CFP: Graduate Philosophy Conference October 13, 2010

We’ve been asked to post this CFP:

We are pleased to announce a call for papers for Western Michigan
University’s 4nd Annual Graduate Philosophy Conference. Papers are
due October 22, and the conference takes place December 3-5.
Acceptances will be issued by October 29. All local expenses (inc.
housing and food) will be covered. Our keynote speakers this year are
Joshua Knobe (Yale) and Edouard Machery (Pitt HPS). While we are
especially interested in papers that engage their work, papers of any
topic will be considered. More details—including submission
guidelines—may be found here:

http://files.allhoff.org/Phil_Grad_Conf_Poster_2010.pdf

Any questions may be addressed to the conference organizers at
wmich.philosophy@gmail.com.

(Go send some papers, and keep it from being all-male!)

Canada not a feminist paradise after all October 13, 2010

Canada sits behind Sri Lanka, Lesotho and Latvia, at No. 20, in a global measure of equality between men and women. Not surprisingly, the Nordic countries – Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden – are still on top of the World Economic Forum’s gender gap study released Tuesday. Canada’s position actually improved from last year, when it was 25th, with its chief strengths in educational attainment and economic participation, the report said. The features of Canadian society that result in the relatively low ranking are a gap in income earning between men and women and the paucity of women in elected office. The Globe and Mail notes that women make up half of Canada’s population while holding just one fifth of the seats in Parliament. Coverage of Canada’s ranking can be found here.

Females Are Equal to Males in Math Skills, Large Study Shows October 13, 2010

This is one debate I’d love to stop having but it does seem to be necessary. ScienceDaily today writes, ” The mathematical skills of boys and girls, as well as men and women, are substantially equal, according to a new examination of existing studies in the current online edition of journal Psychological Bulletin.” See their story here.

Good news, but… October 13, 2010

Judge Orders Injunction on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’; click to read the rest in the NY Times.

Isn’t there a problem, though?  Suppose one takes this as an opportunity to come out, and the ban gets re-enacted later.  One will have informed the watch dogs.

Congratulations to beingawoman blog! October 13, 2010

Usage statistics on “What is it Like to Be a Woman in Philosophy” are currently exceeding our own here at FP, and since Jender would never toot her own horn, I’m taking it upon myself to say, from the rest of us at FP, way to go with the  new blog, Jender!

Brian Leiter has moved his own announcement of beingawomaninphilosophy back to the front of the Leiter Reports, to make sure his own readers get a gander at it:

It makes for gripping reading, and more than one of the stories posted so far matches incidents I have heard about from students and colleagues elsewhere.  Hopefully once even more stories are recorded, someone or some organization (maybe the APA?) will undertake a systematic survey to find out how widespread such misconduct is using some of the recurring “types” of malfeasance recorded here as a benchmark.  In conjunction, it would be interesting to know how much of this kind of misconduct ever results in disciplinary action.

Pregnancy and alcohol consumption, again October 12, 2010

We talked about it before, here, here and here, but there is new research, reported in Slate that the occasional glass of something alcoholic really is not demonstrably bad for a foetus – and might even have some beneficial effects on boys (this is old news btw, when I was studying physiological psychology years ago, it was already known that moderate ethanol intake in very young males has beneficial effects on cognitive functioning. I’d have to dig those refs up!)

It’s really time to end the witch hunt on women who enjoy a glass of wine occasionally when pregnant.

A note on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS): the sneaky part about that is that it develops in the first four weeks of pregnancy – exactly, right when one doesn’t realise one is pregnant. And you really have to drink quite a bit to have your fetus develop it. There seem to be some controversies about it, too, as a lot of foetuses from heavy drinkers do not develop FAS, so there’s something else at play.

I am not advocating drinking, I just am in favour of people being allowed to make their own well informed choices. Cheers!

 

 

 

So that’s how it’s done! October 12, 2010

Prof. Hilde Lindemann’s recent review of Chris Meyers’ The Fetal Position: A Rational Approach to the Abortion Issue (Prometheus, 2010) exhibits a breathtaking plain-spoken approach to the concern feminists philosophers sometimes raise, as to how to go about writing a review of a book which omits notice of feminist contributions to a field:

It is written, he says, neither for good ole Mississippi boys who equate abortion with baby-killing, nor for “my left-wing feminist pals in my old college neighborhood of North Chicago. In short, fanatics on either side are not likely to find this book tolerable” (p. 13). His left-wing feminist pals would seem to include feminist philosophers of any stripe, as none of their arguments appear anywhere in the book. Work on abortion that dismisses thirty years’ worth of feminist scholarship as fanaticism, however, cannot be taken seriously.

