The Watermarks

A useful advert on facebook directed me to this Texan band, The Watermarks. You can download free songs here. Eelctro-pop-rock I'm quite liking it...

Job Advert

It seems that many people are getting increasingly desperate on the job market, but today I found that some universities are almost equally desperate - the following job advert came via Philos-L:

Philosophers needed University of Ghana, Legon

All levels of experience are welcome.  PhD required.
Predominantly undergraduate teaching.  African philosophy,
 logic, mind, epistemology, metaphysics, theoretical/
applied ethics, philosophy of science, social and political,
hermeneutics. Address all further queries to: Head of
Department Prof. Lauer.
Initially your application should include a CV. Then if
the department establishment is interested consensually
I will send you application forms.  At that stage we will
ask for two letters of reference, which can be emailed.
On request an overview of the department will be attached
by email.  Without access to email please send your
inquiry and CV by airmail express if not courier to
Prof. Helen Lauer, Head of Department Philosophy, PO Box
LG 211, University of Ghana, Legon GHANA (West Africa).
Starting dates August 1, 2009 or more likely now January 1, 2010.

Orangutans

Yesterday I learned, from Chris, that Rousseau wrote remarkable descriptions of orangutan 'society' (for want of a better word) given that he'd never actually seen one. Unfortunately, I don't know what exactly he had to say, although apparently Wokler wrote on this. Anyway, I doubt that even he would have predicted that orangutans cannibalize their young!

Chichele Negotiations Ongoing

It seems, according to Leiter, that negotiations between Oxford University and Jeremy Waldron are still ongoing. I haven't heard any official (or even unofficial) word around here...

Ideal and More Ideal Theory

Michael Rosen puts his finger on the key difference between political philosophers these days:
[P]olitical philosophers (political theorists within philosophy departments?) at present seem to be divided between Kantians who think that it is illuminating to explore the normative issues of politics in terms of something they call "ideal theory" and those (Platonists?) who think that even the Kantians are too empirical.

Web Searches

One good point about my academic website is the ability to see the keywords people use to stumble across it via search engines. Often they're relatively uninteresting, e.g. 'Ben Saunders Oxford' and sometimes they're clearly searching for someone else (e.g. one of my contacts). Last week though there were, interestingly, several hits for 'Ben Saunders Law Ethics' (presumably related to a job application) and this morning I was found by someone searching 'i need help to write my philosophy paper on derek parfit innumerate ethics'!