Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog

Why did the APA Board terminate the "Committee on Philosophy and Law"

See here, and for some further detail, the end of the 2018-19 report.  The latter seems to suggest it has something to do with the fact that so many legal philosophers are not in philosophy departments, but other units (like law schools, but not only there).   Does anyone know what the story is?

(Thanks to Michael Sevel for the pointer.)

 

In Memoriam: Karen Neander (1954-2020)

MOVING TO FRONT, ORIGINALLY POSTED MAY 11--UPDATED

A professor of philosophy at Duke University since 2006, Professor Neander was well-known for her contributions to philosophy of mind, biology, and cognitive science.  Before Duke, she taught at Johns Hopkins University and the University of California at Davis in the United States, and before that, in her native Australia.  I will add links to memorial notices as they appear.

UPDATE:  The Australasian Society of Philosophy memorial notice.

UPDATE:  The Duke memorial notice.

APA announces Spring 2020 prizes

Here.

Spinoza: moving to center stage in the modern canon?

So argue two Spinoza scholars, Clare Carlisle (KCL) and Yitzhak Melamed (Johns Hopkins) in this interesting TLS essay; an excerpt:

The fate of the Ethics in the Anglo-American world is another story. In the 1970s and 80s most analytic philosophers regarded Spinoza as an uncritical and extravagant metaphysician, whose strange ideas might – at best – be allowed into serious discourse only once domesticated. This often meant abstracting his arguments from his complex engagement, constructive as well as critical, with Jewish and Christian scriptural and philosophical traditions.

This uneasy reception of the Ethics into contemporary anglophone philosophy changed dramatically with the re-emergence of analytic metaphysics in the 1990s. A new generation of rigorously trained philosophers and historians of philosophy – all of them indebted to Edwin Curley’s astute, scholarly translation of the Ethics – found Spinoza’s strict naturalism, uncompromising systematicity and deep aversion towards anthropocentric illusions immensely attractive. Don Garrett and Michael Della Rocca did groundbreaking work that repositioned Spinoza as a meticulous rationalist. In 2017 Della Rocca assembled twenty-five scholars to produce The Oxford Handbook of Spinoza, much of it devoted to metaphysical issues arising from the Ethics, and since then OUP has published significant books on Spinoza’s metaphysics by the North American philosophers Sam Newlands and Martin Lin, as well as an outstanding new collection of papers by Garrett. The recent explosion of Spinoza studies – and of contemporary metaphysics and epistemology inspired by Spinoza – has resulted in a deep reorientation in analytic as well as continental philosophy. In many ways, Spinoza is now replacing Kant and Descartes as both the compass and the watershed of modern thought.

It is probably true that the "Spinoza boom" has something to do with the return of "analytic metaphysics," but since fashions change, sometimes quickly, that may mean the boom is short-lived.

Richard Marshall interviews David Weissman (City College of New York)...

...at 3:16 AM.

New report on the state of the humanities from the AAAS

IHE article here, and you can find the portion of the report specifically about philosophy departments here.  Robert Townsend, Director of the Washington Office of the American Academy, sent along this helpful summary of the findings for philosophy:

• Philosophy departments employed approximately 6,735 full- and part-time faculty members in fall 2017, with an average of nine faculty members per department. Sixty-eight percent of these faculty were either tenured or on the tenure track, and 22% were employed part-time.
• Seventeen percent of philosophy departments hired a new permanent faculty member for the start of the 2017–18 academic year (the smallest share found among the disciplines included in the survey), and 27% of the departments had a faculty member come up for tenure in the previous two years (also a comparatively small share).
• Total enrollment in graduate-level philosophy courses was 24,970 in fall 2017 (with an average enrollment of 33.2 students per department). The average number of students pursuing an advanced degree in philosophy was 54 per department that granted such degrees.
• On average, philosophy departments awarded nine bachelor’s degrees per department in the 2016–17 academic year (a statistically significant decrease from 2012). Students also completed an average of 8.9 minors per department.
• Forty-three percent of philosophy departments rated the career services programs at their college or university “good” or “very good” for their students, while 11% rated the services “poor” or “very poor.”

Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

I learned this morning from Stacie Gutting, the editor of NDPR, that this summer will mark 20 years since NDPR's founding.   Kudos to Stacie and her late husband Gary for making NDPR the success it has become!  On July 1, a new editor will take over from Stacie, and ownership of the journal will transfer to the Department of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame.  Philosopher Jeff Speaks, Chair of the Department at Notre Dame, is leading the search for a new editor.

"Ethical Theory Review"

Philosopher Brad Cokelet (Kansas) is interviewing moral philosophers about their new books here.  He's got a great set of upcoming interviews in the works too.

Hans Sluga reflects on his life and on philosophy

Hans Sluga, a longtimber member of the Berkeley faculty and author of well-known works on Frege Wittgenstein and Heidegger (among others, offers an interesting set of reflections here.

(Thanks to Jim Klagge for the pointer.)

Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory in Belgrade under political attack from the Serbian government

If you want to sign this letter (as I have and as I encourage readers to do) please contact Dr. Zona Zarić from Les Archives Husserl, Ecole normale supérieure, Paris, who is organizing the letter:   zona.zaric@ens.fr.  Among the signatories already are Jurgen Habermas, Martha Nussbaum, Raymond Geuss, Axel Honneth, Seyla Benhabib, and many others.

The letter is below the fold:

Academics worldwide need to boycott ATINER in Greece until they stop "stealing" people's money

ATINER runs academic conferences in Greece (you can see the members of ATINER's academic council here).  Philosopher Howard Wettstein (UC Riverside) recently wrote to me that he paid "some 1650 Euros in advance" for one of their events, and then "cancelled quite early and asked for a refund. They refused." 

The registration form did provide that they would not refund the "registration fees" because of ATINER's sunk costs, although there was no detail about the actual sunk costs incurred by ATINER, but it surely wasn't 1650 Euros.   Of course, the contract also held them harmless for "Acts of God," like pandemics, but since they haven't been harmed to the tune of 1650 Euros that's irrelevant as far as I can see.  ATINER also invoked recent changes to Greek law meant to protect "tourist industries" from having to provide refunds, effectively shifting the costs to non-Greek citizens for the pandemic.   (Talk about "special interest" legislation!)   In accordance with this law, ATINER is offering only a voucher, valid for 18 months, that covers 2 hotel nights, meals, and activities "not included in the registration."   Will this voucher be usable in the next 18 months?  Who knows? 

It is probably the case that, legally, ATINER can get away with picking Professor Wettstein's pocket for the full amount, and they will get away with it legally with respect to many others as well.  It is also the case that academics can, legally, boycott ATINER and refuse to do business with them ever again if they are really going to take the outrageous position that the entire amount is now lost to the coffers of ATINER.  If someone wants to create an open letter or petition about this, let me know.  For the time being:  boycott ATINER!

 

Richard Marshall interviews Louise Antony (U Mass/Amherst & Rutgers)...

...at 3:16 AM.  A very interesting interview,  discussing naturalism, Quine, confirmation holism, naturalized epistemology and feminism, academic freedom, free speech, and philosophy of mind, among other topics.

Corpus methods in philosophy

Justin Sytsma (Victoria U/Wellington) asked me to share this announcement, which may interest a number of readers:

The Australasian Experimental Philosophy Group (https://www.axphi.org/) has organized a two-week event on corpus methods, running from 18-31 May. Corpus Fortnight will feature 13 talks via Zoom exploring the use of corpus methods in philosophy.

Details can be found on the experimental philosophy blog (https://www.axphi.org/corpus-week) and on our website (https://xphiblog.com/corpus-fortnight-18-may-31-may-2020/). 

T.B. Macaulay on moral philosophers

The 19th-century British historian and politician (and apologist for imperialism) remarked:

And, though quibbling about self-interest and motives, and objects of desire, and the greatest happiness of the greatest number, is but a poor employment for a grown man, it certainly hurts the health less than hard drinking and the fortune less than high play; it is not much more laughable than phrenology, and is immeasurably more humane than cock-fighting.

