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Duke :: Philosophy :: Faculty :: Robert N Brandon


	Professor

	Department Chair


Areas:	Philosophy of Science Philosophy of Biology Logic

Office:	209 West Duke Bldg
Phone:	+1·919·660·3067, +1 919-660-3050
Fax:	+1 919-660-3060
E-mail:	rbrandon@duke.edu

Robert N. Brandon (Ph.D. 1979, Harvard) joined the Duke Faculty in fall of 1979. He holds a joint appointment in Philosophy and Biology . He has published articles in Philosophy of Science, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Biology and Philosophy, PSA 1980 and PSA 1982, some of which have subsequently been anthologized. He has co-edited (with Richard Burian) Genes, Organisms, Populations: Controversies over the Units of Selection (Bradford Books, MIT Press, 1984), and his book, Adaptation and Environment was published by Princeton University Press in 1990. His most recent book Concepts and Methods in Evolutionary Biology (Cambridge) was published in 1996. During the spring of 1984 he had a visiting appointment at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh. Brandon is a member of Duke's Center for the Philosophy of Biology .

So how does he explain Algore?

Well.....Mr. Brandon....just how many of your "C" students became President of the United States???

(You ignorant blowhard).

He might be a Conservative to judge by his definition and by the looks of him.

Thank you for this. The picknose will be receiving a missive...

"If liberals were prevented from ever again calling Republicans dumb, they would be robbed of half their arguments"--Ann Coulter: "Slander" page 121

Right again, Annie!!

More than a few serial killers have had very high IQ's too.

If liberals are so smart, why don't they seek treatment for their mental illness and try to overcome being liberal?

Liberals are the functioning mentally ill.

Stupid people that manage to control most of the government in this country in the form of elected and appointed officials? Then what does that make the folks out of power?

The Latin word educare, means to grow or bring forth. Education involves open inquiry, patience, experimentation, honesty, and the ability to know you don't know.
The opposite of this process is indoctrination. Indoctrination is putting in - not drawing out. It is an imposing of information, not a search for truth, it empowers the teacher not the student.

- Bill Tara

Members of academia tend to be a bit smarter than average. There is a good reason for this too."

I wonder how many blacks are on the faculty of the Duke philosophy department, and if Mr. Brandon would care to make the same comments regarding their representation.

Okay, everybody, let's take it from the top. Repeat after me:

"Intellectuals" only exist if you believe they do.

Heh. Pertinent information went to my e-mail list.

The best and brightest are typically in high demand in the business world.

Of the faculty members and deans included in the survey, 128 are registered Democrats, 8 are registered Republicans and 28 are unaffiliated.

Maybe it's time to start a conservative university and not allow a single liberal RAT in any faculty position. Make sure the applications for professors and deans says:

DUMBOCRATS NEED NOT APPLY.

This is just another case of projection. People are naturally inclined to believe in the moral and intellectual inferiority of those with whom they disagree. It's part and parcel of the term ideology. The fact that this chump is ignorant of this basic fact shows that he is not qualified in his field.

And no amount of "studies" will solve this dilemma since IQ tests are already subjective. Throw politics into the mix and you have something that is an empirical nightmare.

Also, the definition of conservative used by Mill is a far cry from the one used in this country. In fact, it is the conservatives of today who are closest to the positions embraced by Mill. Again, Brandon ought to know this. If he does, then it proves that he's an idiot for saying something so contradictory; if he doesn't know, then he's unqualified.

Alas, the principles of Conservatism, such as smaller government, are looked down upon by those who depend on the government for their daily bread.

I have a better explanation: If you can't do, teach.

Thanks for his email address - I sent him my regards:

"First, being a professor of philosophy indicates that you are not capable of doing anything useful. Or as Jay Leno phrased it, ""Philosophy majors study questions like, 'Is the glass half empty or half full?' This helps prepare them for their jobs later in life, like being a waiter: 'Would you like that glass filled, Sir?' "

Second, your John Stuart Mill quote brings to mind another: "You must be an intellectual. Only an intellectual could say something so stupid." - George Orwell

Sincerely yours,

[my name]

P.S. Since Universities can afford to employ the likes of you, they obviously have no lack of funding."

INTREP - EDUCATION - LIBERALIZATION OF AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES

He should also know that JOHN STUART MILLS advocated FREE MARKETS when he said that, as opposed to a ROYALIST, CONTROLLED ECONOMY! The term "conservative," has changed 180 degrees.

In other words, Mr. Chairman of the Polictical Science department either is
A. So Gut-wrenchingly STUPID and IGNORANT that he has never understood a thing Mills stood for, or
B. Is purposely miseducating students.

In either case, he must be fired immediately.

Remember the old adage:

Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.