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Thomas Aquinas: Saint of Evolutionary Psychologist? (Huffington Post 10-17-10)
In 1975, Harvard biologist E. O. Wilson created a firestorm when, in his book Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, he argued that human nature might be explainable in evolutionary terms. Centuries earlier, however, a leading Christian scholar was already applying many key evolutionary principles to the understanding of man.
Classical theism, atheism, and the Godfather trilogy by Edward Feser (10-16-10)
The history of philosophy is like The Godfather Trilogy. The Godfather is one of the best movies ever made. The Godfather Part II is at least as good, and in the view of many people, maybe even better. The Godfather Part III? Well, there is definitely some good stuff in it. And then there is Sofia Coppola’s acting, and the absurd helicopter scene, and the replacement of Robert Duvall’s character with George Hamilton’s.
Very informal fallacies by Edward Feser (10-12-10)
Logic students sometimes misremember or misspell the names of fallacies. One danger this poses is that it can inspire bored logic teachers to take a break from grading exams and write up ill-considered “humor” pieces. And so, in this blog’s proud tradition of rollicking comedy, here are some fallacies you’ve never heard of (though I bet you’ve committed a few of ‘em):
Philippa Foot, Renowned Philosopher, Dies at 90 (NY Times 10-9-10)
Philippa Foot, a philosopher who argued that moral judgments have a rational basis, and who introduced the renowned ethical thought experiment known as the Trolley Problem, died at her home in Oxford, England, on Oct. 3, her 90th birthday.
In her early work, notably in the essays “Moral Beliefs” and “Moral Arguments,” published in the late 1950s, Ms. Foot took issue with philosophers like R. M. Hare and Charles L. Stevenson, who maintained that moral statements were ultimately expressions of attitude or emotion, because they could not be judged true or false in the same way factual statements could be.
Ms. Foot countered this “private-enterprise theory,” as she called it, by arguing the interconnectedness of facts and moral interpretations. Further, she insisted that virtues like courage, wisdom and temperance are indispensable to human life and the foundation stones of morality. Her writing on the subject helped establish virtue ethics as a leading approach to the study of moral problems.
Tahko on Aristotelian metaphysics (Edward Feser 9-29-10)
Over at his blog, Tuomas Tahko has posted a draft of his paper “In Defense of Aristotelian Metaphysics,” from the forthcoming anthology on Contemporary Aristotelian Metaphysics he is editing for Cambridge University Press. Go check it out. You can read more about the volume here.
Posted by Edward Feser at 8:39 AM
Ruth Barcan Marcus's Philosophical Autobiography: A Philosopher's Calling (Dewey Lecture 2010) via Leiter Reports
Meta-sophistry by Edward Feser (9-14-10)
“Detecting” fallacies in the work of one’s rivals in this way is depressingly common, even among – indeed, perhaps especially among – people who have made a formal study of the logical fallacies.
What will this year's job market be like? (Leiter Reports 9-9-10)
We'll have more concrete evidence soon, since we're a month or so away from the October JFP. I have no special “inside” information, just accumulated anecdotal evidence. My best guess is that we will see more jobs this year than last, but that the market will be at least as competitive as last year due to the growing backlog of candidates who did not secure positions last year or the year before. If—and this is a huge if—there is not a double-dip recession and the economic climate continues to improve, then maybe in two or three years we will see an academic job market with more favorable numbers. But that also supposes that some candidates will have given up in the interim. The inescapable reality, I am sad to say, is that there is going to be some number of very able candidates who would have secured tenure-track employment had they been entering the market ten years ago, but will not find such employment in the current severely depressed academic market. It behooves all job seekers to have back-up plans in place, whether that means additional education or non-academic employment, and whether those plans are conceived as alternatives to an academic career or as ways of postponing the academic job search.