On January 21, Timothy Gowers of Cambridge announced he would no longer publish papers in Elsevier’s journals or serve as a referee or editor for them. This boycott has now been joined by thousands of other researchers. (I don’t referee any more for Elsevier, though I have in the past, and I certainly won’t be sending any papersContinue reading “The Scandal of Closed Access to Taxpayer Funded Research”
Author Archives: Samir Chopra
A Friendly Amendent to Nina Strohminger’s McGinn Review
Nina Strohminger–a post-doctoral fellow at the Kenan Institute for Ethics–recently wrote a scathing review of Colin McGinn‘s book The Meaning of Disgust. Thanks to Strohminger’s flamboyant cuffing of McGinn around the ears, her review earned her some well-deserved ‘net fame. I have not read the book so I cannot comment on it but the review doesContinue reading “A Friendly Amendent to Nina Strohminger’s McGinn Review”
The Question Asked, Inquiry Begins
Classes for the 2012 spring semester ended last week. And with that, I completed ten years of teaching at Brooklyn College. (I’m well aware that I have yet to complete grading for this semester but for now, I’m trying to put that thought out of my mind.) When I first started, in the 2002 fallContinue reading “The Question Asked, Inquiry Begins”
Freud, Goethe and Burke on Happiness, Pleasure, and Satiation
Defining ‘happiness’ is hard; how are we to know what to do to be happy, if we don’t have a good handle on what happiness is? And thus, the persistent efforts through the ages, of philosophical minds–and more recently, grimly determined social scientists and psychologists alike–to provide some delineation of the concept. (Even David BrooksContinue reading “Freud, Goethe and Burke on Happiness, Pleasure, and Satiation”
Against Commencement Cermonies
I have never sat through a commencement address; I have never managed to finish watching a recommended one on YouTube; and I certainly have not ever read one to the end. (The other day, in a bookstore, I noticed a little book containing an apparently famous one delivered by David Foster Wallace; I couldn’t finishContinue reading “Against Commencement Cermonies”
David Mitchell on Cloud Atlas’ Provenance: Good Writers are Good Magpies
David Mitchell‘s bestselling 2004 novel Cloud Atlas sold millions of copies, and garnered ample critical praise (I have mixed feelings about it). What I found most interesting about the novel was Mitchell’s recounting of its genesis: The germ of the opening (and closing) Adam Ewing narrative, about a notary crossing the Pacific in the 1850s, comesContinue reading “David Mitchell on Cloud Atlas’ Provenance: Good Writers are Good Magpies”
Crossfit and Strong Women
A singularly positive aspect about being in a Crossfit space–like the one at Crossfit South Brooklyn, which, in point of fact, is the only one I’ve ever spent any time in–is the many opportunities that arise to see strong women in action. Women can deadlift, squat, clean and jerk, run fast, do muscle-ups, pull-ups–you nameContinue reading “Crossfit and Strong Women”
A Bad Argument Against Same-Sex Marriage
I would have scarcely believed it possible, but a few short hours after teaching the naturalistic fallacy in my Philosophy of Biology class, I was exposed to an argument–from a professional philosopher–that, roughly, same-sex marriage is problematic because a) marriage is all about procreation and the raising of children and because b) evolution tell usContinue reading “A Bad Argument Against Same-Sex Marriage”
Vale Jonathan E. Adler (1949-2012)
On Saturday, along with many others, I attended a simple–yet intensely emotionally moving–memorial service for Jonathan Adler, formerly Professor of Philosophy at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of CUNY. Jon and I had been colleagues in the Philosophy Department at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center; before that Jon had served on two ofContinue reading “Vale Jonathan E. Adler (1949-2012)”
Letter to Brooklyn College President Karen Gould: Get Security off Students’ Backs!
The Executive Committee of the Brooklyn College Chapter of the Professional Staff Congress – CUNY (PSC-CUNY) has written to the President of Brooklyn College, Karen Gould, regarding the assaults on, and arrests of, CUNY students by CUNY Security at Brooklyn College on May 2nd. Please take the time to read the letter–reproduced below–in its entirety andContinue reading “Letter to Brooklyn College President Karen Gould: Get Security off Students’ Backs!”
Samir Chopra 