supervisor."

(Thanks to Steven Gross and Jared Mayer for the information.)

Philosophy and computing, digital resources, artificial intelligence and more

An interview with philosopher David Bourget (Western Ontario).

Near-death experiences?

Philosopher John Martin Fischer (UC Riverside) discusses the topic.

CEU's Vienna campus opens...

....while the fascist Orban remains in power in Hungary, and Notre Dame political theorist Patrick Deneen cosies up to him.  What a disgrace.

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: U.F.O., "Boogie for George," 1970

Late 1960s British blues rock/spacce rock band that became much better known for a hard rock and then heavy metal style in the mid-1970s and after; but this number is closer to the beginning, with original guitarist Mick Bolton, when they were only moderately successful in some European countries:

 

"How the 2010s changed physics forever"

Hype aside, I'd be curious to hear from knowledgeable readers about how accurate this article is.  Submit your comment just once, it may take awhile to appear.

That definitely looks like a Thomist

Philosopher Tim Maudlin (NYU) interviewed about quantum mechanics...

...at IAITV.  (Don't be thrown by the fact that at the beginning there appears to be a naked man in the water in the background!)

Northwestern student paper apologizes for covering student protests of Jeff Sessions

Bizarre.

UPDATE:  A good statement by the Dean of the Journalism School at Northwestern.  (Thanks to Jeff Rice for the pointer.)

Philosophy graduate student at Berkeley gratuitously (and rather stupidly) insults rural Americans...

...and faces a predictable right-wing lapidation.  Having occasionally come across Mr. Kernion on social media, where he  seems a sanctimonious scold, I'm not wholly surprised by his outburst, which says more about his class position than about residents of rural America.  But I'm even less surprised that the usual suspects have pounced on this; I hope and expect Berkeley will do the right thing, and continue to make "no comment."  Mr. Kernion's speech is lawful, however foolish, and it is none of the university's business.

I'll give the final word to a correspondent from the UK who flagged this episode for me yesterday:  "Yet another junior scholar bringing shame to the profession on social media, but this one stands out for his utter ignorance of how countries and economies work. Conservatives are pointing to him as just another philosopher who is clueless about the 'real world.' And in this case they are correct!"  But let's remember that Mr. Kernion, like anybody, is a lot more than some unfortunate and ill-considered tweets.

So the architect of Trump's immigration policies, Stephen Miller, is a Nazi after all

Who would have guessed?

Advertising update

The next available spots are in January (2 left), and the next available top spot that is still open is in April.  E-mail me for more information.

Political turmoil in Hong Kong reaches the universities

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, site of recent clashes, has ended its term early.  Comments are open for more links and information about what's happening to the universities in Hong Kong.  Submit your comments only once, it may take awhile to appear.

Law & Philosophy Fellowship at University of Chicago for 2020-21

(MOVING TO FRONT FROM NOVEMBER 11)

It will be officially advertised on PhilJobs in a few weeks, but I wanted to flag that we will again be hiring a Fellow; the ad text is below the fold for anyone interested.  Note that the position is open to tenure-stream scholars who might have sabbatical time, as well as junior candidates.

Good news: lawsuit against Remington gun maker by Sandy Hook families will go forward

Let's hope it will get Remington and the others out of the business of marketing weapons of mass murder.

Pickel from Edinburgh to Glasgow

Bryan Pickel (metaphysics, philosophy of language, history of analytic philosophy), currently Reader in Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, has accepted appointment in philosophy at the University of Glasgow, to begin in June 2020.

Blast from the past: Karl Kraus's favorite journalist, Thomas "no ideas and the ability to express them" Friedman

Back in 2008.  (I was amused to see that piece was sent to me by Sarah Jeong, who now works for the NYT!)

UPDATE:   More scathingly funny criticism of Friedman (back in 2014) (thanks to Nathan Ballantyne for the pointer).

On being an American philosopher in China

This is an interesting account.

Hyphens are important

Richard Marshall interviews Jeremy Avigad (Carnegie-Mellon)...

...at 3:16 AM.

The coup in Bolivia

This is worth reading, and this.

"OK boomer," philosophy edition

(Thanks to Taylor Carman who created this.)

Barry Stroud memorial service

Julie Stroud kindly called to my attention the recent memorial for Professor Stroud, which includes remarks by a number of philosophers, including Jason Bridges (Chicago), Janet Broughton (Berkeley), Niko Kolodny (Berkeley), Thomas Nagel (NYU), Antonia Peacocke (Stanford), Samuel Scheffler (NYU), and his daughter Sarah Stroud (North Carolina).  The linked website also includes many lovely photos and other material of interest to admirers of Professor Stroud.

