Suggesting and Entertaining
Suggesting and Entertaining Suppose you are a top government official and are considering what to do about Iran’s nuclear program. You are at a meeting to try to solve this thorny problem. No option...
View ArticleInvestigation
It should be carefully noted that the administration at UM conducted a lengthy investigation of the case, including interviews with the student and examination of email records from both parties, and...
View ArticleEnlightenment
Enlightenment In the recent article in the CHE I am quoted as having said, “I’m the most enlightened person in the world”. This seems a little, um, boastful—even to express delusions of grandeur. But...
View ArticleRespectability Regained
Jobs and Hands* I am reading The Hand, an Organ of the Mind: What the Manual Tells the Mental, edited by Zdravko Radman (MIT Press, 2013). It is a collection of essays centering on the hand and its...
View ArticleAdvice
Advice What is my advice to other professors? (This applies to male professors in relation to female students; female professors don’t need to worry much, apparently.) 1. Keep all relations to...
View ArticleFun in the Rain
“Hogcock” Americans think that language is a tool to get things done, while the British view language as a cheap entertainment with which to while away a rainy afternoon. For the British language is...
View ArticleA Plea for Calm
Epistemic Virtue Shouldn’t we philosophers be setting a good example of epistemic virtue? We are supposed to be rational, judicious, calm, impartial, non-ideological, just, fair, balanced,...
View ArticleMore from Ed Erwin
This is a very considered letter from Ed Erwin that deserves wider circulation. Colin: The following is my reply to a philosopher knowledgeable about sexual harassment who raised some questions about...
View ArticleReply to Letter
Letter I have read the “Letter From Concerned Philosophers” that has appeared on the Feminist Philosophers website. Let me clarify a few things. First, I fully endorse the spirit of the letter:...
View ArticlePostscript
Postscript A point that tends to get lost in all the furor is that I am not the only one negatively affected by public defamatory statements made against me. I have a wife, a family,...
View ArticleSharp and Right
I thought this comment so good that I decided to give it greater prominence. I think it speaks for itself (CMG). The author of the post (Philo) wishes to remain anonymous for fear of him/herself...
View ArticleA Paper
The Science of Philosophy What is the nature of philosophy? Two views have been influential. One view is that philosophy is “continuous with science”--a kind of proto science or a commentary on the...
View ArticleNew Plan
A Plan In consultation with my advisory team (good people, all), I have decided to adopt the following plan. The first part of the plan concerns the immediate future: I will make a concerted effort...
View ArticleCogent Rant
People tell me this is a satire; I don't see it. enjoy! http://bit.ly/15FYjsW
View ArticleKnowing and Necessity
KNOWING AND NECESSITY I hope that some people see no connection between the two topics in the title.[1] In any case, the absence of any connection will be developed in the course of the paper—a...
View ArticleHitch 22
Hitchens I’ve just finished reading Christopher Hitchens’ Hitch 22, a sad but stimulating experience. Among many sage observations, he tells us how much he values a sense of the absurd and an ironic...
View ArticleAn Orwellian World
Dear George Orwell, Thank you for your interesting letter. Unfortunately, I am not able to reply. Colin McGinn
View ArticleArt and Philosophy
Philosophy of Art I am reading Philosophy of Art by Noel Carroll. As anyone familiar with this author will know, it is an excellent book: clear, well argued, elegantly written, and stimulating....
View ArticleMore Irony
Another Irony I find it ironic that my name should now be linked with discussions of sexism in philosophy. I have always been strongly opposed to sexism in philosophy (and everywhere else). I have...
View ArticleAcademic Romances
Academic Romances The Faculty Manual at UM (and I believe elsewhere) has a section covering “romantic or amorous or sexual relationships” between faculty and students. It says that such relationships...
View ArticleThe Facts
Clarity Let me make one thing very clear: the reason I have addressed accusations on this blog is NOT that the accuser made a complaint to the university. It is that the accuser made public...
View ArticleThe Truth
Actual Charge These are the words from the university’s formal letter of accusation: “Pursuant to Section B4.9 (d)(ii) of the Faculty Manual, the University believes that Professor McGinn’s...
View ArticleEpilogue
Here is a statement by Ed Erwin. It is a powerful indictment of what has gone on over the last three months. I will let it speak for itself but it has my full endorsement. A True Romance?...
View ArticleInsight and Illusion
Illusions “I could list a great number of these one-sided diminutive romances. Some of them ended in a rich flavor of hell. It happened for instance that from my balcony I would notice a lighted...
View ArticleDisparity
Time Line For the first eight or nine months, beginning in September 2012, the only accusation I faced was that of failing to report a “romantic or amorous relationship” (though not a sexual one)....
View ArticleWhy Resign?
I posted a version of this before, but now seems a good time to re-post it--now that the dust has settled and the facts have become clear. Reasons for Resignation 1. The rules of the university...
View ArticleNew York Times
New York Times The article about me on the front page of the New York Times on August 2, 2013, by Jennifer Schuessler, contains the following sentence: “Colin McGinn, a star philosopher at the...
View ArticleThe Origin of Ideas
The Origin of Ideas Where do our ideas come from? What gives ideas their content? There is an old and natural story about this: call it the “exemplar theory”. Consider the idea of blue (the concept...
View ArticleLetter to NY Times
This is a letter by Ed Erwin to the NY Times corroborating what I have said. One would think this would be sufficient to prompt a correction. Dear Ms. -------------------: In writing your article...
View ArticleWords Not to Live By
Words I love these words people like to throw about these days: “improper”, “inappropriate”, “unprofessional” (how about “untoward” and “unladylike”?). What on earth do they mean? Is it always good...
View ArticleNew Posting of Saarinen Letter
I am re-posting this because of the mangling that occurred with the previous post. I have also corrected some typos etc. Dear Professor Erwin, I am writing this letter in order to express my...
View ArticleReporting
Here is my response to the actual charge of "failing to report a consensual relationship", written in December 2012. I have redacted the student's name and other potentially identifying information....
View ArticleDepartment of Ontics
Department of Ontics, Nowhere University I’m thinking it might be a good idea to form a virtual philosophy department, named as above. I see it as a research group, open to all qualified people...
View ArticleLogical Positivism
“Logical Positivism” That’s an odd label for the view it purports to describe. The most conspicuous feature of the doctrine in question is its negative attitude toward traditional metaphysics: it...
View ArticleTruth again
The truth can be slow coming, but when it arrives it is clad in shining armor.
View ArticleTruthfulness
Truthfulness involves two virtues: the virtue of Sincerity and the virtue of Accuracy (I borrow Bernard Williams' terminology). One should speak what one believes to be the truth, but one should also...
View ArticleSlate Article
I advise a close reading of Katie Roiphe's article that has just appeared in Slate.
View ArticleThe Silver Mirror
A Movie Experience Last night I attended the premiere of the film “The Silver Mirror”, written, directed and produced by Ali Habashi, based at the University of Miami. The film is about aging and...
View ArticleThe Future
The Future Now that the basic facts of the case have been disclosed, and the roles of various agents in this wretched melodrama have been exposed, I think it is time to move on to more positive...
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