The Executive, having had some preliminary discussions about the Club in 2008, is asking for comments and suggestions.
Having organised the Club since 2005, the aim for 2008 is to engage the large membership we attract. The Executive intends to maintain the anarchic organisational practice that it has long adopted. It is this will allow for members to organise a vibrant range of activities.
At present, the Executive intends to maintain the weekly discussion group and Dialectic.
The Executive is interested in suggestions for events and forums beyond the weekly meeting, and in hearing from members who would like to organise reading or specialised discussion groups.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Notice – Tarrant’s Translation of Proclus
Professor Harold Tarrant, of the University of Newcastle, has translated the first volume of Proclus’ Commentary on Plato’s Timaeus. The translation is published by Cambridge University Press.
[Thanks to NDPR.]
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Australian Philosophy of Religion Association
In early December (I recently rediscovered the announcement), Morgan Luck (of Charles Sturt University), Sarah Bachelard (St Mark’s National Theological Centre), and Nick Trakakis (Monash University) announced the formation of the Australian Philosophy of Religion Association.
An inaugural conference has been scheduled for 2008.
An inaugural conference has been scheduled for 2008.
Philosopher’s Carnival, No. 61.
The sixty-first Philosopher’s Carnival is presently being hosted by Inconsistent Thoughts.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Workshop for Beginning Researchers in Philosophy
The Department of Philosophy at the University of Sydney will be hosting ‘Philosophical Issues and Philosophical Methods’, a one day workshop in conjunction with the Australasian Postgraduate Philosophy Conference.
The workshop, on the 25th of March in the calm sandstone surrounds of the Quad, is intended for honours students and beginning postgraduate students in philosophy.
The workshop, on the 25th of March in the calm sandstone surrounds of the Quad, is intended for honours students and beginning postgraduate students in philosophy.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Carnival Contempt Controversy
After the comments at the close of the Dead Philosophers' Carnival, some discussion has ensued regarding how appropriate the attitude was, and how appropriate it was (or not) to actually express it. Since I'm now acting unilaterally from my co-editor, I've posted this under my own login.
Two discussions of this (amongst other things) can be found at Jared's Sportive Thoughts and Annie's Anniemiz
I had no intention of portraying the editorial team as infallible, but philosophy is a cause that I willingly confess to being passionate about.
Two discussions of this (amongst other things) can be found at Jared's Sportive Thoughts and Annie's Anniemiz
I had no intention of portraying the editorial team as infallible, but philosophy is a cause that I willingly confess to being passionate about.
On Snark
I think Annie of Anniemiz presents a decent discussion of public 'snark' and I'd like to address a few of the points that she makes. She asks what it is that expressing such an opinion adds to the discussion or what it actually achieves and offers some ideas.
Yes, it does inform the authors that their work stinks. But, from what I read, the authors should already have known that (more on that later). Whether or not this is helpful in terms of their philosophy (of which, I maintain there was littler or none anyway), depends on what exactly was the problem. If someone has made a genuine effort, but simply wasn't very good, I probably would have included them - and I would not have spoken to them that way. If, as I found, you are dealing with people who think that any passing fancy or opinion counts as philosophy, then being humbled can be very helpful - I should know, I've been there.
It is somewhat satisfying to make such comments, but as Annie well knows, only for a short time. And I concede it probably has not improved me. But it certainly wasn't easier to say it rather than not.
I agree also that public 'snark' can detract from the evaluation of it's subject. But since I didn't include publicly name the targets, that clearly was not my intention.
I had two aims: I wanted to send a clear message to those people that not only what they submitted was unacceptable, it evidenced a level of laziness and arrogance that I took to be an expression of contempt for the Carnival and for the practice of Philosophy itself, and that I would not let it go unanswered. I like to think that if Socrates was alive and hosting he would be at least as rude.
Secondly, I wanted to provoke a discussion regarding the expression of such attitudes, as it is something of a point of contention.
I think maybe I could have used less snark, but I won't settle for no snark at all.
