Moti Mizrahi's Profile | TypePad

This is Moti Mizrahi's TypePad Profile.

Join TypePad and start following Moti Mizrahi's activity

Join Now!

Already a member? Sign In

Moti Mizrahi

http://thinkjustdoit.blogspot.com

http://thinkjustdoit.blogspot.com

Recent Activity

Schliesser on Publishing

Over at New APPS, Eric Schliesser has a post on a topic that is near and dear to us Cocooners, namely, publishing. Many thanks to Schliesser for sharing his experience for the benefit of us young (and not so young) philosophers. Please go read it. What I would like to... Continue reading

Posted 5 days ago at The Philosophers' Cocoon

22

What is philosophical genius?

Colin McGinn’s mention of the “Genius Project,” raises interesting philosophical questions: What is philosophical genius? Is philosophical genius the sort of thing that can be cultivated? I’d like to open discussion about these two questions but with the following caveat. I have no interest whatsoever in discussing the McGinn case.... Continue reading

Posted Jun 8, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

6

Are TXes a new thneed?

Mark Vanhoenacker argues that the solution to what he calls “Philosophy’s PR crisis” is thought experiments. As he writes: Thought experiments (TXesTM, we’ll brand them) are the perfect philosophical consumer product for our age. The high they produce—a gratifying puzzlement, a perfectly framed issue, an “A-ha!” moment of insight into... Continue reading

Posted Jun 6, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

6

Are you Down Wit' OPL (Other People's Lectures)?

There is an interesting discussion on the PHILOS-L listserv about using other people’s lectures in online courses. So far, the discussion has focused on ethical and legal issues. I’d like to ask you, my fellow pupae, about the pedagogical issues. Does posting videos of other people’s lectures on your course... Continue reading

Posted Jun 5, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

11

Nigel Warburton: J'accuse

In an interview for The Philosophers Magazine, Nigel Warburton (from Philosophy Bites) explains why he left professional philosophy to pursue a career as an independent philosopher. There is a lot that is wrong with academic philosophy, according to Warburton. In this post, I'd like to open discussion about two of... Continue reading

Posted Jun 1, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

28

Intuition pumps aren't arguments

Still on the topic of progress and methodology in philosophy, Dennett has a new book titled Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking. There is an interesting conversation about the book here, which begins with an excerpt on intuition pumps from Brockman’s The Third Culture: Beyond the Scientific Revolution (1995).... Continue reading

Posted May 24, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

16

Who's gonna teach kids to think?

“A degree in philosophy? What are you going to do with that then?” This is probably part of the motivation behind many philosophy departments’ attempts, such as this one, to emphasize the value of philosophy. In an attempt to show students the value of philosophy, I have adopted a skills-based... Continue reading

Posted May 22, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

6

The Finkelstein Problem

Following up on my last post, Which side are you on?, here is another reason to be concerned about the evaporation of tenure-track jobs and the increasing dependence on contingent faculty. One of the major purposes of tenure is to guarantee academic freedom. In the words of the AAUP: Institutions... Continue reading

Posted Apr 28, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

5

Which side are you on?

Commenting on his own post What Is to Be Done? (about the evaporation of tenure-track jobs and the increasing dependence on contingent faculty), Marcus lists the following options: Stop producing so many PhDs when there are so few jobs. Tenured faculty collectivize behind the protection of tenure, to put pressure... Continue reading

Posted Apr 25, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

14

Simplicity? Not in our school!

According to the SEP entry on simplicity, "Most philosophers believe that, other things being equal, simpler theories are better." This is especially true in the case of scientific theories. What about arguments? Are simpler arguments better? My impression is that some (most?) philosophers would say no. In fact, I have... Continue reading

Posted Apr 15, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

17

Will great teaching land you a TT job?

Commenting on Marcus' heavy grading load, Rachel says the following: Putting this much effort into your teaching might make you *LESS* attractive to search committees, since it makes you look like a VAP/adjunct. None of them put this much work into their teaching. You should care about your teaching, sure,... Continue reading

Posted Apr 14, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

15

On being an under-labourer

The commonwealth of learning is not at this time without master-builders, whose mighty designs, in advancing the sciences, will leave lasting monuments to the admiration of posterity: but every one must not hope to be a Boyle or a Sydenham; and in an age that produces such masters as the... Continue reading

Posted Mar 25, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

5

Why won't you die like a nice undead?

