Number of Women in Philosophy Not Increasing

For a while we thought the number of women in philosophy was increasing. The reason we thought this was that 33.3% of women received a Ph.D. in philosophy in 2004. This number was an all time high. Unfortunately, this increase in female Ph.D.s was not indicative of a trend. As Evelyn Brister reports here, the figures for 2005 and 2006, which are now available from SED, are a lot smaller:

2006: 28.6
2005: 25.1
2004: 33.3
2003: 27.1
2002: 25.3
2001: 25.2
2000: 28.4
1999: 24.8
1998: 29.4
1997: 26.0

The figure for 2005 was the second-lowest in 9 years; and, as Evelyn remarks, the new figures indicate that women currently earn only about 27% of the Ph.D.s awarded in philosophy. This figure has remained relatively stable since 1991.

Evelyn also suggests in a separate post that the APA should take the lead in addressing issues pertaining to the underrepresentation of women in philosophy.

S & P Open for Submissions

The new journal, Semantics and Pragmatics (S&P), edited by David Beaver and Kai von Fintel, is now open for submissions!

AAP Meeting in Auckland

The program and abstracts for the forthcoming Annual Conference of the New Zealand Division of the Australasian Association of Philosophy (Auckland, December 2 - 6) are now available.

Philosophers' Carnival # 57

... is here.

Female Stereotypes

As pointed out in this New York Times article, what people consider the most important leadership quality varies with geographic location. Not very surprising. More surprising: whether women are thought to have a given quality depends on whether it's considered the most important leadership quality. So, in the United States where being good at inspiring others is considered the most important leadership quality but being a good delegator is not, women are often considered good at delegating but not very good at inspiring others. It's the other way around in Nordic countries, where being good at delegating is considered the most important leadership quality but being good at inspiring others is inessential to what constitutes an ideal leader. In these countries women are thought to be good at inspiring others but not very good at delegating. The lesson: the only quick and easy way to climb the career ladder is to get a sex-change operation.

(Thanks to Susanna Schellenberg for the link)

Feminist Articles in Philosophy Journals

Kathryn Norlock at St. Mary’s College of Maryland has just completed a study enumerating the articles published in philosophy journals on the topic of feminism. Evelyn Brister has the details.

Web Resources

Sally Haslanger has some great internet resources for philosophy students and faculty on her website, including links to gender/race related pages, adoption sites, philosophy blogs, and online bibliographies (via Noelle McAfee).

Missing Links – The Symbolic Species II

In continuation of last years conference The Symbolic Species, the University of Copenhagen and the University of Aarhus will be hosting a new conference titled Missing Links.

Missing Links will focus on what differentiates mankind from other closely related mammals and how we in different areas have developed as a species. Among the topics discussed will be: the development of language, the development of society and nations, the development of logical and abstract thinking, the development of Theory of mind and the development of moral and ethical judgement.

Invited speakers:

Professor Terrence Deacon, Berkeley, USA
Dr. Irene Pepperberg, The Alex Foundation, USA
Professor Göran Sonnesen, Lunds Universitet, Sweden
Professor Jim Hufford, Edinburgh, Scotland
Professor Kathleen Gibson, University of Texas, USA
Professor Tom Ziemke, Skövde, Sweden
Dr. Thomas Bugnyar, Konrad Lorenz Institute, Austria
Dr. Andreas Roepstorff, Aarhus Universitet, Denmark
Professor Richard Byrne, University of St. Andrews, Scotland
Professor Peter Harder, Københavns Universitet, Denmark

Price: 400 Dkkr., students 200 Dkkr.

Registration: www.symbolicspecies.com

Time: 22. og 23. november 2007, 9.00 – 17.00

Place: Carlsberg Akademi, Gamle Carlsbergvej 15, Valby (Copenhagen)

For further information please contact chs@dpu.dk

Buffalo Philosophy Blog

The grad weblog of SUNY-Buffalo has been moved to a new Url, also the name has been changed to Buffalo Philosophy.

Philosophy TV

Vincent Hendricks just got his own television show called "The Power of Mind" with one of the nationwide television stations in Denmark (DK4). He's the anchor on the show and will interview Danish and non-Danish philosophers (when they are in the country). The show will walk through the disciplines of philosophy on the introductory level with constant awareness of practical applications and impact. The first 10 shows will cover moral philosophy (Jesper Ryberg), philosophy of mind (Dan Zahavi), epistemology and logic, philosophy of science, philosophy of mathematics (Andur Pedersen), aestetics, history of ideas, legal philosophy, philosophy of religion, ... 25 minutes a piece. Production will begin in March, and the first show will air in April or May.

Philosophers' Carnival # 56

... is here.