Sunday, July 31, 2011

Philosophy of Science "Goodies"

John D. Norton (U. Pittsburgh), gives some interesting information on thought experiments in the philosophy of science as well as some other interesting stuff for those interested.

Find it HERE

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Friday, July 29, 2011

What do philosophers earn from their writing?

from leiter reports

Here's the bottom line:  the only publication on which philosophers make significant income are very widely used textbooks (i.e, ones widely assigned in undergraduate courses)....The amount earned on most other philosophical publications is very modest. 

Full article HERE

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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Elevator Seminars

One of my best teachers, Colin Koopman, gave me a very solid and practical piece of professional philosophical advice. He suggested that every philosopher needs to know their elevator seminar. 

Whatever you are researching be sure to have two short speeches or introductions ready: one for people in your field and one for those out side of it. 
This needs to be short, less than 30 seconds, thus the "elevator seminar".

philosorapters@gmail.com has shared: microphilosophy podcast #3

microphilosophy podcast #3
Source: blog.talkingphilosophy.com

In the latest microphilosophy podcast, tpm’s editor-in-chief Julian Baggini talks to John Gray about some of the ideas that emerge from his latest book, The Immortalization Commission: The Strange Quest to Cheat Death, . Download from this link, or iTunes, . The podcast was recorded at the Bristol Festival of Ideas, in May, at the Arnolfini, .

 
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Grading Rubrics for your First Class

This was shared over at ISW:

I am a philosophy professor and have long followed and profited from In Socrates Wake - thanks for sharing your wisdom!  I use rubrics for paper assignments; I've found them very useful - both pedagogically, and for grading - and I am constantly tweaking them from semester to semester.  I wonder what other peoples' rubrics look like - it would be nice to have a collection of them with comments from their creators about what they like and don't like about them.

This discussion can be found HERE 

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Monday, July 25, 2011

Resources for Teaching Critical Thinking in High School

From http://www.criticalthinking.org's section for high school teachers.
"While there are numerous resources on our website applicable to the high school educator, the following are among the most relevant pages and articles on incorporating critical thinking concepts into high school curricula."

Should History of Philosophy Concern the Present?

A very interesting discussion on whether history of philosophy should be taught with regard to the present day or should stop at some other time. Should there be immersion?
 "Eric Schliesser has recently responded in no uncertain terms to a post by Justin Smith at Early Modern Experimental Philosophy. Evidently a red flag was raised. On the face of it, their conversation goes like this:"

Full article HERE

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Humor

I want to hear a Buddhist and a philosopher who studies mereology get into a discussion.Join me on Twitter or Facebook for updates. Please email suggestions, links and questions to PhilosoraptErs@gmail.com

Friday, July 22, 2011

CSU budget cuts

(July 12, 2011) - Following Governor Brown's signing of a final budget that cuts state funding for the California State University by $650 million for 2011-12, the CSU Board of Trustees took action today to increase tuition by an additional 12 percent – or $294 per semester for full-time undergraduates - effective in the fall.  Previously, university officials had indicated if the system was cut beyond the initial $500 million reduction adopted by the legislature in March, it would be necessary to return to the board in July for tuition action.  In addition, a 10 percent or $222 per semester tuition increase for fall had already been approved by trustees last November.
full story HERE


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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Job opportunity for recent PhD: Director of Research, Philosophy Talk at Stanford

Philosophy Talk, the nationally syndicated radio program that "questions everything ... except your intelligence," is seeking a recent philosophy PhD to serve as Director of Research. The incumbent will also have part time teaching responsibilities within the Department of Philosophy. The position will run from September 1st 2011 through August 2012, with the possibility of renewal. This position will report to the Philosophy Talk co-hosts and to the Chair of the Philosophy Department. 

Philosophical Novels

Category:Philosophical novels

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Novels where philosophical ideas form the main crux of the narrative.

Subcategories

This category has the following 9 subcategories, out of 9 total.

A

B

C

E

F


Pages in category "Philosophical novels"

The following 119 pages are in this category, out of 119 total. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).

A

B

C

D

E

F

G




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H

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AI research and Philosophy

An AI researcher who went back for his phd in philosophy, comments on the worth of philosophy and the humanities.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Writing Samples in Job Applications: How Long?

There are some interesting comments on this question HERE

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Sunday, July 17, 2011

Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University News Letter

July 2011 Newsletter

Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University

If you are unable to view this email, please click here

Upcoming Events


Top Ethical Issues for Incoming Students

The Center's Big Q project focuses on the big questions facing college freshmen in a 10-week series of case studies starting this month. From negotiating with helicopter parents to navigating the college drinking scene, this social media dialog brings students across the country into conversation about how to handle ethical dilemmas. Details >>


School Principals Hear From Law Expert on Social Media

Friday, July 15, 2011

Interviews with Successful Non-Academic Philosophers

Jeff Dean, Ph.D.  Executive Editor, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing

Full article HERE

What are the top 3 things to avoid when selling oneself to hiring managers who are not philosophers?

