John Protevi's Blog

Professional issues poll: which of these Leiter tweets is the most lol-worthy instance of projection?

Preamble: this is a tit-for-tat post. Leiter overstepped his bounds in allowing anonymous metabro speculation about Leigh Johnson to appear on a thread devoted to "professional issues." (He's so desperate at losing his central position in the philosophy blogosphere that he's taken to lending his megaphone to the metabros. No links, but you can find the evidence if you want.) Now Johnson roundly boxed Leiter's ears on her blog and on Twitter, but I think a little supplemental mockery of Brian is in order here. Now ordinarily I ignore the guy (though he's obsessed with me, as when he went over to a Daily Nous thread to tweet out an attack on me, even though it was directed at someone else and even though he's blocked me on Twitter) but I do respond when he attacks SPEP just for malice, or when he plays the SPEP card to distract from lots of non-SPEP criticism of the PGR, so why not a response here? 

So without further ado, here's the professional issues poll. Vote for 1, 2, or 3 for most lol-worthy instance of projection on Leiter's part:

1) 

 2)

 3) 

 Bonus LOL. Leiter's blocked me on Twitter. Must be because I'm not a serious contributor to "professional issues" threads which megaphone the meta-bros. 

 

This does nothing to lower my estimation of Brian Leiter

Tweeting about someone he's blocked on Twitter and claiming that the description of someone else's thought was aimed at me: what would you expect from him? It does indicate his obsession with me. 

 

Playing the SPEP card

The Great Leiter, who once bestrode the philosophy blogosphere as a Colossus, now reduced to SPEP-bashing to deflect from his crumbling mainstream support. Some points: 

1. Many of the most trenchant critics of the PGR, such as Bharath Vallabha, Jessica Wilson, Brian Weatherson, Gregory Wheeler, David Velleman, Zachary Ernst, and Richard Heck have never been SPEP members. 

2. Unless I'm mistaken, neither are Jonathan Schaffer, David Chalmers, Susanna Siegel, Jason Stanley and the other 26 members of the PGR Advisory Board who asked Leiter to step down. 

3. So what we see here is a desperate attempt at wagon-circling: "When in trouble with my base, bash SPEP."

4. This is not to deny that I am a SPEP member or that I have previously called Leiter out on his puerile vendetta against SPEP, as here, where he flails about before taking refuge where many a sophomore has before him, in his Right To An Opinion (tm).

4. See also.

5. Here too. 

6. Okay, last one, for now.

It should go without saying

but I'll say it anyway: whatever criticisms I have of the PGR, I won't ever fail to acknowledge that Brian Leiter's work on the Salaita case is admirably clear, informed, and important. 

Today's post is no exception: 

Prof. Salaita was, in person, exactly as he seemed at his Urbana-Champaign press conference:  friendly, warm, and admirably composed and cheerful considering the terrible ordeal of persecution he has been through.  The real person is a powerful counterweight to the campaign of demonization to which he has been subjected.  It clearly helps that he has a strong sense of moral purpose....   

The summary dismissal of Professor Steven Salaita from a tenured faculty position at the University of Illinois is the single most brazen attack on freedom of speech in American universities in my lifetime.  It is, unfortunately, not the only such instance, but it demands all our attention because of the shocking and unapologetic contempt displayed by the University of Illinois for fundamental constitutional values.

See also, among other places: here, here, here, and here. 

The October Statement: No Rankings, Not Now, Not Ever

The September Statement contains a begged question [see Update 2 below]:

We are only declining to volunteer our services to the PGR while it is under the control of Brian Leiter. With a different leadership structure, the benefits of the guide might be achieved without detriment to our colleague. 

But are there any (net) benefits of a ranking system (even an improved one)?  Some think not: 

1) Jessica Wilson ("We need to grab the means of production, and stop looking to others to tell us who and what is of philosophical value.")

2) Mitchell Aboulafia ("Rank-and-Yank: What’s Next for the Philosophy Rankings Game?")

3) Ed Kazarian ("Maybe The Best Rankings Are No Rankings At All")

4) Me ("discussion > ratings > rankings")

Those who don't want rankings can affirm that by commenting below. I'll also allow links (just links please) to other arguments for and against rankings.

I don't want to debate rankings here, or discuss the behavior of the author of the PGR.

• If you want to do the former, you can visit Eric Schliesser's post for the case for rankings, or any of the above links for the case against them. 
• [UPDATE: lively discussion at New APPS: "Against ranking"]
• If you want to do the latter, I don't think you'll have any trouble finding places to do that.

[Update: I don't see any conflict between signing both the September and October Statements; several folks below have signed both. Please use your name in commenting though; I don't see the use of accepting pseudonymous "signatures".]

[Update 2: Over at FP, in comment 4, I accept magical ersatz's claim in comment 1 that I'm overstating the "begged question" claim by reading "benefits" in the "September Statement" as "net benefits"]

[Update 3: Sat 4 October, 11 am CDT: We now have 111 signatures.

Here are some other arguments against rankings, and in some cases, proposals for what should replace them:  

5) Rebecca Bamford ("There should be no more ranking, and more information gathering and sharing. We should have an honest, inclusive, discussion about ways forward")

6) Megahertz at xcphilosophy ("Merit vs Justice, or why we shouldn't rank philosophy programs")

7) Noelle McAfee ("A search engine for philosophy")

8) Robert Vallier ("Imagine if you will a giant database with a graphic-user interface [in which] every member of the profession would have a Profile with essential career information")

9) Anthony Beavers ("Noesis and the Encyclopedic Internet Vision")

Some of these idiots on twitter are without a sense of humor, alas

https://twitter.com/brianleiter/status/494091438389727234

 

 

Myspace Tshirt Generator

Posted without comment

The problem with people who become obsessed is they sometimes self-destruct.

— Brian Leiter (@BrianLeiter) July 9, 2014

No better way

There is indeed no better way for Brian Leiter to show he doesn't have self-esteem issues than to link to an anoymous blogger who is telling us what another anonymous person told him of an overheard conversation involving a third anonymous person, the point of which is that continental philosophers lack self-esteem. It also shows that Leiter doesn't engage in gossip.

#heycan'tyoutakeajoke?

#youspeptypesdon'thaveanysenseofhumor

#forgetitjakeit'stheblogosphere