Preston Werner

I teach and research philosophy (metaethics, philosophy of perception, and a bit of analytic anarchism) at Hebrew University and try to make the world a bit better (mainly by trying to surround myself with anti-occupation activists and then feeling bad about how much better of people they are than me).

Public Key

npub1h9cgph0hgs96qeu5fdwzu4dk527msgwapxrvxktuugg053tw8dasjlgwgx

NIP-05 Address

pjw_at_fediphilosophy.org@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqstjuyqmhm5gzaqv72ykhpw2km290dcy8wsnpkrt97wyy86g4hrk7ck7stpu

Author Public Key

npub1h9cgph0hgs96qeu5fdwzu4dk527msgwapxrvxktuugg053tw8dasjlgwgx

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Last Notes

2024-09-05 13:35:48

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@npub1xat…c62v This one? https://hcommons.org/members/knavalesi/

2024-09-05 12:44:41

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@npub12zq…y88q :(

2024-08-08 16:20:38

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@npub1ky4…j959 Thanks so much for this info!

2024-08-08 16:09:13

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@npub1ky4…j959 Do you mean going to the website in the first place?
Or that ISPs will be able to determine, based on the IP address your data packets are going to, that you are using a RiseUp affiliated server?

2024-08-08 16:05:14

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@npub1ky4…j959 You may very well be right!
I thought a VPN would prevent this from being 'flaggable', but I don't really understand technology, I'm just some dork who wants to read the news.

2024-08-02 13:39:26

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@npub1qy5…qq3x This was great, thanks!

2024-08-01 22:10:53

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@npub16x7…dkqy Inshallah all of this horror will end for all of us, from the river to the sea.

2024-08-01 20:39:27

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@npub1vjd…ecdf Oh I AM SO HYPE FOR THIS

2024-07-28 14:09:44

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@npub1skv…aky3 This is fascinating! Thanks!

2024-07-28 13:12:01

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@npub1hec…n82j Are you really leaving?! But you're the only funny academic :(((

2024-07-28 06:36:58

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@npub1vk5…srde Can you say more?
I'm attracted to patient-centric moral theories, and this seems quite bad!

2024-07-26 08:18:21

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I think that without a more precise conception of Campian Perspectives than Camp has given us, this still may seem unsatisfying. I'm inclined to agree, but I think this points to the importance to thinking more about Campian Perspectives, how to model them, and how far this thinking might extend.

2024-07-23 10:41:07

I'd like to thank the state of Israel for blocking our access to Al Jazeera, which serves as a periodic reminder to me to turn my VPN on, which is good general online practice anyway. Thanks, crackdown on the freedom of the press!

2024-07-11 20:34:28

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@npub1vk5…srde yes although I think if you are serious, you should go for it!
I thought "Philosophy Bro"'s execution was quite bad, even though it's a cool idea.
Also at this point I am sure it's dated.

2024-07-11 20:27:28

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@npub1vk5…srde https://www.philosophybro.com/book/book

2024-07-05 13:40:48

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@npub156r…dcgs
Hey, fediphilosophy.org is for academic philosophers, but it isn't very active.

2024-07-05 12:20:35

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@npub17d5…errd
Ah, right, my post is sliding between motivating reasons and justificatory reasons! Ack! Deleting

2024-07-03 07:16:24

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@npub1hec…n82j That's just the editor's way of humblebragging that they actually read all the articles.

2024-07-01 15:02:55

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@npub17d5…errd
Of course you could always write to Pappe! He might have an explanation.

2024-06-30 16:53:15

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@npub17d5…errd Ack!
I'm paywalled out of that article (even the archive version).
But I think I know someone with a subscription.
Let the quest begin!

2024-06-30 15:57:09

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@npub17d5…errd
Ah, interesting problem.
Could you tell me the page number that Raz cites? I can check the Hebrew version - my Hebrew isn't great but I think it is good enough to look at what exactly Pappe says there.

2024-06-25 21:10:53

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* A dog whistle is a single utterance which, generally intentionally, communicates one thing to one audience and communicates a second, often secret message to a second audience.

2024-06-23 21:58:57

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@npub17d5…errd
Following! Very interested in hearing from informed people on this.

2024-06-23 11:21:36

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@npub1ava…7f80 Fair enough. You can also find the document here:
https://huji.academia.edu/LeeMordechai
and here:
https://x.com/LeeMordechai

2024-06-13 14:34:40

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@npub19uy…0n85 Reprehensible.
Here is an open letter for any academics interested in speaking out in support of Dr. Segal: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdXGeUgG-_zWZAwDhXjhOaq-6LOtmeDr6HH0PsBQs7nz5RQPQ/viewform

2024-06-06 19:28:49

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@npub1d7j…u8xc
The disagreement wasn't about whether you think the view also fails for other reasons.
The disagreement is about whether it fails for *this* reason.

2024-06-06 19:11:30

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@npub1d7j…u8xc
If it increases the value of the relevant material, yes.
On Steiner's account, I think the answer is yes regardless (one of the reasons I think his account is pretty ridiculous).

2024-06-05 13:50:34

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Again, I feel ambivalent about academic boycotts in general and in this particular case. There are sensible arguments against it. But the administration is not interested in discussing or addressing these things in an honest way, and instead is, wittingly or unwittingly, engaging in Israeli state propaganda while simultaneously emphasizing that it is distinct from the Israeli government.
(7/7)

2024-06-05 13:50:08

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The faculty union has issued a statement against the bill. As of now, the university heads have not.
If this bill passes and is not struck down by the High Court, the future of Israeli academia is very uncertain.
(5/7)

2024-06-05 13:48:47

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This is a McCarthyist fig leaf. What Im Tirzu, the group behind the petition which was passed by the Union, means by "incitement" is very broad and would include things which clearly fall under any reasonable conception of academic freedom. You can read about the bill here: https://forward.com/opinion/618223/israel-fascism-academic-dissent-law-crackdown/
(2/7)

2024-06-05 12:55:13

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@npub1d7j…u8xc
The Nozick discussion - which he himself admits is inconclusive - is in Chapter 7 of Anarchy State and Utopia.
(Love your posts, btw, @npub1d7j…u8xc !)

2024-05-21 13:17:29

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@npub19fc…ay3c
Fuck. Can you send me a source?

2024-05-15 09:00:47

I miss when Philosophy was a water-centric discipline. This field has been all downhill since Thales.
#philosophy

2024-05-11 11:50:54

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@npub1vfn…wq75 https://structuredprocrastination.com/

2024-05-05 19:21:44

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@npub1cpr…je5p
As of now, in Israel we are also unable to access the AlJazeera website without a VPN.

2024-04-30 07:49:11

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@npub1yzu…ph0w What time zone? CST?

2024-04-29 21:28:48

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@npub1nr7…8w6p Fuck. This is awful. So sorry you had to read it and that it exists on this platform - and from one of the biggest instances, even.

2024-04-26 21:08:03

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@npub194k…ap9l Thank you so much! Solidarity from Jerusalem!

2024-04-26 21:06:09

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@npub1l4q…kkvt So happy to see this made the NY Times! Had some friends get arrested there, and I think beforehand they were debating whether it was worth it.

2024-04-26 19:09:41

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I have a bunch more tangentially related thoughts, but I am tired and...why would anyone care what some random idiot thinks anyway. Maybe I'll write more tomorrow. Be good to each other.
8/7

2024-04-26 19:09:09

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Often activists say that no one is free until we all are free. And if you believe that, then you believe that Palestinians' freedom and Jews' freedom are intertwined, not a zero-sum game.
Please read this as a 'call-in' and not a 'call-out' to those of you brave souls camping on college campuses, facing police repression, snipers(?!), to stand for something you believe in.
6/6

2024-04-26 19:07:56

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This is a bit of a preamble, but it is important for assessing the debate going on about the outbreak of Palestinian solidarity protests in the United States, and in particular whether those protests are antisemitic.
2/2

2024-04-25 07:47:31

https://fediphilosophy.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/330/746/169/341/888/original/fd9a0c07719f068c.png

2024-04-24 10:43:37

Newsweek is truly the home for only the deepest and most incisive solutions to America's problems. A veritable meeting place for the best and brightest of America's intelligentsia.
https://fediphilosophy.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/325/765/800/319/675/original/7e4bbab3eba5a63a.png

2024-04-18 15:26:58

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16/13
Third Update:
Dr. Shalhoub-Kevorkian, my colleague at Hebrew University, has been arrested for "incitement" for the comments mentioned earlier in this thread.
The fascist (and I am saying this literally, not as an exaggerated insult) Itamar Ben-Gvir, Minister of National Security, has released a statement praising the arrest.