  • Don't talk about your research or philosophical interests (or, if invited to do so, keep it very brief and general). Don't present yourself (or think of yourself) as being smarter than others who may be up for the job or already doing it; you may or may not be more intellectual, but this will often have no bearing on how well you can do what's required of you.

Philosophy Ideas Database

While it is by no means in depth, it does give very quick summaries and seems like it could be fun just browsing.  This would make some great bathroom reading.
http://philosophyideas.com/  

The big thought behind the project is that philosophy has became such a vast and specialised subject during the last hundred years that not even the most learned student can keep track of it. The obvious next step seems to be the production of a clear and comprehensive map of what has been achieved.PhilosophyIdeas is meant as a tiny contribution to that task, though it began as a tool for helping students to write essays.
#More 
The database is built on a thematic structure (designed by the compiler), with about a thousand sub-divisions. The structure can be downloaded for critical inspection. Each idea is assigned a number, and is then quoted in full or in somewhat compressed form. There is then a short 'gist' of the idea, intended to be concise and clear, and a tiny 'brief' form, used in the full index download. There may be a 'clarification' of unusual terms, and frequently a 'reaction' from the compiler (to stimulate active thinking). The reactions sometimes mention the index numbers of other related ideas. Finally each idea is uniquely assigned to one of the themes. Searching for ideas by theme is one of the main features of the site, and several themes can also be combined, for more complex topics.
 
Each idea has a text cited as the primary source, and often there is a secondary source. In addition, an actual book or journal is usually given, where a text can be found. Searches can be made for individual texts, and ideas from the text displayed thematically (try Plato's 'Republic', for example). The finder of an obscure idea is not necessarily credited, but equally this site does not expect to be cited for its discoveries.
 
Ideas are also grouped under 'philosopher', and searches are available for all the ideas of one philosopher, or for comparisons between two or three philosophers. Various other features (such as a glossary of Greek philosophical terms) are available for those willing to dig around.
It took twelve years to compile the first 10,000 ideas, and the project is constantly developing. Initially the intellectual rewards were slight, but databases get more interesting as they grow... 

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Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Video: Changing Education Paradigms

I'm not sure about the conclusions or the implications of this but it seems to contain the seeds of a very interesting conversation about the purpose of education, practicality, and social evolution. 

Simply put our educational system is out of date and we are not capitalizing on some of our most important capacities. 

I personally feel that "divergent thinking", while essential to philosophy, is not encouraged enough.  For myself, once an essay topic/problem is identified for a class  I run through at least thirty arguments that actually reach paper. After that I hone one of them.  If what this video implies was implemented would you have better ideas or just more? What do you think?



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Video: Philosophy of Love in the Western World

Introduction, philosophy as a conceptual art form, course reading list and requirements, definitions of love and sex.


Video: 

View the complete course at: http://ocw.mit.edu/24-261F04

License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA
More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms
More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu


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Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Video, Humor: Ricky Gervais - Politics (Hitler interprets Nietzsche)

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Video: Stephen Stich - The Persistence of Moral Disagreement

In this lecture, Stephen Stich (born May 9, 1943) Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University, attempts to answer the questions - Is moral disagreement fundamental? Can all moral disagreements be shown to be the result of disagreements about non-moral facts? Both moral realists and anti-realists agree that if it can't be shown, then moral realism is a dead end. He takes a look at the data of several studies including the ethics of Hopi Indians, cultures of honor, the differences between American southern gentlemen and their northern counterparts, and the differences between Western and Asian conceptions of self and their relation to each culture's morality.
Video HERE     

Monday, July 11, 2011

Responding to Moral Skepticism in the Classroom

A graduate student teaching his first ethics course asks how to respond to moral skepticism in the classroom. There are some great comments HEREJoin me on Twitter or Facebook for updates. Please email suggestions, links and questions to PhilosoraptErs@gmail.com

Friday, July 8, 2011

A bible marrage

sorry if this offends anyone but I thought it was entertaining.

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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

The Early Career Job Market: Information and Advice for Australian Philosophers

Here I will briefly outline some of the options and relay a few tips which may be of use in securing your first academic position in philosophy.
Full article HERE
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Monday, July 4, 2011

Lack of Innovation In ethics

Innovations?! Well, no. Here is yet another of my frequent complaints! Textbooks in ethics (and in Intro to Philosophy, and in Philosophy of Science, and in Environmental Philosophy, and I'm sure in most of our other areas) go through frequent editions but each edition contains the same old topics with the same old papers.

Full article HERE
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Saturday, July 2, 2011

Great ideas of Philosophy (Great Courses video)

60 lectures on youtube
Great ideas of Philosophy HEREJoin me on Twitter or Facebook for updates. Please email suggestions, links and questions to PhilosoraptErs@gmail.com

"Count Me In" Campaign

An interesting suggestion for rectifying the lack of diversity in philosophy with respect to sex, gender, race, and disability.  I'm curious about how this will play out. While I would love to see philosophy become more diverse I worry that quality may be sacrificed if this is taken too far. 

Shelley Tremain has offered this proposal for discussion: