Brian Leiter's Blog, page 6

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Tony Joe White, "Scratch My Back," 1968

Another delightful number from the king of swamp blues rock (last time): Once again, feel free to post links to other Tony Joe White numbers (or covers of his numbers).

The University of Chicago Humanities division (and Professor Ando's screed)

Various readers have sent me this strange, conspiratorial piece by UChicago classicist Clifford Ando, whom I've met once, I believe, but I don't really know him and have not discussed these issues with him. I do, however, know something about...

Interfolio tip for recommenders

If, like me, you are getting Interfolio requests from students on the job market, you may be aware that Interfoliio is having some technical issue, where the "upload" link doesn't work. In some cases, I asked the student to resent...

Video interviews with philosopher Michael Devitt

Conducted by a graduate student at the Jagellonian University in Krakow, the first one, which is quite entertaining, covers his educational background and philosophical development. Others cover his philosophical work: realism and naturalism, biological essentialism, reference and meaning. There are...

Ralph Nader's apt observations on Trump

Here. This paragraph should really be posted in every media newsroom in the world: Always bear in mind the self-defined characteristics of corporatist Trump���s feverish, hateful, outlaw mind: (1) He has declared he ���can do whatever he wants as President,���...

Federal judge finds National Science Foundation failed to comply with an order to restore grants to UCLA that were illegally terminated

Unless the judge starts putting lawyers or NSF officials in jail, this defiance will continue. But this is also why universities are trying to cut "deals" with Trump: they can see that the power of the courts against an authoritarian...

"Four scenarios for American coercion" of Canada

There are real risks for Canada, and rest assured that the Trumpistas are aware of these tools. (And don't forget the 1930 "War Plan Red" for the invasion of Canada as part of war with Britain.) While Trump hasn't blathered...

"From a Realist Point of View" has been delivered to the press and should appear in Spring 2026...

...in the "Oxford Legal Philosophy" series. Here's the official OUP blurb: From A Realist Point of View combines new essays with revised versions of the most important recent work of preeminent legal realist Brian Leiter. This collection offers a systematic...

On Brown's "agreement" with the Trumpistas

Brown political theorist Alex Gourevitch makes a couple of very good points that other schools (looking at you, Harvard!) should attend to: These agreements do at least three things that change the legal environment for the universities. First, Brown agrees...

Das from Toronto to Cornell

Nilanjan Das (Sanskrit philosophy, epistemology), Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto, has accepted a senior offer from the Department of Philosophy at Cornell University, where he will start in January 2026. This will put Cornell on the...