"Post-apocalyptical fiction" section, please

No comment needed:

Blast from the past: when "trigger warnings" were a "thing"

Back in 2016.  (And here and here.)

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Toad, "Pig's Walk," 1971

Here's a heavy number from the Swiss hard rock outfit's debut album; you can hear the Hendrix influence all over it:

 

It's official: the University [sic] of Tulsa is now...

...the Tulsa Vocational School of Technical and Pre-Professional Education.  (Prior coverage.)

(Thanks to Chris Swoyer for the pointer.)

 

Alan Dershowitz just met the "pro se" plaintiff from hell

"Pro se" litigants are those who represent themselves; usually they are not lawyers. But in this case, the plaintiff is David Boies, one of the most successful litigators in private practice over the last half-century.  The complaint is here:   Download Boies-Complaint.  All the claims are for false statements Dershowitz has made to the press accusing Boies of extortion, suborning perjury and so forth in connection with his representation of victims of Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse; each one is a case of defamation per se, meaning damage is presumed.  My guess is Dershowitz will pay hansdomely to try to settle this, but Boies has no reason to settle:  he doesn't need the money, and he wants to vindicate his reputation from these scurrilous attacks.   This could be interesting.

Trump's life of crime, a continuing saga

Fake charity edition.

"OK boomer" and "I know you are, but what am I?"

Thoughts from philosopher Daniel Kaufman (Missouri State); an excerpt:

What it signals is that there will be – can be – no genuine youth rebellion from this generation; that the kids who in previous eras would have risked being hung from a tree, while trying to register black southerners to vote, or face being shot in the face by National Guardsmen while protesting an unjust war, have been bamboozled by their corporate masters into thinking that typing “OK Boomer” into their Apple I-Phones™ and broadcasting it through the medium supplied by Twitter,™ and selling t-shirts, printed by PrintCorp™, and proliferating hashtags and virtual-cancellations through numerous other corporate platforms, run and financed by “Boomers,” that they are actually rebelling; doing something; contributing.  And if organs like the New York Times and the Washington Post are stupid and gullible (or cynical) enough to cheer it on, what chance is there that anyone to whom anyone is going to listen is going to call it out for the pitiful bullshit that it is?

What makes science trustworthy?

Philip Kitcher (Columbia) discusses a recent book, and there is lots to learn here, especially for those not familiar with the history and philosophy of science.

"Culture and Value in Nietzsche"

I've posted my review essay on Andrew Huddleston's instructive recent book on Nietzsche and culture; here's the abstract for those who might be interested:

This review essay discusses a recent book by Andrew Huddleston that examines Nietzsche's views on culture, in particular, culture understood as “the collective life of a people, understood as akin to a great work of art." Huddelston argues against “individualist” readers of Nietzsche (including this author) who hold that after the early 1870s, Nietzsche changes his view and “[i]nstead of reposing his hopes in culture…comes to occupy himself with the fate of a few great individuals” like Beethoven and Goethe. I argue that Huddleston's own evidence shows the individualist readings to be correct, although in the process Huddleston usefully illuminates the influence of Romanticism on Nietzsche's early work. I also discuss the relationship between culture and slavery, the idea of "decadence," and the objectivity of value in Nietzsche's work.

The last sentence of the essay:  "I learned a lot from this volume and I commend it to other Nietzsche scholars, especially those thinking about the role of 'culture' in his thought."

Italian fascists angry about being asked to oppose religious and ethnic hatred

What a species we are.  She survived the Nazis, now she has to survive their descendants in Italy.

UPDATE:   Historian Brian Ogilvie (U Mass/Amherst) calls to my attention this sadly apt cartoon.

Two Social Media Excrescences

Narcissistic child on Twitter responding to an adult:  "OK, boomer." 

Retort:  "People who think baby boomers are a homogenous and politically pernicious group are just giving away that they think all old people are as rich as their parents."

UPDATE:  A reader points out that Kate "enough about my book, what do you think about my book?" Manne endorses "Ok boomer"!  (Past Manne antics.)

Legalized house theft...

...in Michigan.  Unless there's more to this story, this is remarkably outrageous, and some court should strike down the law on due process grounds, if nothing else.

Horrifying!

But why?  Philosopher David Livingstone Smith (New England) comments.

Blast from the past: why Osama bin Laden supported George W. Bush's re-election

Back in 2004.

UPDATE:  Reader Mike G. kindly points out that the 2004 link to bin Laden's statement is broken, but one can still find it here.