Yes, it does inform the authors that their work stinks. But, from what I read, the authors should already have known that (more on that later). Whether or not this is helpful in terms of their philosophy (of which, I maintain there was littler or none anyway), depends on what exactly was the problem. If someone has made a genuine effort, but simply wasn't very good, I probably would have included them - and I would not have spoken to them that way. If, as I found, you are dealing with people who think that any passing fancy or opinion counts as philosophy, then being humbled can be very helpful - I should know, I've been there.
It is somewhat satisfying to make such comments, but as Annie well knows, only for a short time. And I concede it probably has not improved me. But it certainly wasn't easier to say it rather than not.
I agree also that public 'snark' can detract from the evaluation of it's subject. But since I didn't include publicly name the targets, that clearly was not my intention.
I had two aims: I wanted to send a clear message to those people that not only what they submitted was unacceptable, it evidenced a level of laziness and arrogance that I took to be an expression of contempt for the Carnival and for the practice of Philosophy itself, and that I would not let it go unanswered. I like to think that if Socrates was alive and hosting he would be at least as rude.
Secondly, I wanted to provoke a discussion regarding the expression of such attitudes, as it is something of a point of contention.
I think maybe I could have used less snark, but I won't settle for no snark at all.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Dead Philosophers' Carnival - The 60th Philosophers' Carnival.
Welcome to the Dead Philosophers’ Carnival - The 60th Philosophers' Carnival.
The death of Socrates marks one of the most significant moments in the development of philosophy. It is one of the landmarks in the development of Plato’s thought, and thus influential on all who have laboured under his tutelage. It is also one of the deaths that have a presence in the history of philosophy; a notable elder sibling to the deaths of Seneca, Boethius, Nietzsche, and Foucault.
The death of a philosopher marks the conclusion of their endeavours. In some cases it comes at the end of substantial contribution, in others it comes a little too early.
The intent of this Carnival – the first in what, it is hoped, will be an annual series – was to provide an opportunity for the students of philosophy to reflect on the contributions made by those who did not see the close of 2007. Admittedly not everyone stuck to the theme, but if philosophers always did what was asked of them, where would we be?
Duckrabbit starts the proceedings with a discussion of the work of Richard Rorty, one of the most high-profile philosophers to die in 2007 with: Is Rorty a "textualist"? And if so, is that bad?
Inconsistent thoughts provides a retrospective of Paul Cohen’s work on the Continuum Hypothesis: On Cohen and CH
VirtualPrimate gives an excellent summation of the Humanist philosophy of of Kurt Vonnegut jr: Goodbye Blue Monday : Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 1922-2007
Philosophy etc talks not about someone in particular who died, but about the end of one’s life itself with: Death's Deprivations
Enigmania nominated two other posts of note relating to the work of philosophers who passed in 2007:
Religious Pluralism and Consistency relates to Jewish religious philosopher Ernst Ludwig Ehrlic’s work
and
Monty Hall and Interpretations of Probability is in the area of the late Henry E Kyburg Jr, well known for his contributions to both Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence.
And now to the other articles of philosophy worthy of inclusion, but sadly off-theme.
Pete Mandik of Brain Hammer assures us that: Your Brain is Reading This. And who are we to argue?
Andrew Moon of Show-me the Argument asks us to consider how much similarity is there between The Train Case and the Hospital Case ?
Gualtiero Piccinini quizzes us on out semantic intuitions (I have none, Kripke has ruined them) - Will You Share Your Semantic Intuitions?
Nothing of Consequence revisits some earlier work on Sequent Calculus in: Operational meaning and global meaning in sequent calculus.
And finally, Thom Brooks at The Brooks Blog outlines some of the pitfalls awaiting us when we try to get a book deal with: Some of the worst advice on publishing (Graduate Students note: Thom's blog is packed with good advice in many relevant areas!)
To all the contributors who made the cut, especially those who stuck to the theme, well done and keep up the good work. The Editors appreciate the effort that you went to.