2024-04-13 20:02:41

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@npub1hm8…4nty Hi, I'm in Israel. They are allegedly on their way.
Presumably Iran is telegraphing this because they want the damage to be minimal enough to not cause an escalation...

2024-04-12 16:00:53

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@npub1t3r…6knd Hey I know some of those folks!

2024-04-11 13:33:37

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@npub1u77…vnyg No, thank you for the tip!

2024-04-11 08:10:40

Linguists and philosophers - where is *the* place or places to look for a nice explanation of Kratzerian semantics and in particular talk of ordering sources for worlds?
(Something fitting for an audience of beginning grad students in philosophy!)
#Linguistics #Philosophy #PhilosophyOfLanguage #academicchatter

2024-04-05 19:52:10

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@npub1rkt…sqek
I was reading some report (maybe Washington post? Or haaretz?) that was like "this could be a game changer, many congress people eat at the chef's restaurants"
like wtf ???

2024-04-05 17:37:56

Some people prefer mysteries, others love the classics.
there's also science fiction,
if you crave a taste of fantastic.
Maybe you like poetry,
full of lines that are choppy,
but for me the best literature out there,
is black metal PR ad copy.
https://fediphilosophy.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/219/794/747/094/498/original/c8c600e480818cc2.png

2024-04-03 10:25:17

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15/13
Second update: The police have now opened an inquiry to potentially prosecute Dr. Shalhoub-Kevorkian for "incitement" based on the statements referenced earlier in this thread.
No source in English yet, but here is a source in Hebrew: https://www.kan.org.il/content/kan-news/local/732559/

2024-04-02 14:26:27

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That's it. Hopefully very soon I'll go back to posting about 'boring' philosophy stuff like the connection between moral metasemantics and semantic competence...
n/n

2024-04-02 14:24:59

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Only international, and mostly American, pressure, seems to me likely to change the situation here. It is true that the push for a Ceasefire is growing in Israel. But growing from nearly non-existent to a small voice on the margins of larger anti-Netanyahu protests.
6/n

2024-04-02 14:23:10

I can't believe what continues to happen 80km south of where I sit in Jerusalem and across the world watching with nothing so far but words of concern and/or condemnation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Central_Kitchen_drone_strikes
I am so upset that I can't organize my thoughts, but in no particular order, several things that this latest strike brings to my mind:
1/n

2024-03-29 13:26:02

Please do not think that Israelis are a monolith standing behind what is happening in Gaza with unwavering loyalty. Do not let Netanyahu, Ben Gvir, or the mainstream Israeli pundits speak for us.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/four-arrested-at-anti-war-protest-in-jerusalem/
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/29/israels-war-on-gaza-live-netanyahu-says-army-preparing-to-enter-rafah?update=2805962

2024-03-27 23:39:04

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14/13
Update: Dr. Shalhoub-Kevorkian has been reinstated! Certainly the international and local pressure helped.

2024-03-22 15:54:00

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@npub1s6j…k6rz
Not the same tradition, but could be of interest to you!

2024-03-22 08:22:28

Hey all,
חג פורים שמח to those who celebrate!
Some folks in Israel, including some rabbinical students, put together this excellent reader with reflections on the holiday and how leftist Jews can relate to it in these difficult days. It's beautiful, consider reading to reflect on as you celebrate this year:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1smp-iGZ2Ujq_ZoroAGfZJffTtPNBYvUJ/view?usp=sharing
#Mazeldon #Purim #theology

2024-03-21 15:11:47

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@npub1khx…geyg You've got this, Sheril!

2024-03-18 21:18:45

Between all the plagiarism scandals and now the widespread reports of ChatGPT-written papers, I'm starting to feel torn between whether I'm a noble scholar or a sucker that actually researches and writes his own papers.
#academia

2024-03-15 19:38:43

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@npub1h06…qlze It is very appreciated, thank you.

2024-03-15 19:37:32

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@npub1cje…kx0s
Hey Justin, 1000% understand if this is outside the scope of DN since it isn't happening to a philosopher, but tagging you just in case.

