What’s the ‘I’ for you ask? It’s Friday night. TGIF folks. I’d like to take this opportunity to discuss archival work because I’ve caught archive-fever, as it were. I recently read “Blue Years: An Ethnography of a Prison Archive” by Angela Garcia (Stanford University) published in Cultural Anthropology. Actually, I was fortunate enough to listen […]
February 22, 2019 by Alison K McConwell
What’s the ‘I’ for you may ask? It’s Friday. TGIF. This is the first post of what I hope to be a series tracking my access to archived work by Stephen Jay Gould at the Stanford Special Collections & University Archives. Up to this point my experience with archived and unpublished work in any special collections is limited. […]
December 31, 2018 by APT Editors
Comments Off on Top Posts from 2018
It has been over six and a half years since Justin Caouette founded A Philosopher’s Take. The blog surpassed 400,000 views and a quarter of a million visitors this year. Below we’ve highlighted then 10 most popular posts in 2018, as well as the five most popular posts published in 2018. But this is only […]
May 30, 2018 by Joshua Stein
Alternately titled: What we talk about when we talk about Jordan Peterson. I should begin by saying that all thoughts here are mine. They are not endorsed or shared by the University of Calgary, the Department of Philosophy, or any other group with which I’m affiliated, unless those folks choose to endorse or share them. […]
May 10, 2018 by Alison K McConwell
Bertrand Russell (May 18th 1872-February 2nd 1970) writes in the prologue of his autobiography “What I Have Lived For”: Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and […]
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 […]
September 27, 2017 by Aaron Thomas-Bolduc
Comments Off on The Further Adventures of Hero and Hera.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
April 5, 2017 by Mike Steiner
I want to first give credit to the authors of “Mistakes Were Made (but not by me)” – Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson. Their talk of cognitive dissonance and the metaphor of the ‘pyramid of choice’ has inspired my comments below. Although the ideas in this book have obvious ramifications for psychology, psychotherapy, political science, […]
January 25, 2017 by Alison K McConwell
Comments Off on Teaching as a Grad Student: Philosophy of Science
Thanks to Aaron for starting this series. There are particular challenges that grad students might face as instructors, some of which I imagine are exclusive to grad students, whereas others could probably be generalized to new professors on the track. And perhaps in my case, grad students, new professors on the track, and maybe even […]
July 24, 2016 by Aaron Thomas-Bolduc
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Here’s W. V. O. Quine discussing the fact that Frege didn’t adopt a type theoretic approach (like Russell and Whitehead’s) when faced with Russell’s paradox. Actually, it is not to be wondered that Frege did not think of this course, or, thinking of it, adopt it. It was by having all his classes at ground […]
July 14, 2016 by Mike Steiner
I have spent some time thinking, writing and talking about how philosophers have valuable skills that are sorely needed outside academia (see www.mikesteiner.ca for relevant posts). I’ve also provided advice for how philosophers can sell themselves in order to get good jobs in the business world. In general, I’m a fan of philosophy and truly […]
July 13, 2016 by Alison K McConwell
I had the pleasure of meeting Mike during his presentation for UCalgary grads on philosophy and the industry job market. He shared valuable information concerning how to create a professional resume, explained the transferable skills one gains from philosophy, and ultimately demystified industry job postings and jargon. Mike’s perspective on how philosophy translates outside of […]
June 13, 2016 by Alison K McConwell
Pat Kelly from the CBC gives an hilariously accurate account of qualities that comprise successful presentations. The catch line is: “Thought Leader gives a talk that will inspire your thoughts.” Watch the video here. “Let’s look at the picture of the planet for no reason.” I take it that the definition of ‘success’ here simply […]
March 9, 2019 by Alison K McConwell
Comments Off on The Gould (I) Files #2