On The Stone, Gary Gutting takes on the admirable task of defending the Knowledge Argument and the Zombie Argument. I find it rather puzzling that Gutting puts the Zombie Argument specifically in terms of logical, rather than metaphysical, possibility. For example, he writes: The basic premise of the Zombie Argument... Continue reading

Posted Mar 23, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

9

Is Philosophy a Rich Man's Game?

By now it is generally acknowledged that Philosophy is mostly a profession for white men (and perhaps English-speaking white men). Is it also a profession for mostly rich folks? Perhaps. According to a recent study, reported on in the NY Times: "Most low-income students who have top test scores and... Continue reading

Posted Mar 17, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

20

Tempted to appeal to authority?

Don't! Continue reading

Posted Mar 15, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

2

What's my affiliation?

A reader writes with the following question: I have been wondering about what to list under "departmental affiliation" on a paper that will be published. In my case the paper was written as a grad student as part of my dissertation. But I submitted it when I was an adjunct... Continue reading

Posted Mar 1, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

4

The Veil of Anonymity

There has been some discussion recently, both on the Cocoon (also here) and elsewhere, about how some referees use Google to discover the identity of authors whose papers they are reviewing. As Joshua A. Miller nicely puts it, some think that more blindness will help address this problem (e.g., triple-blind... Continue reading

Posted Feb 27, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

14

Has Philosophy Lost Its Way?

Mark C. Taylor says that “philosophy has lost its way.” The problem, according to Taylor is that philosophers are trying to become scientists. As their work becomes more abstract and highly specialized, philosophers become less concerned about human problems and real world issues. Is Taylor right that “philosophers are trying... Continue reading

Posted Feb 24, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

7

What's the take-home message?

This clip from The Daily Show about the take-home exam incident at Harvard got me thinking about "open book" exams and "take-home" exams. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook What are the reasons for administering an... Continue reading

Posted Feb 13, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

4

Necessary and Sufficient Conditions

One of the tools in the philosopher's toolbox is the specification of necessary and/or sufficient conditions. Over at The Splintered Mind, Eric Schwitzgebel and co. are trying to specify the necessary and sufficient conditions for being a dessert, apparently without much success. If we cannot specify the necessary and sufficient... Continue reading

Posted Feb 11, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

2

February issue of The Reasoner is out

The February issue of The Reasoner is available here. Apropos recent discussion on the Cocoon, there is a piece on ethical relativism by Majid Amini. Continue reading

Posted Jan 31, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

10

Hacker on what is Philosophy

Brian Leiter links to this piece by Oxford philosopher Peter Hacker. According to Hacker: [Philosophy's] task is to resolve philosophical problems. The characteristic feature of philosophical problems is their non-empirical, a priori character: no scientific experiment can settle the question of whether the mind is the brain, what the meaning... Continue reading

Posted Jan 28, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

7

Who knew A.J. Ayer was such a badass? I see a blockbuster movie in the future. Continue reading

Posted Jan 23, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

1

CFP: Diversity in Philosophy Conference

You may have seen this call for abstracts/panels for a conference on diversity in philosophy, to be held 29-31 May, 2013 at the University of Dayton, Dayton, OH. If you are interested in putting together a proposal for a panel, particularly on issues related to Non-native English speakers in philosophy,... Continue reading

Posted Jan 17, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

0

On Nazism and Metaphilosophy

In “Philosophy’s shameful love for the swastika,” Alasdair Palmer offers an explanation for why some German philosophers “enthusiastically espoused Nazi ideology.” His explanation goes like this: John Maynard Keynes once said of a man that “he has his ear so close to the ground that he cannot hear what an... Continue reading

Posted Jan 15, 2013 at The Philosophers' Cocoon

4

More...

Subscribe to Moti Mizrahi’s Recent Activity