2024-03-15 19:30:59

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@npub19dp…kv2q Thanks for reading!
It's big news here, but of course in the context of the famine and siege of Gaza, it makes sense it gets drowned out in the international media.

2024-03-15 19:24:20

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What you can do:
1. Spread this news. Here is an interview with Shalhoub-Kevorkian from today on Democracy Now, where she speaks about her history and work for Hebrew University: https://www.democracynow.org/2024/3/15/nadera_shalhoub_kevorkian_israel_palestine_gaza
2. Sign and share this petition to any academics you know: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfbk9iSneCgBtSmv2w1XsJDgU5rgDD-zEAR9C2V5WKOvKqmsg/viewform
3. If you know any faculty or students affiliated with Hebrew University, reach out to them, especially if their work is politically charged. Make sure they are ok. The support is very appreciated, privately and publicly.
Thanks for reading, and I'm here for any questions you might have. 13/13

2024-03-15 19:23:59

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This is the continued Hungarization of the academy in Israel. If it is not fought, and fought hard, Israeli higher education will become a pariah in just the way that BDS has fought for for many years, but by its own hand. For my students, Israeli, Palestinian, and international; for those faculty members who cannot leave, please stand with us. 12/13

2024-03-15 19:23:47

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Meanwhile, on Thursday, the faculty union also came out against Shalhoub-Kevorkian's suspension. President Cohen and Rector Sheafer also sent another letter to the entirety of the faculty, announcing that they would convene a committee to consider new rules on academic freedom. One small phrase in the letter stuck out as dangerous to several faculty members: Public statements are only protected if they are "based in research". How this will or could be interpreted is speculation, but given that Shalhoub-Kevorkian was suspended on the grounds of 'incitement' for stating a political position which is held by many Palestinian and Israeli scholars alike, it does not bode well.
11/13

2024-03-15 19:23:31

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Im Tirzu, a far-right group active in Israeli society, known for their "Know the Anti-Zionist Israeli Professor" list (https://knowbdsinisrael.com/) has announced a protest on Sunday (Sunday is a work day in Israel) on campus, which is sure to be tense, with many weapons, presumably aiming to terrorize anyone who would like to speak up against the war in Gaza and in favor of a cease fire.
10/13

2024-03-15 19:23:18

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On Thursday, March 14, a protest against Shalhoub-Kevorkian's suspension was held on campus. Jews and Palestinians, students and faculty, sat on the ground with their mouths taped shut. The protest escalated into screaming, curses, telling people to "Go to Gaza", calling people "traitors against their own people", and even reportedly a death threat. Many of those screaming at the protesters carried guns, which have been allowed on campus for the first time as a result of changes prompted by the October 7th attacks and resulting war.
Thankfully this protest ended without incident.
However, after the incident, photographs of two of the faculty members who participated in the protest were shared widely in right wing WhatsApp groups - it seems that because the administration caved in the case of a smear campaign against Shalhoub-Kevorkian, the far-right aims to eliminate as many 'wrong thinking' professors as possible.
Furthermore, a Palestinian student who participated in the protest had his dorm room raided without a warrant, and was then arrested and questioned. (The protest involved *no* illegal action of civil disobedience.)
9/13

2024-03-15 19:23:03

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To the credit of many of the students and faculty at Hebrew University, there was immediate pushback on this attempted (further) politicization of the university. Open letters were penned by Jewish and Palestinian faculty members, Jewish and Palestinian students, international faculty, and alumni groups. Even Israel's leading liberal newspaper, Ha'Aretz, criticized the university for violating Shalhoub-Kevorkian's academic freedom.
8/13

2024-03-15 19:22:49

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Shalhoub-Kevorkian's 5 doctoral students (Jewish and Palestinian) were told that it was not clear whether she would still be able to advise them, some after years of collaborative work.
7/13

2024-03-15 19:22:29

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Clips of Prof. Shalhoub-Kevorkian's interview were played in Channel 14, Israel's Fox News equivalent, which resulted in a public and vicious campaign to have Prof. Shalhoub-Kevorkian fired (or much worse). Instead of issuing a statement defending her academic freedom, President Cohen and Rector Sheafer issued a public letter suspending Shalhoub-Kevorkian and again pushing her to resign her post, since her values do not fit with a "proud Zionist institution" like Hebrew University. Her demand to "abolish Zionism" and her statement on sexual violence on October 7th were the stated reasons for her suspension. (They called these statements "incitement".)
6/13

