Among all of the conferences that I have attended or presented at, Kent State’s Graduate Philosophy Conference was the most professionally done of the bunch. I think the reputation of this conference is growing, based on the quality of the papers presented (and from the number I heard that were submitted) and representatives present from top school; this year there were two Harvard students and one Oxford student presenting, along with some of the most creative philosophers-in-training from the American West to East Coast, California to New York, as it were. For anyone looking a good and productive venue to make intellectual progress, I strongly suggest submitting to this conference in the future. Continue reading
Category Archives: Personal
22nd Annual (2015) Kent State Philosophy Graduate Student Conference In Remembrance of May 4th (Part I)
Filed under Education, Personal, Philosophy
Moving into a Professorship in Philosophy and Some Thoughts on Class Structure
A little bit unusual for my blog, I am posting a personal update, which may interest various people for various reasons. This next year should be a rather interesting year in my intellectual development: I have taken a post as adjunct professor of philosophy at one of the United States’ largest community college, the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, PA —a seven-campus college. I will be at the main campus, the Allegheny Campus. Since Indiana University’s Department of History and Philosophy of Science doesn’t grant undergraduate degrees, teaching assignments for graduate students are scarce with so few in-department undergraduate courses, especially for grads in their first two years, I felt it important that I find and take on, at the very least, a one-year appointment as a lecturer, hence the desire to take on an adjunct professorship. Teaching is an important part of the academician’s craft as a whole. Continue reading
Filed under Education, Personal, Philosophy
A Philosophical Thought on the Oasis of Life on Mt. Pisgah
If I am not careful, I am going to begin sounding like my friend, Matt Segall —not a bad thing, just this blog post’s content is more his forte than it is my typical fare. I was recently hiking Mt. Pisgah, which is in North Carolina, and I was struck by some ideas; dualities in reflection, mostly. Near the top of the craggy trail, which is hardly “moderate,” as at least one website claimed, I chanced upon a tree and shrubbery-like growth that looked like something out of a movie. Continue reading
Filed under Eastern Philosophy, Personal, Philosophy, Pure Philosophy, Science
(Humorous) Anecdote from within the Walls of a Department of History and Philosophy of Science
One of the fascinating things about the discipline of history and philosophy of science is that, while it is, in some respects, truly an integrated discipline, there are other respects in which it is not. In fact, I would call the process of integrating history of science and philosophy of science a kind of “tension,” which bears the seeds of incredible fruit and creativity. I love this aspect of the discipline. Continue reading
Filed under Education, History and Philosophy of Science, Personal
Review of American Public University
Since, naturally, my experiences at American Public University (APU)[1] were limited, this review will be limited. I do not claim it to be a sweeping, all-encompassing review of the institution. I’ll begin by explaining the kinds of coursework I did at APU, what I intended to get out of it, and the general nature of my educational relationship with APU. I will end with my assessment of the quality of the programs and school. Continue reading
Equal Opportunity via Philosophy
There is much talk about bringing equality to females and minorities, that is, providing equal footing and a fair chance to all. I hear a number of claims about what the problems are, and some of these have studies to support them. Many of them boggle my mind, because they don’t correspond to my personal experience, not that my experience is exhaustive by any means. I have given a bit of thought to all of this, and I find it likely that there are many destabilizing factors that need accounting for, before the envisaged can be achieved. To present my case and line of thought, maybe I can supply an anecdote, and provide some commentary, and go from there. Continue reading
Filed under Education, Personal, Philosophy
My Journey from Physics to the History and Philosophy of Science (a.k.a. HPS)
Recently, at a reception for the incoming grad students of IU Bloomington’s HPS Department, I was faced with a question, but it was a more specific question than had previously been posed to me. Typically, I am asked, “How did you move from physics into philosophy of physics?” The question my host, Dr. Sandy Gliboff asked me, with the hint of a smirk and a sense of humor, “What made you decide to go into HPS, rather than be a real scientist?” I gave him my answer to the former question, which I will give presently; but I did not give him the answer to his question. Given that so many people ask so regularly, and given that there are so few physicists that go into philosophy, I will take this time to answer publically; and so I begin with the answer to the former. Continue reading
Filed under Personal
milliern 