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Reposted by Nathan Ballantyne

Justin Weinberg @dailynous.com · 25/08/2026

A wonderful interview of Paul Gooch by Nathan Ballantyne. Gooch says: "the teacher must be open to interrogation as well as the student. I want the conversation to be interrogative in both directions, between teacher and student." What do you do to help foster that?

dailynous.com

“Proper education arouses intellectual curiosity” - Daily Nous

Nathan Ballantyne (ASU) continues his wonderful series of thoughtful, in-depth interviews of philosophers, The Workbench, with a conversation with Paul Gooch (Toronto). . The conversation is wide-rang...

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

This discussion started more than three years ago. Others are on the way to completion: John Koethe, Kate Norlock, and Peter van Inwagen. For updates, please subscribe to the email list.

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Here’s a new conversation at The Workbench, a series of interviews with philosophers about the craft of academic writing. Paul Gooch was one of my undergrad teachers and, years later, I’m still learning from him. www.the-workbench.ca/interviews/p...

the-workbench.ca

Paul Gooch’s Workbench: Scratching Itches, Giving Over, & Getting There - The Workbench

Canada is an experiment that has worked out well for some but certainly not for all. Paul Gooch is a philosopher committed to trying to improve that experiment.

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Reposted by Nathan Ballantyne

Louis Doulas @louisdoulas.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Short on time but burning to know why Moore seems oblivious to the question-begging nature of his 'proof' of an external world? Well, look no further. Complete with a high-res image of archival material I went through way too much trouble to get. newworkinphilosophy.substack.com/p/louis-doul...

newworkinphilosophy.substack.com

Louis Doulas (McGill University), “Moore’s Fourth Condition”

Journal of the History of Philosophy (2026)

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Reposted by Nathan Ballantyne

Justin Caouette, Ph.D. @justincaouette.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

It is with great professional satisfaction that I accept a tenure-track faculty position in philosophy at Providence College, starting August 2026! I’ve been imagining this moment for over a decade. 🥺 1/5 #philsky #philosophy

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Reposted by Nathan Ballantyne

Andrew M. Bailey @resistance.money · 25/08/2025

A remarkable interview with a remarkable person And by one too. Nathan Ballantyne spends months on these things, getting the questions right and teasing things out of his subjects that no one else has ever managed to do. Read this one, and then read them all. www.the-workbench.ca/interviews/p...

the-workbench.ca

Penelope Maddy’s Workbench - The Workbench

A writer’s world is often invisible from the outside unless they let you in. Sometimes when a sentence, paragraph, or essay strikes you as forceful or elegant, you might try to reverse engineer the au...

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Reposted by Nathan Ballantyne

Justin Weinberg @dailynous.com · 25/08/2025

"In philosophy especially, I figure the reader is nearly always gasping for breath, in danger of being swept out to sea, so the writer should do everything in their power to help..." Penelope Maddy is interviewed by Nathan Ballantyne - @nathanballantyne.bsky.social - at The Workbench

dailynous.com

“Pity the Poor Reader” - Daily Nous

"Pity the poor reader" is one of philosopher Penelope Maddy's writing maxims. Maddy is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Irvine, and is interviewed about her writing by...

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

I interviewed philosopher Penelope Maddy about her writing craft. We talked about her past experience in Hollywood screenwriting, her advice to students, baseball, and more. Check it out! www.the-workbench.ca/interviews/p...

the-workbench.ca

Penelope Maddy’s Workbench - The Workbench

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Here’s the best poem ever written about John Rawls.

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

There’s a forthcoming collection on Pascal, edited by Roger Ariew and Yuval Avnur.

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

How could you not get to First Philosophy? I really enjoyed your recent episode on *The Cheese and the Worms*, by the way.