With only one exception (the article was good, but not actual philosophy), the rest of the submissions we received were essentially political, commercial or religious spam and/or total and utter drivel. Those people will get nothing from us except pure contempt. You know who you are.
Happy New Year Everyone.
The death of Socrates marks one of the most significant moments in the development of philosophy. It is one of the landmarks in the development of Plato’s thought, and thus influential on all who have laboured under his tutelage. It is also one of the deaths that have a presence in the history of philosophy; a notable elder sibling to the deaths of Seneca, Boethius, Nietzsche, and Foucault.
The death of a philosopher marks the conclusion of their endeavours. In some cases it comes at the end of substantial contribution, in others it comes a little too early.
The intent of this Carnival – the first in what, it is hoped, will be an annual series – was to provide an opportunity for the students of philosophy to reflect on the contributions made by those who did not see the close of 2007. Admittedly not everyone stuck to the theme, but if philosophers always did what was asked of them, where would we be?
Duckrabbit starts the proceedings with a discussion of the work of Richard Rorty, one of the most high-profile philosophers to die in 2007 with: Is Rorty a "textualist"? And if so, is that bad?
Inconsistent thoughts provides a retrospective of Paul Cohen’s work on the Continuum Hypothesis: On Cohen and CH
VirtualPrimate gives an excellent summation of the Humanist philosophy of of Kurt Vonnegut jr: Goodbye Blue Monday : Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 1922-2007
Philosophy etc talks not about someone in particular who died, but about the end of one’s life itself with: Death's Deprivations
Enigmania nominated two other posts of note relating to the work of philosophers who passed in 2007:
Religious Pluralism and Consistency relates to Jewish religious philosopher Ernst Ludwig Ehrlic’s work
and
Monty Hall and Interpretations of Probability is in the area of the late Henry E Kyburg Jr, well known for his contributions to both Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence.
And now to the other articles of philosophy worthy of inclusion, but sadly off-theme.
Pete Mandik of Brain Hammer assures us that: Your Brain is Reading This. And who are we to argue?
Andrew Moon of Show-me the Argument asks us to consider how much similarity is there between The Train Case and the Hospital Case ?
Gualtiero Piccinini quizzes us on out semantic intuitions (I have none, Kripke has ruined them) - Will You Share Your Semantic Intuitions?
Nothing of Consequence revisits some earlier work on Sequent Calculus in: Operational meaning and global meaning in sequent calculus.
And finally, Thom Brooks at The Brooks Blog outlines some of the pitfalls awaiting us when we try to get a book deal with: Some of the worst advice on publishing (Graduate Students note: Thom's blog is packed with good advice in many relevant areas!)
To all the contributors who made the cut, especially those who stuck to the theme, well done and keep up the good work. The Editors appreciate the effort that you went to.
With only one exception (the article was good, but not actual philosophy), the rest of the submissions we received were essentially political, commercial or religious spam and/or total and utter drivel. Those people will get nothing from us except pure contempt. You know who you are.
Happy New Year Everyone.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Publication Notice – Colloquy
Issue 14 of Colloquy (December 2007), out of Monash University, has recently been published online. Issue 14 takes utopia as its theme.
Dead Philosopher’s Carnival – Closing Call!
A brief note to remind those inclined to submit to the First Dead Philosopher’s Carnival - to be hosted here next week - that it would be most appreciated if they did so by tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
59th Philosophers' Carnival
The 59th Philosophers Carnival has gone ahead at Buffalo Philosophy, despite heavy snow.
We are up next with the 1st Dead Philosophers Carnival! So get writing already and go to the Philosophers' Carnival website for instructions on how to submit.
We are up next with the 1st Dead Philosophers Carnival! So get writing already and go to the Philosophers' Carnival website for instructions on how to submit.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Philosophy Honours at Newcastle in 2008
Details of the honours program in Philosophy have just recently been made available.
In 2008, the following Honours course work components be offered:
Eros and Agape (Dr Joe Mintoff) An examination of the two forms of love: Eros and Agape. The writings of a range of classical and more contemporary authors will be considered.