As philosopher Jerry Dworkin, who shared this with me, pointed out:   In cock fighting "you have to stop the fight when a cock is bleeding and helpless!"  So at least moral philosophy isn't that bad!

After the pandemic: disability and the right to work from home

Philosopher Leslie Green (Oxford/Queen's U) comments.

Philosopher David Livingstone Smith's (New England) new book on dehumanization...

...discussed at the Los Angeles Review of Books.

University of Queensland embarrasses itself on the international stage

Persecuting a philosophy undergraduate for supporting the Hong Kong protests and criticizing the Chinese Communist Party and its ties to the university isn't really a good look.  (This account is not behind a paywall.) Australia is so dependent on the Chinese market, and Australian universities are so dependent on Chinese students, that there is an increasing tendency to suppress speech offensive to the Chinese.

(Thanks to Jack James for the pointer to this story.)

UPDATE:  There is a petition in support of the undergraduate, Drew Pavlou, here.

Mark Schroeder did not like Bryan Weaver's and Kevin Scharp's book

For our series of wicked book reviews:

The volume's weaknesses come as an especially great disappointment, because there is so much room for more detailed, careful engagement with philosophical work on reasons that brings to bear a more sophisticated and careful understanding of background issues in the philosophy of language and linguistic semantics. It would be incredibly lovely to have a book that engages carefully in this space, educates rather than browbeats its readers, and distinguishes between areas of reasonable controversy and questions whose answers should be clear. This book is not that book. It is full of unsupported sweeping claims, substantive stipulations of what is true that are unaccompanied by arguments, deeply uncharitable readings of others' positions, overly uncritical reliance on some claims defended by other authors (in some cases my own), an arrogant and contemptuous tone toward other authors that is particularly out of place in light of how undeveloped their own view is and how uncareful its own development, and a pervasive sense that it is the job of philosophers to tell each other how it is okay to talk, rather than to work to make sense of one another.

It is a slight worry about this review that the main example of "uncharitable readings" concerns one of Schroeder's colleagues.   But critical reviews are a rare commodity, given that academics are generally ass-kissing cowards, so this candid assessment (assuming it isn't mistaken) is refreshing.  If Professors Weaver and Scharp reply, I will certainly note that.

"The Best Schools" website list of "The Most Influential Living Philosophers" is an ideologically motivated fraud

Since the list periodically makes the rounds, be sure to share this earlier post with the gullible.

Villanova PhD students in philosophy and theology seeking better summer support in light of pandemic

There is an open letter here explaining what support the graduate students (who are on 9-month contracts, without health insurance) are seeking.  You can read descriptions of the situation they have faced in past summers, and how things are shaping up for this summer, here:  Download Surviving Summer as a Graduate Student (1)

Directory of "Philosophers in Industry" (i.e., outside academia)

Philosopher Marcus Arvan (Tampa) has created  this useful resource intended to help academic philosophers network outside of academia, given persistent shortages in academic jobs particularly in the COVID-19 era."   There is information at the website about how to contact Professor Arvan to add a name.

Richard Marshall interviews Gavin Kerr (Maynooth)...

...at 3:16 AM.

Madeline Kripke (sister of the famous philosopher), a leading expert on dictionaries, has passed away

This charming article about her collections and knowledge in the NYT also includes quotes from Saul Kripke.

(Thanks to John Komdat for the pointer.)

In Memoriam: Keith Yandell (1938-2020)

A well-known philosopher of religion, Professor Yandell taught in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin at Madison from 1966 until his retirement in 2011.  (He was also an Affiliate Professor of Philosophy at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Illinois from 2004 onwards.)  I will add links to memorial notices as they appear.

(Thanks to Mike Titelbaum for the information.)

Plato and Nietzsche in conversation

This is amusing (not philosophically deep, however, or at least not the bit I watched) (it's also in German).

(Thanks to Guy Elgat for the pointer.)

Anscombe's arguments against "unconditional surrender" in war

Philosopher John Schwenkler (Florida State) and a colleague give a sympathetic reconstruction here.  I still find the argument wholly unpersuasive, but see what you think!