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Reposted by Nathan Ballantyne

Eric Brown @sophisteuein.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

Academics, who like to laugh about the students’ clichéd preamble “For thousands of years, people have wondered about…,” also like to begin “No one has yet provided a thorough study of…”

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

Everybody chill out and take an epistemology pill

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Reposted by Nathan Ballantyne

David Dunning @daviddunning6.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

We are all our own classic New Yorker cover cartoon... (psst, those younger can google Saul Steinberg, 9th avenue, New Yorker)

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

Theateritis: “the tendency of military commanders to look only at the needs of their own theater of operation, and not at the requirements of fighting the war as a whole.”

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

An excellent essay about misconduct in Alzheimer’s research. “Hubris and lassitude about misconduct — shared by other funders and regulators, journals and universities — has to change. Alzheimer’s research must start self-policing effectively.” www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | The Long Shadow of Fraud in Alzheimer’s Research (Gift Article)

Fraud in research needs to end.

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Reposted by Nathan Ballantyne

Louis Doulas @louisdoulas.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

Moore’s proof strikes almost everyone as circular. Yet, Moore appears curiously indifferent to this worry—what gives? My paper, “Moore’s Fourth Condition,” forthcoming in the Journal of the History of Philosophy, draws on unpublished archival evidence to provide some answers. tinyurl.com/2c48txr9

louisdoulas.info

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

“Philosophy is the conflict between the obvious and the obvious.” – Renford Bambrough (1926–99)

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

That’s not surprising to hear. Do you think some of the social/political epistemology is relatively “traditional” at its core but has been packaged for PR purposes? (E.g., a discussion of internalism/externalism might be framed with examples drawn from political life.)

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

I once owned a copy of the real fake book. Seriously. halleonard-coverimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wl/00240221-...

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

Good example! There are lots of “Moorean”-esque contrasts drawn in the history of skepticism. I recall that Augustine, in Contra Academicos, is talking about how skeptics think reasoning or perception is obscure, but then points out that it’s clear we are not insects!

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Reposted by Nathan Ballantyne

Harvey Lederman @harveylederman.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

What is a question in philosophy where, the more you read and think, the deeper it seems?

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

I second Plantinga’s view about the difficulty of epistemology. @resistance.money might have posted a PDF of the chapter itself.

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

Alvin Plantinga wrote in a reply chapter in a book of critical essays about his epistemology: “It has also convinced me (once more) of the extreme difficulty of epistemology; with further insight, not only the answers but the very shape of the questions keep changing.” (“Respondeo,” 1996)

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Reposted by Nathan Ballantyne

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

“In philosophy if you aren't moving at a snail's pace you aren't moving at all.” Iris Murdoch.

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

You’re near Joshua Tree. If you haven’t experienced that place, I recommend driving through. Send me a message if you want suggestions for a route. For a good Mexican spot in a strip mall, try Taqueria Teotihuacan in La Quinta.

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

Are you in Palm Springs? I think I know that mountain range…

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Yes. Cartwright had another letter in his grad app that would be regarded today as rather unfortunate.

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Philosophy, according to Irwin Edman (1896–1954), a professor at Columbia University, is “a peculiarly serious and comprehensive kind of poetry.”

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Richard Cartwright, a well-regarded philosopher who spent most of his career at MIT, got into graduate school with this recommendation letter as a part of his application.

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

A photo of the young James Ross, included with his application.

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Nathan Ballantyne @nathanballantyne.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

An audacious grad school application cover letter from James Ross, who taught at UPenn until his death in 2010. “The application asks what my future plens and ambitions may be. In a word they are this: to become the finest and most influential professor of philosophy in the country.”

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The Research Center for Group Dynamics @rcgd-isr.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Why do people interpret numbers to favor their political preferences? Do numeracy skills affect this bias? @clintmckenna.bsky.social and @daviddunning6.bsky.social examine psychological mechanisms underlying biased interpretation of scientific data. #PsychSky psycnet.apa.org/record/2025-...

psycnet.apa.org

APA PsycNet

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