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    Guest post from Mitchell Aboulafia: “A User’s Guide To Philosophy Without Rankings,” An Update and a Request

    Picture-298-1344308006Ten days ago a new site was launched, “A User’s Guide to Philosophy Without Rankings.”   The response to the site has been extremely rewarding.  Not only have there been thousands of visitors, people are using the Guide as I had hoped: they are visiting sites that are mentioned in the Guide to learn more about graduate programs, as well as the PGR.  A comment on Reddit’s philosophy page regarding the Guide sums up an important reason for the site:

    “Thank you so much.  I'm going to be applying next year and this is exactly what I'm looking for after I heard all of the controversy about the PGR.”

    I want to thank colleagues who have begun to send in resources to post on the site.  And I want to make a request: please send more!  Like the new philosophy wikis, the Guide is in part an aggregator of information.  The more information, the more helpful it can be.  Please do weigh in.  You can email me about the Guide at mitchell.aboulafia@manhattan.edu or leave a comment on the site.

    – Mitchell Aboulafia

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    2 responses to “Guest post from Mitchell Aboulafia: “A User’s Guide To Philosophy Without Rankings,” An Update and a Request”

    1. David Wallace Avatar
      David Wallace

      I think it would be helpful if you were more explicit on the PGR part of the site that you are aiming not to give a general overview of the controversy but to present one side of it. I think every single article you link to is critical of the PGR.
      I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you doing that! I don’t expect Brian Leiter to be linking to anti-PGR discussions any time soon either; there’s always a place for “the case for” or “the case against”. But the site comes across to casual readers as trying to do something more dispassionate than what I think it does do.

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    2. Mitchell Aboulafia Avatar
      Mitchell Aboulafia

      David, The name of the site is “A User’s Guide To Philosophy Without Rankings.” I had assumed that this would alert readers to the nature of the site from the get go. On the page dealing with the PGR that you specifically mention, I am explicit that readers can expect to find resources critical of the PGR. I say, for example, “On this site you will find links to articles and essays identifying the various problems with the PGR. It is an excellent example of why the APA does not endorse rankings in philosophy.” (The Guide begins by quoting the APA statement; it’s before the PGR section.)
      The dispassion you find may have to do with how I have tried to present the material. I am a passionate critic of the PGR, but I am not making any personal attacks. I try to calmly present material that challenges the legitimacy of the PGR. (In addition, I am not only critical, but offer readers sources of information about graduate programs, e.g., the new wikis.)
      I had toyed with the idea of presenting both sides, but I decided against it for this site because I believe that Leiter, especially through his blog, has had years and years to give supporters of the PGR a voice. And he is still doing so. (There is still a link on virtually every page of the PGR to the blog, and two on the PGR’s home page.) I thought it only fair that the opposing case be presented. This is certainly not a situation in which the other side doesn’t have a voice. As you say, “there’s always a place for ‘the case for’ or ‘the case against’.” “A User’s Guide,” in addition to its role as a resource for prospective students, is in effect the case against.
      It would be good if Leiter and his supporters were willing to debate the PGR’s merits in an open forum.

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