Everyday Ethics

The recently released report from independent investigator Louis Freeh was an important moment in the unfolding of the  Penn State-Jerry Sandusky scandal.  Freeh’s investigation revealed a culture of deference to Penn State’s late, and legendary head football coach, Joe Paterno.  According to Freeh, Paterno participated in a cover-up of the allegations against former assistant coach [...]

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Hello all,
It’s been a little slow in the world of every day ethics, which I figure means one of three things:
1.  We’re in some sort of lull with regard to ethical issues in the news, perhaps explained by the looming onset of summer, where everyone seems to calm down just a bit.
2.  I’ve become some [...]

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As part of my continuing quest to become more efficient, and to adapt time-management strategies from other domains to the unique demands of academia, I want to share my recent experience with taking a Facebook vacation.
We all know what a bane to our productivity sites like Facebook can be.  We know there’s nothing happening on [...]

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In a recent post, I described a new time management system that I’ve been trying out, and detailed three “revelations” that had already become clear despite having only worked with the system for a few days.  I want to take a few minutes and update my progress.  My hope is that those of you who, [...]

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As a full-time graduate student who is also a parent of a young child, I often find myself with limited windows of time to complete everything that I want to get done.  Surely many of us in the world of academic philosophy, or other academic disciplines, have had the experience of sitting down at our [...]

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I apologize in advance to those who visit this site expecting to read something overtly philosophical.  This will not be that sort of piece.  Rather, I want to talk a little bit about the trials and tribulations associated with trying to make a career out of being a philosopher in the 21st century.  In addition, [...]

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Anyone hoping to attend a PhD program in philosophy this fall is familiar with the date of April 15th.  This is the day that funded offers must be either accepted or rejected, and as I write this, that day is tomorrow.  As of two weeks ago, I was fairly certain of my fate.  I had [...]

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For anyone pondering graduate study, the date of April 15th has some special significance.  This is the day that many of us will make the final decision about where we are going to continue our education.  This is also the day that the arduous waiting list game will cease.  A substantial amount of wait-list movement [...]

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Most of the initial PhD decisions have now been released, and prospective students across the nation are trying to make the difficult decision of where to continue their philosophical careers.  One of the best ways to get a feel for a program is the campus visit, and we’ve prepared a list of helpful tips to [...]

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Now that your graduate school applications are in, it’s time to start thinking about how you are going to pay for all your expenses.  Most decent philosophy graduate programs will likely offer some kind of stipend or fellowship, with a tuition waiver, which helps but is tough to live on.  In my own program at [...]

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