Ideas & Projects
Representing Bioethics: The Degrees of Bioethics
with Amanda Favia
This is the first in a series of bibliometric studies focusing on the literature of bioethics from 1970 to 2010. This poster places special emphasis on authors’ degree(s), revealing which educational backgrounds are most prominent in the literature, as well as patterns of scholarly communication between disciplines.
“Philosophy through the Macroscope: Technologies, Representations, and the History of the Profession”
Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy 1 (2012)
Macroscopes are tools for viewing what is too large, complex, or dynamic to perceive with the naked eye. This paper examines the use and history of macroscopy in philosophy to represent ideas, trends, and other aspects of the field. Particular emphasis is given to the growing Phylo project, which combines data, user collaboration, and visual analytics to advance the study of philosophy.
The Demography of Philosophy
Demographers study the structure, interactions, and shifting trends of human populations. To date, artificial and opt-in populations have received little attention. This work applies demographic methods to the field of philosophy to understand its past, current, and future directions.
Phylo
Phylo combines data sources, user feedback, and visual analytics to advance the study of the discipline of philosophy. Our work traces the flow of ideas across time by documenting the people, places, and institutions associated with philosophy. Phylo also provides data services to the field, including job listings and placement reports (coming soon), with more in development.
“Naturalized Metaphilosophy”
with David Morrow
Synthèse 182.2 (2011)
Traditional representations of philosophy have tended to prize the role of reason in the discipline. These accounts focus exclusively on ideas and arguments as animating forces in the field. But anecdotal evidence and more rigorous sociological studies suggest there is more going on in philosophy. In this article, we present two hypotheses about social factors in the field: that social factors influence the development of philosophy, and that position of status and reputation—and thus social influence—will tend to be awarded to philosophers who offer rationally compelling arguments for their views.
