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Hypatia Essays on the Place of Women in the Profession of Philosophy

This virtual issue (edited by Ann E. Cudd) brings together essays published over a twenty-year time span that address the question of women’s place in the profession of philosophy. It includes essays about women in the history of philosophy; empirical studies of the numbers of women at various stages in their careers; analytical essays about why women, including specifically women of color, are not reaching parity with white men in the profession; and what women are doing to change the representation of women in philosophy. By highlighting this important research, the virtual issue will contribute to the groundswell of efforts to make philosophy a more welcoming place for diverse people and ideas, thereby also improving the quality of philosophical thought.

Read the full issue

Read the introduction

Interview: Climbing and Philosophy

Stephen E. Schmid is the author of Climbing – Philosophy for Everyone: Because It’s There. Stephen is also Assistant Professor of Philosophy at University of Wisconsin–Rock County.  His current research focuses on motivation in sport and education.  In the philosophy of sport, he has published and presented on the role of motivation in the conception of play.  Stephen has been rock climbing and mountaineering for more than 20 years.

Why did you decide to edit a book on climbing and philosophy?
I had the idea to pursue the climbing and philosophy book for a year before I approached Wiley-Blackwell with the idea.  The book idea seemed like a great way to merge my two passions.  In addition, I had started to pursue some research in the Philosophy of Sport and examples from climbing proved relevant to the problem I was pursuing.  The merging of climbing and philosophy seemed like an obvious move.

Decoding Plato

“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.”

Philosopher and historian of science, Dr. Jay Kennedy – currently a visiting academic in Manchester – has recently put forward the provocative thesis that Plato’s texts are based around a secret cipher; a kind of Platonic Bible Code. Each book of Plato’s major texts, he contends, is structured in such a way as to represent relative musical harmonies according to the ancient Greek scales.

The twelve note musical scale is the foundation of Western music, and is rooted in the mathematical relationships between different soundwave frequencies, their inter-relation, and the effect they have upon the listener.   Music theory is based upon the observation that

How to Beat Stress if You’re a Philosophy Graduate

This guest post is contributed by Anna Miller, who writes for online degree. She welcomes comments at: anna.miller009@gmail.com

Image: innoxiuss (Flickr)

If you’re a student of philosophy or thinking of majoring in the subject, you probably know how it feels to be at the receiving end of pitying or scornful looks. You may not mind so much because you wanted to study this major or because it was the only choice you had that was financially and otherwise viable. But if you’re stressed over worries about your future employability, here’s how you can shrug off the tension and look forward to a bright future:

• Think ahead: Even though it’s not a major that many would choose today, philosophy is still a discipline that’s going strong in many colleges and universities. And although it may seem like it’s out of the running (what with engineering and management pushing it to the back seat), most people don’t realize that philosophy graduates are enjoying their moment in the sun with fields that require analytical reasoning snapping them up as soon as they graduate or within six months of graduation. In particular, the disciplines that prefer to employ philosophy graduates are finance, property development, business and research, health and social work, sales and retail, management and administration, manufacturing, catering, and even personal services (see below for a full list).

$4.4 Million Grant to Study Free Will

(Cross-posted from Religion Compass Exchanges)

The John Templeton Foundation recently awarded Alfred Mele, the William H. and Lucyle Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy at Florida State University (FSU), a $4.4 million grant to “oversee a four-year project to improve understanding of free will in philosophy, religion and science.” Funding for the project, “Free Will: Human and Divine — Empirical and Philosophical Explorations,” will support international researchers (“who submit proposals to study the science, conceptual underpinnings and theology of free will”), research colloquia and a postdoctoral position at FSU’s department of philosophy over the next three years, a two-week seminar in the summer of 2012, and as much as $30,000 in prize money

Virtual Conference Report: Day Six (26 Oct, 2009)

By Paula Bowles

Welcome to the second week of the Wiley-Blackwell Virtual Conference. The first day back has started with a keynote speech from Peter Ludlow (Northwestern University) entitled ‘Virtual Communities, Virtual Cultures, Virtual Governance.’ Conference delegates also had the opportunity to meet Peter at the Second Life Cocktail Bar.

There were two other papers on Monday’s session Adam Brown’s (Deakin University): ‘Beyond ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’: Breaking Down Binary Oppositions in Holocaust Representations of ‘Privileged’ Jews’ and ‘A Hybrid Model of Moral Panics: Synthesizing the Theory and Practice of Moral Panic Research’ presented by Brian V. Klocke (State University of New York, Plattsburgh) & Glenn Muschert (Miami University).

In addition Wiley-Blackwell’s Vanessa Lafaye held a publishing workshop entitled ‘The Secret to Online Publishing Success.’ As you can see, this week promises to be as exciting and innovative as the previous one. All of the papers and workshops from last week are still available to download from the conference site, and both the ‘battle of the bands’ and the opportunity to contribute a ‘winning comment’ remain.