Consciousness (Dr John Wright). An examination of the philosophical problems of consciousness. Much contemporary philosophy is devoted to this topic.
Philosophical Issues of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Dr Yin Gao) An examination of the methodological and philosophical issues connected with traditional Chinese Medicine. Classic Chinese texts, as well as recent work, will be studied in this course.
Science, Rationality and Realism (Dr John Wright) An examination of the issues surrounding scientific Realism and Truth.
Of course, as well as the coursework, there is the 12,000 - 15,000 word thesis to be completed! I recommended that students considering doing Honours in 2008 contact the Philosophy Discipline ASAP, and discuss possible thesis topics.
Entry to this program is restricted to those with a complete Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in philosophy and at least a credit average (GPA of 5.0 on a 7 point scale or an average of over 65%) in the that philosophy major. Places are limited, but the faculty will be taking direct applications up until February. If you are interested, please go to the Philosophy info page and contact Dr John Wright for more details.
In 2008, the following Honours course work components be offered:
Eros and Agape (Dr Joe Mintoff) An examination of the two forms of love: Eros and Agape. The writings of a range of classical and more contemporary authors will be considered.
Consciousness (Dr John Wright). An examination of the philosophical problems of consciousness. Much contemporary philosophy is devoted to this topic.
Philosophical Issues of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Dr Yin Gao) An examination of the methodological and philosophical issues connected with traditional Chinese Medicine. Classic Chinese texts, as well as recent work, will be studied in this course.
Science, Rationality and Realism (Dr John Wright) An examination of the issues surrounding scientific Realism and Truth.
Of course, as well as the coursework, there is the 12,000 - 15,000 word thesis to be completed! I recommended that students considering doing Honours in 2008 contact the Philosophy Discipline ASAP, and discuss possible thesis topics.
Entry to this program is restricted to those with a complete Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in philosophy and at least a credit average (GPA of 5.0 on a 7 point scale or an average of over 65%) in the that philosophy major. Places are limited, but the faculty will be taking direct applications up until February. If you are interested, please go to the Philosophy info page and contact Dr John Wright for more details.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
The First Dead Philosophers' Carnival (Philosophers' Carnival #60) - Call for Papers
2007 saw the death of philosophers including Jean Baudrillard, Susan Hurley, Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, Richard Rorty, and Robert C. Solomon.
Dialectic, in association with the Philosophers' Carnival, is hosting the first Dead Philosophers' Carnival (as the 60th Philosophers' Carnival).
The Editors of Dialectic, as hosts of the Carnival, are calling for posts relating to the work of those philosophers who have died in 2007 and those who have celebrated notable anniversaries in 2007. Eligible posts are in no way limited to the philosophers mentioned above. If contributors know of other philosophers that have recently passed, we urge potential contributors to submit posts. Preference will be given to contributions relating to the theme, but interpretation of that theme need not be strictly literal.
The Carnival will commence on the 7th of January 2008.
Submissions will close on the 2nd of January 2008, but don't put forward your posts until after submissions to Carnival #59 have closed (unless you want to be in #59 of course).
Dialectic, in association with the Philosophers' Carnival, is hosting the first Dead Philosophers' Carnival (as the 60th Philosophers' Carnival).
The Editors of Dialectic, as hosts of the Carnival, are calling for posts relating to the work of those philosophers who have died in 2007 and those who have celebrated notable anniversaries in 2007. Eligible posts are in no way limited to the philosophers mentioned above. If contributors know of other philosophers that have recently passed, we urge potential contributors to submit posts. Preference will be given to contributions relating to the theme, but interpretation of that theme need not be strictly literal.
The Carnival will commence on the 7th of January 2008.
Submissions will close on the 2nd of January 2008, but don't put forward your posts until after submissions to Carnival #59 have closed (unless you want to be in #59 of course).
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Postgraduate Symposium - Truth and Artifice.