2024-03-15 19:22:11

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"Abuses and sexual abuses happen, and it shouldn't happen. And I will never approve it. Not to Israelis nor to Palestinians. And not in my name. The reports sometimes can get testimonies and sometimes cannot get testimonies. The issue is [whether] Israel is allowing proper collection of evidence...If a woman said she was raped, I believe her. The issue is that we don't see women coming out, we don't see that.* If it happened, not in my name. If it didn't happen, shame on the state for using women's bodies and sexuality to promote political agendas."
*This is incorrect, and in my opinion harmfully incorrect and hurtful to victims. (And surprising to hear from a self-identified feminist.) However, I assume Shalhoub-Kevorkian is referring to something like these stories: https://theintercept.com/2024/02/28/new-york-times-anat-schwartz-october-7/
https://theintercept.com/2024/03/04/nyt-october-7-sexual-violence-kibbutz-beeri/
5/13

2024-03-15 19:21:43

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This week, the situation escalated. Late last week, Prof. Shalhoub-Kevorkian appeared on a podcast called "Makadisi Street" (from what I can tell, basically just a pro-Palestinian podcast, but I haven't listened to an episode other than Shalhoub-Kevorkian's, so I don't know). In the 1.5 hour interview, she at one point said that we need to "abolish Zionism". She again repeated charges of genocide. She also said this about sexual violence during Hamas's attacks on Israel on October 7: 4/13

2024-03-15 19:21:21

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Prof. Shalhoub-Kevorkian received a public letter from the President and Rector at the end of October 2023 asking her to resign after she helped to draft and share a petition signed by over 100 academics requesting a ceasefire and the risk of genocide in Gaza. Shalhoub-Kevorkian has been a Professor at Hebrew University for 30 years, is a senior and well-known scholar, so they could not fire her without cause. Instead, President Asher Cohen and Rector Tamir Sheafer released a public letter which resulted in threats against her and her family. 3/13

2024-03-15 19:21:07

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Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian is an Israel/Palestinian Professor of Law and Criminology, who's work focuses on trauma, state crimes, their relation to gender, and in particular "unchilding", the way that oppressive states and institutions can remove access to a normal childhood for members of oppressed groups. 2/13

2024-03-15 19:20:45

Hello academics and people following the situation in Israel,
Today I'd like to tell you what happened at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem this week, and what the future may hold. (Go to the last toot in this thread to see what you can do to support.)
The Hebrew University is considered the most prestigious (at least outside of STEM fields) institution of higher education in the country of Israel. The student body is roughly 15-20% Palestinian, with the vast majority of the rest being Jewish Israelis, except a small percentage of internationals. 1/13

2024-03-14 22:08:31

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@npub1hqz…lu7z
Yeah, that's definitely possible. I just would have expected it to be phrased something more like 'alas, were Reason not impotent, but without Passions it is, Reason is the slave of the passions'
But maybe I am reading too much into what is just a rhetorical flourish.

2024-03-14 09:37:23

Everyone in ethics and metaethics knows this quote from Hume:
“Reason Is and Ought Only to Be the Slave of the Passions”
It's always given as a statement of a Humean theory of motivation - beliefs alone can't motivate, only once coupled with desires.
But do Hume scholars (or ethicists) ever give an explanation of the "ought only to be" part of the quote? It is very curious and seemingly incompatible with the Humean theory of motivation: Why make an ought claim about an action-type which literally can't be violated?
#philosophy #academicchatter #ethics #metaethics

2024-03-14 09:33:57

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@npub1t2g…u33q oh wow! I hadn't seen this, it feels like something Daily Nous would/should cover. (I also haven't read the papers mentioned.)

2024-03-13 13:38:38

I'm ashamed that I follow Israeli politics and I didn't know about the existence of this caucus! So I hereby am starting the Caucus to Strengthen the Awareness of the Caucus to Strengthen the Awareness of Israeli Victory.
https://fediphilosophy.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/088/639/778/251/624/original/3c3e18d14fdabc4e.png

2024-03-07 14:54:24

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@npub1w93…zjev hahaha, thanks!

