philosophy news stories on Newser

The 13 Most Worthless Majors

Matt Cantor — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:57:22 CDT

Hey, college students: If your life plans include getting an actual job, you may want to avoid the stars of the Daily Beast 's "most useless" majors list. Majors are ranked in terms of employment, taking into account unemployment rates among recent and experienced grads, earnings, and likely job growth...

Hey, Guys: Women Are Better People Than You

Matt Cantor — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 11:26:58 CDT

Women are the more moral sex, making choices in light of others' needs, a study suggests. Men, on the other hand, tend to focus on themselves, the Telegraph reports. The female approach "tends to produce better decisions," says the philosopher who conducted the study. But both sexes become more moral...

College Professor: Swearing Cost Me My Job

John Johnson — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:49:27 CST

A small fight over academic freedom and blue language in Hawaii: A college philosophy professor who used phrases like "shit happens" for discussion in class has resigned after a student complained to her father, who in turn complained to school administrators at Hawaii Community College, who then urged the professor...

Secret Musical Message Found in Plato

Jane Yager — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 04:50:00 CDT

Plato embedded in his writings secret messages that would have earned him execution for heresy, says a scholar who claims to have found a hidden code in the original scroll form of the ancient Greek philosopher's writings. Exactly once every 12 lines Plato refers to music—a message, says scholar...

Woman Gets PhD in Texting

Nick McMaster — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:57:10 CDT

A British graduate student has earned a PhD in texting—an academic first, Discover magazine reports. Caroline Tagg’s doctorate, more specifically, is in the philosophy of texting communication. Tagg studied 11,000 texts from 235 people over four years. Among the findings: The average text is 17.5 words, texters...

'Giant Leap' Was a 'Knee in NASA's Groin'

Matt Cantor — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 11:00:00 CDT

The US took a “giant leap” landing on the moon in 1969, but NASA's greatest moment of triumph was also "a real knee in the groin" for the space agency, writes Tom Wolfe in the New York Times. At the time, we thought we’d build “a bridge to the stars,...

ALS Patient Chronicled Her Struggle, Chose Her Death

Matt Cantor — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:32:34 CDT

When writer Catherine Royce became an ALS patient, she shared with NPR her passionate belief that she should be able to meet her decline and eventual death on her own terms. "Every day, I choose not only how I will live, but if I will live," she said 2 1/2...

How Bush Fueled the Mortgage Mess

Matt Cantor — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 06:52:19 CST

A range of factors led to the housing crisis that dragged the economy into the toilet—but President Bush’s philosophy likely played a key role in the collapse, reports the New York Times . Dozens of interviews point to both Bush’s drive to expand homeownership and his steadfast belief in minimal...

Crisis-Stricken Germans Turn to Marx

Jason Farago — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:56:01 CDT

The financial crisis has made interventionists out of the most laissez-faire politicians, but in Germany the affection for state control seems to have attained new heights. The Guardian reports that sales of the works of Karl Marx have skyrocketed, with purchases of Das Kapital reportedly up 300%. As Europe's largest...