The School of Humanities and Social Science at the University of Newcastle and the Division of Humanities at Macquarie University are organizing an annual postgraduate symposium for researchers in the Humanities. The aims of the symposium are to provide students with the opportunities to develop a wider audience for their research and to take part in an exchange of ideas and methodologies that will broaden the research culture of both universities and develop an understanding of the Humanities as a cohesive research community.
Call for abstracts
This year the symposium will be held at the University of Newcastle on Saturday, February 23, starting at 9:30am. Programme and registration details will be released soon.
The symposium theme will be 'Truth and Artifice', with a broad interpretation of the theme expected.
Abstract submissions are currently open. Abstracts are to be no longer than 200 words, and are due by November 16, 2007. Papers selected from abstracts will be presented to a general audience that may not specialise in particular fields, and will be expected to be a minimum of 15 minutes, but no longer than 20 minutes in length. All papers will be published on the online journal, Humanity. Please send abstracts and all enquiries to: newmacsymposium@gmail.com
Call for abstracts
This year the symposium will be held at the University of Newcastle on Saturday, February 23, starting at 9:30am. Programme and registration details will be released soon.
The symposium theme will be 'Truth and Artifice', with a broad interpretation of the theme expected.
Abstract submissions are currently open. Abstracts are to be no longer than 200 words, and are due by November 16, 2007. Papers selected from abstracts will be presented to a general audience that may not specialise in particular fields, and will be expected to be a minimum of 15 minutes, but no longer than 20 minutes in length. All papers will be published on the online journal, Humanity. Please send abstracts and all enquiries to: newmacsymposium@gmail.com
Friday, October 26, 2007
Mind Papers
David Chalmers and David Bourget have announced the launch of MindPapers, a new website with a bibliography covering 18,087 published papers and online papers in the philosophy of mind and the science of consciousness. Many of these are available online at no cost and many more should accessible for University of Newcastle students if the follow the instructions for 'off campus access' or via the library portal.
This isn't just a great resource for philosophy students and academics, but for those studying and practicing psychology as well with over 3900 entries on the science of consciousness.
This isn't just a great resource for philosophy students and academics, but for those studying and practicing psychology as well with over 3900 entries on the science of consciousness.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Philosophy Australia Needs Editors
Philosophy Australia Call for Editors
Editors are required for Philosophy-Australia.com, a non-profit project that relies on the contributions from the Australian Philosophy Community.
Position(s) are restricted to Honours Students/Post-Graduates and
Academics in the field of Philosophy. All applicants must reside in
Australia or be attached to an Australian University or Research Center.
Technical skills:
are allocated. This may require data collection of names, details
about organisations, contacting departments/universities, and entering
information into the website/project.
Those who are interested are to inquire with Dean Goorden via contact@philosophy-australia.com.
Deadline: 1st of November, 2007.
More information about Philosophy Australia can be found at: http://www.Philosophy-Australia.com
Editors are required for Philosophy-Australia.com, a non-profit project that relies on the contributions from the Australian Philosophy Community.
Position(s) are restricted to Honours Students/Post-Graduates and
Academics in the field of Philosophy. All applicants must reside in
Australia or be attached to an Australian University or Research Center.
Technical skills:
- Data collection
- Data entry
- Research skills (a lot of internet based, but not restricted to)
- Wiki Software knowledge (not required, but preferred)
are allocated. This may require data collection of names, details
about organisations, contacting departments/universities, and entering
information into the website/project.
Those who are interested are to inquire with Dean Goorden via contact@philosophy-australia.com.
Deadline: 1st of November, 2007.
More information about Philosophy Australia can be found at: http://www.Philosophy-Australia.com
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Question - Is Dwarf-tossing Ethical?
Is dwarf-tossing ethical?
The question was raised in a forum at the St James Ethics Centre, but is one that, I believe, this forum should consider (if we have not done so already).
(I recall that juggling Brazilian midgets, in some ways similar to dwarf-tossing, was a pass time of the late Professor C Ooly McCool …)
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