2024-03-07 12:42:57

Metaethicists and philosophers generally, did we ever come to an agreement about the most plausible reformulation of Moore's Open Question Argument in light of externalist metasemantics?
It's one of those arguments that everyone hates but still it gets cited as telling us *something* important. What is the important thing it tells us?
#philosophy #ethics #metaethics

2024-03-05 16:35:27

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@npub1tq4…dklr @npub1tvf…78gz Great point!

2024-03-04 15:46:50

As much as I am relieved that much attention has been brought to Israel's siege on Gaza (and Russia's invasion of Ukraine), I am saddened that the deaths of so many other innocent people in war, conflict, and ethnic cleansing, do not make the top of the fold of the newspaper.
The Civil War in Myanmar continues, with the humanitarian situation spiraling out of control, 180,000 people have already died since the war broke out a few years ago: https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2024/03/myanmar-human-rights-situation-has-morphed-never-ending-nightmare
Sudan may also be headed toward a partially man-made famine (just as in Gaza), due to the Civil War there: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/24/world/africa/sudan-civil-war-atrocities-un.html
170 people, including women and children, were reported executed by Islamist militias in Burkina Faso: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/04/africa/dozens-executed-three-burkina-faso-villages-intl/index.html
Back as an undergrad, I remember taking a communications class where the slogan of the teacher was always 'The media can't tell you what to think, but it can tell you what to think *about*'. (Of course now I'd add: What you more frequently think about changes what you think.)
It's a good lesson to keep in mind when directing our political energies.
[Of course followers of this account will know that I am very concerned about what is going on in Gaza! This isn't intended as 'whataboutism'.]

2024-03-02 10:41:38

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The Biden administration, which seems to be doing all it can to screw this up but look alright doing it, blocked a UN security council resolution condemning the killings, while calling it "tragic and alarming". https://www.jta.org/2024/03/01/israel/us-blocks-un-security-council-resolution-over-dozens-of-deaths-during-humanitarian-aid-delivery
They've also announced that they will deliver airdrops of aid in Gaza, along with other countries such as Egypt. As Oxfam has pointed out, airdrops are a completely ineffective way of delivering aid, and is nothing more than a political stunt aimed to pay lip service to a voter base who is outraged at what Biden has stood by and watched Israel do in response to the horrible attacks of October 7th.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68453627
I hope liberal and leftist Americans realize that, vote for Biden as they may do in November, now is the time when political action is urgent.
2/2

2024-03-02 10:32:03

(This is a bit long but I didn't make it into a thread; hope that's ok!)
I don't think we will ever know the full extent of what happened before and during the Flour Massacre. Famine is hell, war is hell, and the people with the best evidence about the extent of the events (the IDF) are not trustworthy.
But we do have very good reason to believe that the official Israel Defense Forces line is a lie, even after their story changing.
Several journalists on site have reported that IDF soldiers fired directly on civilians seeking aid - civilians, mind you, who are extremely hungry and at risk of famine already.
This much, after some initial denials, was confirmed by the IDF, justified by the fact that the civilians were approaching the aid convoys in a threatening way.
I have seen it reported that between 80-95% of the injuries that have resulted in hospitalization were from bullet wounds (according to the UN and to a nurse, respectively). Keep in mind that this doesn't include those who died on site. The IDF has said that the bulk of the injuries were a result of a stampede caused by IDF 'warning shots'. Multiple independent sources (linked below) have shown that this isn't true.
The firing on civilians was not a one-off, according to the NY Times - instead, it happened again and again from between 3am-4am until 7am, on several occasions when Palestinians approached aid trucks.
Some, so desperate for something to eat, continued to move toward the aid trucks even while being fired on.
The IDF also initially claimed that the firing on the crowd was done by Palestinian militants, which a NY Times investigation has also shown likely to be false, since the direction of the gunfire matches the position of Israeli soldiers and tanks.
Was this, as many claim, an intentional and premeditated war crime, aimed to further reduce the population of the Gaza Strip? Or was it a result of scared 18-19 year old IDF soldiers, told over and over again that every Palestinian man and teenager is a potential threat, and that in the event of mistakes the institutional actors in charge will be sure to protect them such that accountability is not a concern?
Does it matter?
1/2

