Philosophy

Facebook Privacy Dis-Agreement

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Digital Humanities, Philosophy, Pop Culture/Film/Literature, RMWMTMBM Archive, Teaching 0 Comments

It’s been a little while since the inhabitants of Facebookistan got all fired up about something–  where are you now Kony2012?— so I was half-delighted and half-disheartened to see the newest brouhaha to hit the social media site, which I’m calling the Facebook Privacy Dis-Agreement (FPD).  As these things tend to happen, FPD had been…

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The Vicissitudes of Netiquette

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive, Women and Gender Issues 0 Comments

In the last couple of days, I’ve received a lot of criticism about this post, in which I solicited Dr. Vincent Hendricks (and encouraged my readers to solicit Dr. Hendricks) to grant an interview with me, for the benefit of his English-speaking audience, about the recent kerfuffle surrounding his decision to post on his website–…

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Guest-Blogger Shiloh Whitney on the Hendricks Affair

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive, Women and Gender Issues 0 Comments

[Introductory note from Dr. J: Hello, readers. Just a quick introductory note about today’s “guest blogger.” Shiloh Whitney (pictured left) is a PhD candidate in Philosophy at McGill University. She submitted a rather long comment to the previous discussion taking place on this blog surrounding the Hendricks affair, so I asked her if she wouldn’t…

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The Uncanny Valley 8: Pet Robots

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive, Uncanny Valley, Weak Humanism 1 Comment

[This is a continuation of my (now numerous) reflections on the Uncanny Valley. You can read the previous seven installments here if you’re interested.] Late last semester, as a part of my department’s semi-regular Philosophy Film Series, we screened Mechanical Love, a 2007 documentary about the ever-evolving relationships between humans and robots. The film focuses…

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If P, then WTF?! (Revisited)

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive, Women and Gender Issues 0 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about what has come to be known in the professional philosophical community as “L’Affaire Hendricks,” in which Prof. Vincent Hendricks used several explicit and sexist photos (one example on your left) to advertise his logic course at the University of Copenhagen. I was, quite honestly, surprised to see…

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The Parking Lot Movie: In Defense of Service Workers

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Film, Film Reviews, Philosophy, Pop Culture/Film/Literature, RMWMTMBM Archive 0 Comments

Many years ago, when I found myself griping about the horrible and infuriating treatment that restaurant service-people– at the time, that included me– get from their patrons, I remember my father telling me: “Everyone should have at least four types of jobs in his or her life: (1) a job in the service industry, (2)…

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If P, then WTF?!

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive, Women and Gender Issues 15 Comments

The image to your left is one of a set of images that were recently posted by Vincent Hendricks, Professor of Formal Philosophy at the University of Copenhagen and part-time Visiting Research Scholar at Columbia University, advertising his course in Logic. (The advertisement has since been taken down from Prof. Hendricks’ website, but you can…

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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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