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A group of bloggers discussing philosophical ideas as well as the profession of philosophy
Teaching Logic and Forallx Update
As many of you might remember, I taught the Logic I course here at UCalgary for the first time, and blogged about the experience here, here and here. You might also remember that I was involved in remixing a version of PD Magnus’ and Tim Button’s forallx open textbook for that course (see here and […]
Failures in teaching, discipline
November 21, 2017
by Joshua Stein
A few notes before I get into the nitty gritty of this issue: I’m a graduate student at the University of Calgary, a member of the university’s Graduate Student Association (our union), and the president of the philosophy department’s affiliated Graduate Student Association chapter. Nothing I say in this post is made in those roles; […]
Posted in: Ethics, In the News, Joshua Stein, Philosophy, Politics, profession, Teaching, Teaching as a Grad Student, The Discipline
7th Annual University of Calgary Graduate Philosophy Conference
November 8, 2017
by Celso Neto
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The topic of the 2018 University of Calgary Graduate Philosophy Conference is the Philosophy of Biology broadly construed. The aim of the conference is to explore the newest work at the intersection between philosophy and life and medical sciences. We welcome submissions from philosophers and biologists, and have no restrictions concerning preferred topics or approaches […]
Scientism is a Non-Threat: Considering Susan Haack and the Role of Philosophy
October 16, 2017
by Adam Hayden
“The school is in financial crisis,” reports a friend and emeritus professor as I take my seat at the table in the back corner of a campus coffee shop and bookstore. We meet monthly with the frequency and punctuality expected from five philosophers: every six weeks, 15 minutes late. Professor Haack greets readers with just […]
New Contributor: Adam Hayden
October 16, 2017
by Justin Caouette
We’ve added another philosopher to our growing list of bloggers here at A Philosopher’s Take. Let’s all welcome Adam Hayden to the fold. I had the pleasure of meeting Adam virtually (on twitter) some time in late 2013/early 2014 and we’ve stayed in pretty steady contact over the last 3-4 years. We’ve had many philosophical […]
Posted in: Adam Hayden, Notes on Contributors
The Further Adventures of Hero and Hera.
September 27, 2017
by Aaron Thomas-Bolduc
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Those familiar with the neo-logicism literature, may also be familiar with the characters Hero and Hera. Hero was introduced by Crispin Wright in the late `90s, and the story Hero and his sister Hera was fleshed out by Philip Ebert and Marcus Rossberg in 2007*. In that paper, we learn that Hero and Hera both […]
On the Nature of Forgiveness
September 26, 2017
by Justin Caouette
Many moons ago I wrote a very brief blog post on the nature of forgiveness. Since then I’ve presented some work on forgiveness, I’ve edited a collection where forgiveness was one of the chapters discussed in the volume, and I’ve read tons on the subject. I’m sad to report that forgiveness still evades me. Though […]
On The Moral Psychology of Social Media
September 25, 2017
by Justin Caouette
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When one researches within the domain of moral psychology their aim is mostly to investigate human functioning within a specific or general moral context. These investigations may impact wider debates being had in the domain of ethical theory. In this short post I’d like to think out loud a bit about the moral psychology of […]
A Philosophy for Talking about Philosophy
September 19, 2017
by Joshua Stein
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Some people become philosophers (or academics, more generally) because they want to be able to teach; they want to be experts in a subject and engage with the world and influence the beliefs and actions of others in a positive way. I think that’s a great and admirable reason to become an academic; I have […]
Posted in: Blogging, Joshua Stein, Philosophy, profession, Real Life Philosophy, Teaching, The Discipline
A History Lesson Every American Should Know
August 28, 2017
by Justin Caouette
***The following post was authored by a professor of philosophy in North America that wishes to remain anonymous. They say that those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Well, I have studied history books, and here’s a history lesson. Several decades ago, a boorish man with no morals came to hold […]
Grinworthy Quotes 13
August 9, 2017
by Aaron Thomas-Bolduc
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Avicenna and Gentile da Foligno, woodcut (extract), edition of the Canon and its commentary by Gentile da Foligno, Venice 1520. Public domain via Wikipedia Commons This gem: At Physics II.8, however, Avicenna had undertaken a detailed analysis and critique of the idea of void and found it empty… is on page 19 of Jon […]
Post-Truth Debate and Critical Thinking
July 4, 2017
by James DiGiovanna
“Look it up” should be a good response to a dispute about matters of fact where a correct answer already exists. This is why bars used to keep sports record books handy; bets could be solved quickly and conclusively. But “look it up” relies not only on there existing a source of (largely) correct information, […]
CFP: Western Canadian Philosophical Association
June 15, 2017
by Alison K McConwell
I am very pleased to announce that the 54th meeting of the Western Canadian Philosophical Association (with CSEP-SCEP) will be held in my hometown university, the University of Regina from October 13th to 15th, 2017. Having completed my undergraduate degree there, I have fond memories of the Department of Philosophy and Classics in Regina including […]
Posted in: CFP, Philosophy
‘A Philosopher’s Take’ Turns 5 Years Old
June 6, 2017
by Justin Caouette
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A few weeks ago ‘A Philosopher’s Take’ turned 5 years old! I just wanted to say thanks to our contributors, our editors, and most of all to our readers for checking in and engaging on the blog with the ideas of all of our contributors. I speak for all of us when I say that […]
Public Philosophy in the PhD
June 4, 2017
by Aaron Thomas-Bolduc
We in the philosophy blogosophere (especially) frequently discuss whether activities like blogging, podcasting, and other public philosophy activities or projects should count toward tenure. I fall squarely in the `yes’ camp – engaging audiences outside of our professional circles is vitally important for the discipline. And the APA officially agrees. It is also important for […]
Teaching as a Grad Student: Logic End of Semester
May 23, 2017
by Aaron Thomas-Bolduc
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This is the 5th post in this series, and the third about my experience teaching for the first time (see parts one, and two). As of a couple of weeks ago, I finally managed to submit the final marks for the Logic I course I had been teaching, marking the end of my responsibilities for […]
Posted in: Aaron Thomas-Bolduc, Logic, Philosophy, Teaching, Teaching as a Grad Student, The Discipline
On the So Called “Grey Areas” of Sexual Consent
May 20, 2017
by Ray Aldred
Sexual consent has been the foundation of sexual ethics for many modern thinkers of sexuality. The notion itself stretches back to at least Immanuel Kant, who presented some arguments for why we should generally respect an individual’s autonomy. Respect for autonomy is the idea that we should respect a person’s capacity to make self-governing decisions […]
Posted in: Bioethics, Ethics, Law, Miscellaneous, Moral Obligation, Philosophy, Politcs, Ray Aldred, Real Life Philosophy
2017 University of Calgary Graduate Student Conference Program and Details
April 26, 2017
by Justin Caouette
Topic: Ethics in the Age of Science Our 6th Annual Graduate Student Philosophy Conference program has been finalized. We are quite happy with our list of contributors who will be delivering excellent graduate student scholarship. Click on the link to the conference poster below for more details. Confirmed Plenary Speakers: 2017 Conference Brochure_v003 KATRINA SIFFERD (Elmhurst College) GREGG […]
Posted in: CFP, Philosophy
Books by Contributors
A Philosopher's Take 
December 7, 2017
by Aaron Thomas-Bolduc
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