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Profession

I have just accepted a tenure-track position at a school that I am convinced suits me quite well; while I love to write, I am a teacher first and consider writing a wonderful (and wonderfully frustrating) secondary priority--and these match the priorities of the school. I taught for several years as an adjunct and have taught for a few as a contract faculty member. So I know much of the goings-on and how to be successful in a university setting generally (or, I assume, I wouldn't have gotten the tenure-track offer). I am wondering if there is advice you can give for a person moving from the contract level to the tenure-track level? Are there particular things to keep in mind during this time? s2

Congratulations on the new job. Without claims to completeness, let me make one point in response to your query. An important new element in your next job is that you will have a voice and a vote in your department and possibly in other university bodies as well. University politics can be very dirty and corrupt, all the way up to the top. Let's hope that in your new academic home all is decent and above board. But do be critically observant, even a bit suspicious at the beginning. And when you find that some matter morally requires action on your part, do take some time for further thought and study. Do not take for granted that just pointing out that (and why) some proposed decision or policy would be plainly immoral will suffice to get this proposal off the table. It is equally possible that your intervention will not alter the outcome and permanently sour relations with some of your colleagues. There are no easy prescriptions about how to act (as an untenured professor) in some particular such...
Profession

I read somewhere that, in her professional lifetime, Martha Nussbaum has averaged 3-5 published pages per day. This raises two questions: 1) Wouldn't that make her a great panelist candidate for this site (not exactly a philosophical question, I admit)? And 2) what is the relationship between prodigious output of thought and quality/clarity of thought? In trying to read Nussbaum on my own, I find that she has some really great nuggets, but there is a lot of sifting before I find them (_Upheavals_of_Thought_ as a case in point). This seems problematic. Moreover, does the process of publishing sometimes work to diminish originality of thought (generally) and/or dilute the acuminity of thought? I suppose this melds into a third question: how has philosophy changed in relation to the changing dynamic of publishing (from an emphasis on treatises like books to shorter journal articles - and THIS as an effect of 'publish or perish')? And what may we say of this change - is it a 'good' change; what does...

Wow -- 90,000 pages over a career, the promise of a 300-volume set of her collected works! I am not sure what to say on question 1. Nussbaum would obviously be a good, interesting panelist. But this would take time away from all her other pursuits, of which writing is only one, and the loss from that might exceed the gain to the users of this site. I suspect her own judgment is decisive here: If she wanted to be on the panel, she would be. There is obviously some quantity/quality trade-off in the writing of philosophy. Looking at the profession as a whole, we seem to be erring on the side of quantity. Professional philosophy would be in better shape, I believe, if we published 60% (or even 80%) less while spending as much time as now composing it. Why is so much philosophy being published? One reason is the one you give: "publish or perish," that is, the requirement on professional philosophers to publish (enforced through tenure, promotion, and salary decisions). From a world of a few...
Profession

There was a case in the U.K. (I believe) involving the murder of a seaman on a liferaft. Apparently, there were not enough provisions to allow everyone to live, so they drew names/straws in order to see who would have to sacrifice for the entire boat. The men on the boat faced murder charges when they arrived on land and I believe were convicted. What is the name of this case/story? I remember reading it in an Intro. to Philosophy class and I was hoping to use it for my high school class. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you. Michael Sterling

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