Equality for the world’s women October 12, 2010

The World Economic Forum has released its latest report on equality for women in the nations of the world.  Its ranking of countries  is determined by a variety of factors, including health and political status.  Iceland comes out first, with the Scandanavian countries following.  One very important feature is the economic status of the most egalitarian of the countries.  While Iceland has had a banking crisis, there’s a strong correlation at the top  between gender equality and economic strength. 

The US has risen by 12 places to 19, and France at 46 has fallen in its rank.  A lot of the calculated difference depends on whether women are holding political offices, but the following video picks up on a number of the additional problems in France.

Thanks, MD.

Pesky spell check October 12, 2010

On professional papers spell check corrections can be embarrassing.   However, what it does with bad versions of  ”hors d’oeuvres” comes close to brilliant.

Thus it was that yesterday I received an invitation to a reception with wine and hour devours. 

None of this is a feminist point…

Excuse me, where is this handbasket going? October 12, 2010

The tuition fee cap should be scrapped, “blanket subsidies” for courses ended and universities freed to compete for students in one of the most radical overhauls of the sector ever…

The government to be given scope to withdraw public funding from all but “priority” subjects, with teaching funding for the arts and humanities likely to be axed

For more joyous news on UK university funding, go here.

It should be noted that it’s far from clear what will happen. The Lib Dems (now in coalition with Tories) had all signed pledges to oppose raising of tuition fees. The coalition agreement allows them to abstain from a vote on the topic, but there are rumblings of a rebellion that would involve voting against it.

Boycotting World Philosophy Day October 12, 2010

On April 27, 2006, the Iranian-Canadian philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo was arrested in Tehran on a charge of fomenting a “velvet revolution” against the Islamic Republic. Mr. Jahanbegloo was placed in a 6-by-10-foot cell in Evin Prison. To keep his mind active while in solitary confinement, he scribbled nearly 2,000 aphorisms on the back of tissue boxes.

Four months later, he was released on bail and fled into exile. He surfaced late in 2007 in Istanbul at World Philosophy Day, an annual gathering of intellectuals sponsored by Unesco to celebrate philosophy’s contributions to the “principles and values on which world peace depends: democracy, human rights, justice and equality.” Mr. Jahanbegloo, now a professor at the University of Toronto, describes World Philosophy Day as “a great initiative,” which is why he is dismayed by Unesco’s decision to hold this year’s main event in Tehran, a city where, he says, “no free debate or critical thinking is possible.”…
Unesco hasn’t budged, and some are now calling for a boycott. “We are asking philosophers not to go because if they do it’s going to politically, morally and culturally legitimize an illegitimate regime,” Mr. Jahanbegloo says. There are also plans for an alternative conference that will be held online, titled Philosophy4Freedom. The theme will be philosophy’s role in promoting freedom and human rights.

“We’re listening and we’re trying to respond,” says Sue Williams, a spokeswoman for Unesco. The gathering in Tehran is an “important event,” she says, but there are also related events being held in Mexico City; Dakar, Senegal; Tunis and at Unesco headquarters in Paris. Asked if Unesco believes that Iranian philosophers will be able to speak freely in Tehran, Ms. Williams says, “We haven’t had any feedback suggesting that this will not be the case.”

For more, go here.

(Thanks, C!)

‘Mad Men’ feminist, Coontz says October 12, 2010

When we receive requests to blog about TV shows, I drag my feet, but when Stephanie Coontz writes about Mad Men for me, then all I have to do is link to her, convenient!

I should add, though, that to say it’s TV’s most feminist show is not saying much about American television.

“I am not a bigot,” says Paladino. October 11, 2010

That’s a little odd, since he thinks homosexuality is unacceptable, he’s against gay marriage, and you don’t want to let him get started on gay pride parades.

Still, he thinks discrimination against gays is horrible.  Clearly he’s not making certain connections.  Or he’s got mistaken ideas about what sort of speech act “I am not a bigot” is.

Can we be competent and likeable? October 11, 2010

Here’s the first sentence of a recent article in the THES:

The dearth of women in high office in the academy is down in part to a perceived lack of “likeability” among strong female candidates.

That might make you think that women just need to act nicer. But there’s a catch– the clash between competence and likability:

“While they are perceived as highly competent, they are also perceived as not highly likeable…The issue of likeability is why there are not as many women in senior leadership positions in higher education (as there should be).”

That’s why the author of a recent study makes this suggestion:

“If, in any situation where it is going to matter, women start by presenting themselves as likeable, this presents a buffer when they introduce information about competence,” she said.

“When they do it in the other order, the information about competence has already reduced perceived likeability and they can’t make up that ground again.”

Kinda creepy to think of it this way. But important to know I guess, if it’s true. Still, wouldn’t it be nice if there was also discussion of how to change the the social forces that position competence and likeability as incompatible in women?

