Philosophy

Rick Perry’s Weak

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy, Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive 1 Comment

GOP Presidential candidate and Texas Governor Rick Perry has released a campaign ad called “Strong,” in which he bemoans the fact that “gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in schools.” (For the record, kids can pray in schools. They can even do so “openly.” It’s…

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The Problem with Forbidden Knowledge

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive 13 Comments

Over on the NewAPPS blog, which is becoming a more and more excellent philosophy blog by the day, Eric Schliesser has authored a provocative (and provocatively brief) post asking whether or not we need a professional code of ethics for philosophers. Schliesser’s question was prompted by the recent publication of two books– one that condones…

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2011 Year in Dr. J

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson 2011 Year in Review Lists, Dr. J's Lists, Memphis, Music, Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive, Year in Review Lists 3 Comments

Before I drop the 2011 Year in Pop Culture, which will be the last of my year-end lists, I thought I’d do one recounting my own year. 2011 began for me with a bit of a rough transition, as I was returning from a semester-long sabbatical, but things eventually smoothed out and stayed running smoothly…

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Occupy Aristotle

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Occupy Movement, Philosophy, Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive 8 Comments

Recently, I saw that a philosopher friend of mine (Jeffrey Bernstein) posted the following as his status update on Facebook: “For an explanation of (1) why Occupy Wall Street doesn’t need a positive political program and (2) why the Occupy Movement exceeds the designations of Democrats and Republicans, read the first paragraph of Aristotle’s Metaphysics.”…

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The Philosophy Smoker Controversy

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive 7 Comments

For those of you fortunate enough not to know what a “Philosophy Smoker” is, let me begin by saying that it has nothing to do with either “smoking” or “Philosophy.” “Philosophy Smoker” is, rather, the informal term used to reference end-of-the-day receptions held at professional Philosophy conferences. Generally speaking, Philosophy Smokers are garden-variety academic conference…

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Dr. J Catches Up

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson 99%, American Values video project, Music, Occupy Movement, Philosophy, Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive 0 Comments

It’s been too, too long since I’ve posted here. Two whole months, in fact. [Insert standard excuse about being too busy.] My absence was particularly egregious this time, since my last posts, back in September, left a few issues hanging. (Just as an aside, it’s hard for me to believe that the last time I…

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Leiter v. Alcoff, Part One: The Basics

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Leiter/Alcoff, Philosophy, Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive, Women and Gender Issues 3 Comments

Now that things have quieted down a bit, and in response to readers who’ve been asking me to do this for a while, I’ve decided to offer a few reflections on the recent (and very public) kerfuffle between Brian Leiter and Linda Alcoff. I expect that most of you who aren’t professional philosophers don’t have…

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Leiter v. Alcoff, Part Two: The Context (or, Why This Isn’t Simply A “He Said, She Said” Story)

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Leiter/Alcoff, Philosophy, Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive, Women and Gender Issues 8 Comments

Okay, if you haven’t read Part One of this series, you should go back and do so. Otherwise, the following won’t make much sense. If you have read Part One, and if you don’t already have a dog in this fight, you may be wondering: what exactly is the big deal here? So what, two…

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31 Days in Seuss, Day 1: My Job

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson 31 Dys in Suess, Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive 1 Comment

I’m beginning a new Challenge today, called 31 Days in Seuss. I’ll be taking some element of my life each day and describing it in verse like the children’s author Dr. Seuss. I have to admit that I’m not entirely confident I’m going to be able to do this for the whole month of July,…

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American Philosophy and/or Philosophy in America

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive 3 Comments

Several years ago, when I was still at Penn State, I learned of Phillip McReynolds’ film project on American Philosopher (or philosophers in America) through my dissertation advisor (and McReynolds’ wife), Shannon Sullivan. Since then, I’ve seen a few segments of it appear here and there on the internet, but I had yet to see…

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