The Philosophers' Cocoon

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  • When to pull a book manuscript from an unresponsive publisher?

    In our most recent "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

    When should one pull a book project from an unresponsive press? My editor at a major press has screwed up at almost every step of the process. For example, she failed to deanonymize peer review comments, which has hurt one of my professional relationships. After passing peer review in September, I have still not received a contract. Now she hasn't responded to my emails for months, since January (she is certainly still at the press). I asked to switch editors with no luck. I feel like I'm falling into the gambler fallacy at this point.

    I'm really sorry to hear that the OP is dealing with this, as I know just how much work a book is and how invested in it one can be–and it seems unprofessional for an editor not to respond for so long. But if the editor hasn't been responding for months on end, I'm apt to think that the thing to do is to inform them that if you don't hear from them by some date X, you plan to move on.

    What do readers think?

    4

  • AI Won’t Replace You – But Academics Who Use AI Will?

    In our most recent "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

    What do we make of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I3KQjHfZjY

    The creator does not direct their concerns towards Academic Philosophy (or any other part of the Humanities), but as someone pursuing their postgraduate/doctorate/postdoc, how seriously should one take the rather strongly made suggestions in the video?

    I haven't watched the entire video yet, but basically the guy's angle seems to be that academics who use AI to do research (write rough drafts, etc.) and other tasks (teaching prep?)–and academic institutions that let and/or encourage them to do it–are likely to benefit and outcompete those that don't. Importantly, though, his catchphrase seems to be: "We're not losing skills, we're shifting the skill focus because now certain things are just done for us."

    While I suspect he may be right that the tech may receive rapid uptake for "competitive advantage" reasons, I don't think that is likely to benefit people on balance. For, my understanding is that emerging research suggests the above catchphrase is just false: generative AI does a terrible job doing things like summarizing research, and moreover, using it does atrophy skills.

    This is why I basically don't use it. I tried using it a couple of times to see how well it could help me do background research–instead of manually searching through Google, Google Scholar, PhilPapers, etc.–and guess what? It was basically useless: I spent more time trying to figure out whether the information and sources it was giving me were accurate than I would have spend just searching for stuff the old-fashioned way. And yes, I also don't want to lose my own ability to think, write, and have an authorial voice of my own. I haven't even bothered to try to use it for anything teaching-related, as that just seems to me like a cheat. 

    But these are just my thoughts. What are yours?

    33

  • Grappling with an abuser in the profession?

    In our most recent "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

    Does anyone have any advice re: interacting with someone in the profession who's treated you very badly? E.g., sexual harassment, verbal abuse, etc.

    Particularly in the context of, this person is going to keep being in the profession, adjacent to your area, will keep being invited to contribute to things/speak at conferences, and so forth. The question is not so much how to interact with that person specifically (avoidance whenever possible seems ideal), but how to emotionally/mentally handle the positive comments of others and generally having to continue to share professional space with them (unlike in a non-academic field where you could presumably change jobs or companies).

    I'm so sorry to hear that the OP has been treated these ways and faces this situation. It seems like the OP doesn't see themselves as well-placed or able to intervene to address this person's behavior, though it's distressing to hear that the latter has evidently simply been able to continue on without apparent consequence.

    Do any readers have any helpful advice to share?

    3

  • How faculty distribute their time?

    In our most recent "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

    I'm interested in how faculty distribute their time across different research activities (reading, drafting, writing, and revising) during three periods: the teaching term, academic breaks, and sabbatical.

    As a grad student without service responsibilities and limited teaching responsibilities, I'm trying to understand how research productivity is managed alongside other obligations.

    This is a good query, and I'm curious to hear from others. Here how I'd estimate my breakdown:

    • Teaching terms –> Teaching = 60-70%, Service = 20-30%, Research = 10%
    • Summer & winter breaks –> Research = 95%, service 5% (and vacation)
    • Sabbatical –> Research = 95-99%, Miscellaneous = 1-5%

    What about other readers?

    10