Richard Marshall interviews Jonathan Quong (USC)...

...at 3:16 AM.

Distribution of jobs by area in 2019-20

Philosopher Marcus Arvan (Tampa) has again compiled the data on the job market.  I'll repost just one data point, the number of tenure-track jobs, with the distribution of jobs by area of specialty (AOS):

Junior-level TT jobs advertised = 224

• Value Theory = 76.8 jobs (34.3%)
• Open: 46 jobs (20.5%)
• History: 27.5 jobs (12.3%)
• Science (including cog. sci) = 24.5 jobs (10.9%)
• Core (mind, language, metaphysics, epistemology, logic) = 18.5 jobs (8.3%)
• Social identity (race, gender, feminism, disability, etc.) = 11.7 jobs (5.2%)
• Non-western: 11.6 jobs (5.2%)
• Continental: 7.75 jobs (3.5%)
• Religion: 1.25 jobs (0.6%)

As in prior years, we continue to see the decline of the analytic "core" areas (although some "open" jobs and some "social identity" jobs may go to folks in the "core").  Despite the foolish claim that philosophy departments in the U.S. are departments of "Western" philosophy, two centuries worth of Western philosophy (under the heading "Continental") account for just 3.5% of the the advertised positions, while non-Western philosophy jobs make up 5.2%.

It would be interesting to know the AOS of those who got the "open" jobs; if anyone compiles that data, please let me know.

Philosopher Cheryl Misak's biography of Ramsey informatively reviewed...

...by Anthony Gottlieb at The New Yorker.

Houlgate on Brandom on Hegel

I agree with Professor Houlgate's verdict (if not all his reasons for it):

The result is a rich study of the issues that are of enduring interest to [Brandom] and that he takes to be at the core of Hegel's Phenomenology....[T]he book, in my view, sets out Brandom's ideas rather than Hegel's, so if readers know little about the latter, they will not be at a serious disadvantage. Brandom claims to offer a legitimate interpretation of Hegel's Phenomenology and indeed to have developed his ideas about cognition and action partly through studying and teaching Hegel's great text. To my mind, however, many of the theses Brandom attributes to Hegel find their source in Wittgenstein, Sellars and Rorty -- or in Brandom himself -- rather than in Hegel. There are certainly points of overlap between Brandom's thought and Hegel's; but Brandom seems to me not always, and in somes cases not at all, to do justice to Hegel's core insights in the Phenomenology (and elsewhere in his philosophy).

What is it like to be a philosopher? Spencer Case edition

Here.

Modeling, policy, and COVID-19

Philosophers John Symons (Kansas) and Eric Winsberg (South Florida) talk with Daniel Kaufman (Missouri State).

Six philosophers elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

They are:  Cheshire Calhoun (Arizona State), Paul Churchland (emeritus, UC San Diego), John Dupre (Exeter), Miranda Fricker (CUNY Graduate Center), Steven Nadler (Wisconsin), and Laura Ruetsche (Michigan).

On the etiology of belief, and luck

Philosopher Miriam Schoenfield (Texas) comments.

Richard Marshall interviews Charlie Huenemann (Utah State)...

...at 3:16 AM.  (Link now fixed.)

Philosopher Alexander Bird (KCL) explains epidemiological modelling...

...and other COVID-related topics.

(Thanks to James Uccello for the pointer.)

Is immortality worth it?

Philosopher John Martin Fischer (UC Riverside) discusses.

"ICU Psychosis" and doubts about patient autonomy

A completely fascinating (and, at points, horrifying) account by philosopher Cheryl Misak (Toronto) of her experience being on a ventilator, and the questions it raises about the ability of patients in such conditions to participate in care decisions.

Richard Marshall interviews Richard Arthur (McMaster)...

...at 3:16 AM.

Two philosophers win ACLS Fellowships in 2019-20 competition

They are:  Marcus Adams (SUNY-Albany) and Jennifer Hawkins (Duke).