How Fair Is Britain? October 11, 2010

You can find out here.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s comprehensive report highlights, for example, the gender pay gap, the gender and ethnic segregation of education and employment, the qualifications gap for disabled people, the incidence of homophobic, transphobic, disability-related and religiously motivated bullying in schools and workplaces…

Feminists and future persons October 10, 2010

This is small-scale, a one-day workshop so not appropriate for the gendered conference campaign, but I write to call it to feminists’ attention so that a feminist perspective may at least be suggested to be brought to bear on population, future generations, and the ethics of deciding the values of potential lives.  (If you’re thinking, “oh, I’m not qualified,” then go re-read that paper you wrote on abortion or birth control, and rethink your position!)

First Call for Papers
 
One-Day Workshop on Population Ethics
March 26, 2011
McGill University, Montreal, Canada
 
Invited Speakers:
Gustaf Arrhenius (Stockholm)
Ben Bradley (Syracuse)
Rahul Kumar (Queens University, Kingston)
 
How do we decide the optimal size of future population? What is the
value of a future individual’s life? What do we owe to future
individuals? Is social contract with future individuals possible? Is
it better or worse to add an extra person to the world? How do we
weigh the life of a present person and the life of a future person?
This workshop will offer an opportunity to discuss these fundamental
ethical questions and to examine the recent theoretical discussions
provoked by Derek Parfit (Reasons and Persons), John Broome (Weighing
Lives), Tim Mulgan (Future People) and so on.
 
We invite highly qualified papers on any aspect of population ethics.
Papers should be suitable for blind-review and no longer than 5,000
words. Please send paper (PDF file preferred) and a cover sheet
including author name, title of paper, institutional affiliation,
email address and abstract, to Iwao Hirose iwao.hirose@mcgill.ca
Travel expenses (up to C$1,000) and accommodation (up to 2 nights) for
speakers will be covered.
 
Deadline for submission: January 7, 2010
(Notification of acceptance by February 4, 2011)
 
For more information, visit https://home.mcgill.ca/aggregation/grants/health/population2011/
This workshop is organized by Iwao Hirose (McGill)

Visa caps and UK universities October 10, 2010

Another step in the Coalition’s apparent effort to destroy UK academia:

The coalition government’s immigration cap will restrict some universities to hiring fewer than 10 overseas academics this year and may damage the UK’s research capacity, critics have said.

For more, go here. Someone in HR told me that her university had decided it would not be able to hire any non-Europeans for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

(Thanks, C!)

Why Women Should Vote in the US Elections October 10, 2010

In case it needed saying:

In the coming months, Congress is poised to make decisions about whether to extend unemployment insurance benefits, whether to repeal new provisions making it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage for people with preexisting conditions, and whether to invest in families struggling to make ends meet or instead spend massive amounts on tax breaks for the wealthy. Your vote can make a difference in these decisions.

Women are typically more likely than men to vote, and that has made an important difference in many elections, given that women also tend to vote for different candidates than men and favor more progressive policies. But this year, polling suggests that women are less enthusiastic than men about heading to the polls. Unmarried women, in particular, who turned out in record numbers in 2008, report that they are less likely to vote this year. If women don’t show up, we’ll all lose.

For more, go here.

The Sunday Cat loves a good story! October 10, 2010

      

 A cat diedand went to Heaven. God met her at the gates and said, ‘You have been a good cat all these years. Anything you want is yours for the asking.’
 
 The cat thought for a minute and then said, ‘All my life I lived on a farm and slept on hard wooden floors. I would like a real fluffy pillow to sleep on.’
 
 God said, ‘Say no more.’ Instantly the cat had a huge fluffy pillow.
 
 A few days later, six mice were killed in an accident and they all went to Heaven together. God met the mice at the gates with the same offer that He made to the cat
 
 The mice said, ‘Well, we have had to run all of our lives: from cats, dogs, and even people with brooms! If we could just have some little roller skates, we would not have to run again.’
 God answered, ‘It is done.’ All the mice had beautiful little roller skates.
 
 About a week later, God decided to check on the cat. He found her sound asleep on her fluffy pillow. God gently awakened the cat and asked, ‘Is everything okay? How have you been doing? Are you happy?’
 
 The cat replied, ‘Oh, it is WONDERFUL. I have never been so happy in my life. The pillow is so fluffy, and those little Meals on Wheels you have been sending are absolutely delicious!’

{Thanks to Rosalind Hursthouse}
 

More mistreatment of immigrants October 9, 2010

at Yarl’s Wood Detention Centre:

Theresa Diedericks, 26, had to get two high court orders for full check-up after midwife could not find foetal heartbeat