2024-03-02 10:06:22

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@npub145u…qe4x @npub1d7j…u8xc
Also worth noting that airdrops are not considered an effective form of aid anyway:
"Oxfam does not support US airdrops to Gaza, which would mostly serve to relieve the guilty consciences of senior US officials whose policies are contributing to the ongoing atrocities and risk of famine in Gaza," the charity group said on Friday.
"While Palestinians in Gaza have been pushed to the absolute brink, dropping a paltry, symbolic amount of aid into Gaza with no plan for its safe distribution would not help and be deeply degrading to Palestinians," Oxfam said, adding that the US should instead work to "cut the flow of weapons to Israel".
(from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68453627)

2024-03-01 11:34:20

Don't tell anyone, but this is how I feel when I try to read the Methods section of a psychology paper
https://fediphilosophy.org/system/media_attachments/files/112/020/199/111/579/090/original/9166c0b3f22075b0.png

2024-02-27 14:57:43

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@npub1zva…e2q5
The Russians who participated in creating "whites only" clubs should obviously be expelled. But it is interesting that you are celebrating the collective punishment of 288,000 people - which will likely lead to the conscription and death of many - for the actions of a handful of them.

2024-02-27 12:25:53

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@npub1uyf…f5pw Source for the Black Panther Party's influence on governmental aid programs: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00045600802683767

2024-02-27 12:24:45

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@npub1uyf…f5pw
These are good thoughts to have. In fact I have heard the same criticism about the 'NGO-Industrial Complex'.
I think we need to think about things on a case by case basis, probably. Sometimes stepping in to help actually puts pressure on the institutions themselves - for example, the Black Panther Party's Free Breakfast for Children program pressured the government to introduce aid programs of their own as counter-propaganda.
On the other hand, you are right that when our communities, or our conception of our communities, encompasses people already in a position to support themselves, it can result in greater inequality.
I suppose this is a big reason why I wish there was less class and race segregation, but given that there is not, you are spot on that this could be a real problem with certain kinds of community-driven programs.

2024-02-27 08:23:09

I'm not an anarchist (even if I'm somewhat sympathetic), but I gotta tell you, one of the most profound lessons I learned in my life was from offline anarchists:
If you see a problem in your community, or an opportunity to make things better, just get a few passionate friends together and do it, don't wait for some institution to come knocking and asking for your help.
Very cheesy, perhaps, but it really changed my approach to some things in life, including many things in my academic life. Thanks, you idealistic anarchists!

2024-02-25 21:15:49

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I'll go first -
In philosophy of mind, I think attention and salience will keep growing and be pretty huge in 5 years (but maybe that's completely biased by what I am interested in at the moment!).
In metaethics, I really have no idea, I feel like we are ready for some exciting new debate to open up, but I really am not sure what it might be. Maybe use of conceptual engineering in metaethics?

2024-02-25 21:13:27

Random question for philosophers:
What is your subfield, and what do you predict will the the 'hot topic' in that subfield in 5 years?
#philosophy #academia #philosophers #academics

2024-02-22 11:18:51

I'm not a lawyer, and I also realize Trump did this too (and worse), but wouldn't this constitute a violation of international asylum law (The UN Declaration of Human Rights Article 14)?
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/21/politics/biden-considering-executive-action-to-close-southern-border-sources-say/index.html

2024-02-18 12:01:03

I don't know anything about coding or data scraping, please explain to me like I am 5.
Would it be possible to somehow relatively reliably scrape acknowledgments data from a large data set of papers to see which academics are acknowledged/thanked the most, the least, and what kinds of scholarly circles/networks exist?
#philosophy #academicchatter #academia

2024-02-16 23:03:14

We should try to pay attention to voices in conflict zones about what is happening there and about the broader context we don't read about on the news.
Recently I've seen a lot more Palestinian voices than in the past, and that's awesome.
But does anyone know of any Yemeni writers or journalists documenting what it's like to be there now? Would love to find some folks on the ground there (who aren't Houthi propagandists).

2024-02-12 08:47:38

@npub1hth…mksu
Hey, one of them is poa.st
I forgot the other one though, sorry!

2024-02-11 12:38:25

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@npub19dp…kv2q
I guess its a question about whether Haley would switch if requested by the DNC. But anyway, that's fair enough, I just tried to think of a popular generic non-Trumper. Was just an example.
As for the DNC's plan, you may very well be right! The problem is that I increasingly think Biden will lose the election...