2020 Lebowitz Prize awarded to philosophers Agnes Callard (Chicago) and L.A. Paul (Yale)

The APA announcement is here.   Congratulations to them both!

Frances Egan (Rutgers) wins 2020 Jean Nicod Prize in philosophy of mind

MOVING TO FRONT FROM YESTERDAY--UPDATED

You can see a list of past winners here, including Jerry Fodor, Fred Dretske, Stephen Stich, Gilbert Harman, Ruth Millikan, Ned Block, and Tyler Burge, among many others.

UPDATE:  Here's Richard Marshall's old interview with Professor Egan.

"Journal entries"

Philosophers and cognitive scientists discuss their recent articles, hosted by Wesley Buckwalter (Manchester).

(Thanks to Jim Nichols for the poiniter.)

Three philosophers win Guggenheim Fellowships in 2019-20 competition

They are:   Sarah Buss (Michigan), Robert Gooding-Williams (Columbia), and Susanna Schellenberg (Rutgers).

In Memoriam: Joel Kupperman (1936-2020)

Professor Kupperman, a longtime member of the philosophy faculty at the University of Connecticut (where he was emeritus), was especially well-known for his contributions to moral philosophy and Asian (especially, but not only, Chinese) philosophy.   The UConn memorial notice is here.

(Thanks to Don Baxter for the pointer.)

What is it like to be a philosopher? Ann-Sophie Barwich edition

Here.

Open thread for departments to post pertinent updates about admissions/financial aid/budgetary issues

In light of the unfortunate turn of events regarding admissions at Arizona, a couple of readers suggested it might be useful to have an open thread for departments to post any relevant updates, perhaps along the lines of this statement that philosopher Mike Titelbaum, Chair of the Department at Wisconsin/Madison, shared with me.

The Philosophy Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has informed our applicants that we will not be admitting anyone from our waitlist.  To be clear—and to avoid inspiring further anxiety—this was a decision we made within our department, not because of any administrative edict or budgetary constraints.  We had an unusually high acceptance rate this year, and so have already reached the target size for our incoming class.  We couldn’t see ourselves admitting anyone further off our waitlist next week, so we decided to announce that now, in hopes that it allows the people on our waitlist to make other acceptance decisions as soon as possible.  In these times of uncertainty, we figured it was better to give people information as early as possible so they could move decisively.

We still have a few admissions offers outstanding, and are dearly hoping those folks will join our program.  All of the offers we made—both accepted and as yet unaccepted—are still good, along with their guarantees of financial support.

If any other departments find themselves in a similar fortunate position with respect to their acceptances, I would encourage them to consider a similar course.

Mike Titelbaum, Chair, Department of Philosophy, UW-Madison

Posts should include a full name in the subject line and a valid e-mail address.  Thanks.

Our fascination with apocalyptic scenarios

Philosopher Stephen De Wizje (Manchester) comments.

Warmke on Manne

This is pretty apt, regarding Twitter's favorite feminist philosopher.

Should students sitting on admissions offers with financial aid accept before other schools do what Arizona did?

The University of Arizona has always faced a difficult financial situation, with its tuition kept artificially low at the same time a slightly crazy legislature regularly underfunds the public system.   Among the publics with top PhD programs, I think Arizona has probably had the most trouble, although things have gotten more difficult in recent years in North Carolina with the takeover of rabid repugs in the state legislature.  I do think, ceteris paribus, anyone holding out hopes of getting in off a waitlist elsewhere would be well-advised to forget that (I strongly suspect many schools, even private ones, will decide not to go to their waitlists--or will be told not to go to them) and accept any good offer they have in hand from a public university.   The fact that one major research university, Arizona, has pulled financial aid from outstanding offers may inspire others to do the same thing.   Do note that the Arizona financial aid offers did, as Professor McKenna notes, come with an "escape clause" (offer conditional on funding availability etc.), so if your admissions offer did not include such an escape clause, you probably have less to worry about.

ADDENDUM:  Just to be clear, there is no reason to think UNC-Chapel Hill is thinking of revoking any financial aid awards.   I was only giving North Carolina as an example of a state with a crazy legislature in recent years!