Thinking about Big Questions with people. Philosophy prof. Podcaster. Married, 5 kids. My free paper-writing template https://teapawt.net/t.co/4PkrcgtXho
Charlotte, NC
Joined March 2009
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When I was in my PhD program, I was looking at dozens of excellent, published philosophy papers & wondered what structure they had in common. I thought, 'Why have I never seen a basic paper-writing template to follow?' So I created a free template for you: sellingplato.kit.com/freepap…
Jared Oliphint, PhD retweeted
As a general rule, if the threat comes from on-campus, it comes from the left of the speaker. When the threat comes from off-campus, it tends to come from the right. It gets a little more complicated when it comes to Israel, Palestine, because that still divides the left.
But my main point with the article is to say that administrators and leadership should be standing up to both, and always should have. In fact, they did do a better job of standing up to both 15 years ago.
"For the second year running, of those attempts that had a political tenor, more have come from the political right than from the left", despite academia being overwhelmingly left 👇🏻
The maddening part? This disaster might’ve been a BLIP if presidents had stood up to their OWN censorious administrators and backed those resisting politicians.
Their job: Defend free speech. Defend academic freedom. Focus on the search for truth.
Free gift link: wapo.st/3WT2S7P
"Even sweet memories are sorrowed with the loss we feel in time's passage."
- @platobooktour, The Mattering Instinct
This is one of the reasons I love analytic philosophy and logic, while recognizing its limits. It's an antidote to much of the emotive word vomit plaguing social media. Intense, meticulous scrutinizing of language can often be good, actually.
A breath of fresh air to read this: "This kind of situation in the philosophy of sex and gender has no precedent in academic philosophy in recent memory. It is also in some ways puzzling. Philosophers routinely tolerate a range of views on politically charged topics connected to public policy: abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, affirmative action, immigration, same-sex marriage, and so on. These debates are heated because they are potentially consequential; false views on these topics can lead to grave injustice. And yet there has been no effort in these other areas to close off discussion by demonizing the opposition or suppressing academic work prior to publication. To the contrary, it is a staple of philosophical practice and pedagogy to cultivate the strongest arguments on all sides of important issues, even when the stakes are high. It is therefore surprising that when it comes to sex and gender, the field has undertaken to shut out one position."
If you're not familiar, Fine and Rosen are two of the most accomplished philosophers of the past 50 years. Their work is of the highest quality you will see in all of philosophy. Fine's technical ability alone is second to none. Beyond research, Rosen is a co-editor on The Norton Introduction to Philosophy, my vote for the single greatest intro to philosophy book in print. So it is beyond encouraging to see two philosophers of this caliber, with a multi-decade of the discipline from its highest peak, calling out the infectious contagion within the discipline that values political advocacy over truth-seeking, rigor, and general decency to fellow colleagues in the field.
*Well* worth the read. My score on the quiz that tests your ability to spot AI writing vs. human writing was not what I thought it would be.
Robots are really good writers now. Don’t believe me? You will by the end of this piece, writes Max Raskin. thefp.com/p/the-last-essay-a…
Jared Oliphint, PhD retweeted
Here’s what Call Her Daddy won't tell you: a growing share of marriages today go the distance.
The “trade up” mindset @alexandracooper & @SophiaBush are pushing is an outlier, not the norm.
Divorce is down nearly 40% since peaking @ 1980 & each new cohort of married couples is more stable than the one before.
☑️ Boomer couples who wed in the ’70s/’80s: @ 50% will divorce
☑️ Couples who married in the 2010s+ are on track to do far better
That's because--for better and for worse--marriage is getting more selective & more durable.
Before considering meds for mental health, every parent needs to run through a simple checklist for their kid:
✅ Getting enough sleep?
✅ Getting enough steps?
✅ Getting enough daylight?
✅ Eating non-processed foods?
✅ Spending time with good friends?
✅ Limiting screens?
Children averaging 5,000 to more than 12,000 steps per day day had fewer mental health symptoms than those taking less than 5,000.
Mental health symptoms were progressively lower across higher step counts with no apparent plateau, even at 12,000+ steps per day.
Brain scans also linked higher step counts to greater thickness in two specific regions of the cortex, the brain’s outer layer.
Daily movement deserves much more attention as a potential way to support kids’ mental health. That's especially clear when you consider that modern-day digital and urban environments provide little opportunity for movement throughout the day.
“I would rather write a book for 10,000 people than do a short form video that 10 million people see and forget about 10 seconds later.”
- @tferriss
Jared Oliphint, PhD retweeted
This is spot on: policies implemented during COVID that reduced academic rigour made struggling education systems worse
If you want improve the lives of students, you need to challenge them. Shredding academic standards has been a disaster.
❓Why are student wellbeing and academic achievement often treated as opposing priorities? For example, there's the idea that we should eliminate or reduce tests because they cause students stress.
What about the sense of accomplishment someone can feel from working hard towards a goal and achieving that? Doesn't academic success actually contribute to student wellbeing?
Great quote from this article by Montse Gomendio: "operating on the notion that equity and student wellbeing can and should be achieved at the expense of academic performance will hurt future generations, who will suffer dire consequences"
She argues that policies implemented during COVID that reduced academic rigour made struggling education systems worse. In some countries, these policies (like relaxing exam requirements and making it easier to graduate) became the new normal after COVID.
educationnext.org/how-viral-…
Could not be more thrilled to see this. Been a fan of FP for years and now my feed got even better.
Ross Douthat is joining the Free Press as a new weekly columnist!
Read more here: thefp.com/p/ross-douthat-new…
PSA to students:
1) You don't have to apologize for emailing at a late hour. The way email works is that I can check it whenever I'm available.
2) You don't have to introduce yourself by name (unless you go by something different). I see your name at the top of the email.
3) You don't have to apologize for making a poor grade on an assignment. I do care that you do well, but you haven't wronged me in some way; only yourself and anyone invested in your education.
Just learned my school has been awarded eight grants from @Metallica's charitable foundation, helping around 400 students. Never would have guessed while listening to Nothing Else Matters as a kid. Thanks for the support, guys.
Jared Oliphint, PhD retweeted
My latest is on the Catholic philosophers of Princeton University.
The twist? They're vegan!
thefp.com/p/the-vegan-cathol…
I'm still processing a lot of this, but it reads like an appeal for the priority of philosophical skills to permeate higher education.
Cornell became the latest elite school to propose a course-correction as it navigates one of the toughest periods in the history of American higher education. on.wsj.com/4AthgDg
We discussed this in two of my classes. When hundreds of employers tell you what they're looking for in this AI era, students pay attention. And when they're desperate for employees with good judgment, critical thinking, and an ability to discuss uncomfortable topics, philosophy might be increasingly one of the most practical and valuable skills and majors you could choose for the job market.
Jared Oliphint, PhD retweeted
"Calls about sports betting to Ohio’s problem gambling help line have more than quadrupled since the state legalized it in 2023." nytimes.com/2026/09/19/busin…
