APA- Voting now open: Eastern Division officers, board member at large, and bylaws amendments.

Dear DAVID, Today begins the four-week voting period to elect several new Eastern Division officers and a new member at large of the APA board of officers, and also consider four amendments to the association bylaws. Eastern Division Elections This year, the Eastern Division will elect a vice president, a member at large of the executive committee, and two members of the nominating committee. Before voting, learn more about the candidates by reading their candidate bios. Member at Large of the APA Board of Officers Following an open nomination process and deliberations by the nominating committee, three candidates now stand for election for the position of member at large of the APA’s board of officers. The person elected will serve a three-year term beginning July 1, 2019. The three candidates for election were given the opportunity to submit candidate statements, photos, and other ballot information. Members are encouraged to review the candidate information prior to voting. Bylaws Amendments At its meeting in November 2018, the APA board proposed four amendments to the association bylaws regarding 1) striking reference to membership list; 2) revising qualifications for regular membership; 3) voting by associate members; and 4) changing to a rolling membership. To be adopted, an amendment must be approved by a majority of those voting in each of the divisions. Members are encouraged to review the proposed bylaws amendments prior to voting. Only full (regular and emeritus) members of the association affiliated with one of the three divisions are eligible to vote, and you must be signed in to the APA website to access the ballot link. Voting will remain open for four weeks, closing on May 31. Once submitted, your votes are final. You will not be able to return to your ballot and change your votes, so please consider your choices carefully before submitting. Go to the online ballot. Thank you for taking the time to vote! All the best, Amy E. Ferrer Executive Director

The American Philosophical Association University of Delaware 31 Amstel Avenue, Newark, DE 19716 Click here to change your subscription settings. To unsubscribe, click here.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO SAY THANK YOU. NANCY PELOSI, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE.

David, even with the daily chaos that defines the Trump Administration, it’s important not to lose sight of the good things happening around us.

It’s even more important to say, thank you. Because of your dedication, we reached our April fundraising goal, ensuring we can continue to fight for the American people in the halls of Congress and protect and expand our Majority on the campaign trail.

I can’t thank you enough for your help this month. Your grassroots efforts truly are important.

This past month marked 100 days in the Majority. We made a promise to fight #ForThePeople -- and I’m proud to say we’ve lived up to it.

We’ve taken real steps to protect Americans’ health care from Trump’s attempts to take it away and made progress on protecting communities from gun violence. We ended the Trump Shutdown and ensured that his border wall remains a fantasy.

We focused on lowering prescription drug costs, increasing paychecks and taking steps to clean up government with strong ethics reform that would go a long way to ending the culture of corruption in Washington.

Great things are head, and we’re just getting started. I’m excited to keep fighting these next 18 months with you.

Thanks again,

Nancy

APA- Call for Nominations: 2019 Prize for Excellence in Philosophy Teaching.

Dear DAVID, We are pleased to open the call for nominations for the 2019 Prize for Excellence in Philosophy Teaching. This annual prize recognizes a philosophy teacher who has had a profound impact on the student learning of philosophy in undergraduate and/or pre-college settings. The winner will be awarded $1,000 and a plaque. Eligibility is open to any APA member. The prize is sponsored by the American Philosophical Association (APA), the American Association of Philosophy Teachers (AAPT), and the Teaching Philosophy Association (TPA). Nomination letters should be no more than 2,000 words and should address the selection criteria detailed below. Only APA members may submit nominations; self-nominations are welcome. Criteria to Include in the Nomination Letter Excellence in undergraduate and/or pre-college philosophy teaching, established, in part, by the nominee’s attention to student learning Creative and effective use of high-quality pedagogies Broader impact on the quality of philosophy education through service and/or research The nomination deadline is August 1, 2019. To submit a nomination, fill out the nomination form. After reviewing the nomination letters, the APA committee on the teaching of philosophy will invite selected finalists to submit detailed information. We look forward to receiving your nominations for the 2019 Prize for Excellence in Philosophy Teaching. David Concepción Chair, APA Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy

eSKEPTIC: How Science Will Explain & Fix Fake News. by David Cowan

Fake news, crafted to exploit us, wreaks havoc on our health, finances and politics. VeriSign founder David Cowan avers that science is the key to combatting the spread of disinformation.

How Science Will Explain & Fix Fake News

by David Cowan

The instant, global spread of information through the Internet clearly benefits us as individuals and as a civilization. But the Internet can also be wielded to spread disinformation, a formidable downside of the technology that we’ve recently labeled “fake news.” Simple web publishing tools enable anyone to fabricate stories that appear identical to legitimate journalism, which prompts social media users—both human and robotic—to share them as easily as real news. Fake news, crafted to exploit us, wreaks havoc on our health, finances and politics.

Reality constrains the quantity of real news stories, but our boundless imaginations unleash a torrent of fake stories that now overwhelm our news feeds. Not only does fake news deceive us, it undermines our trust in legitimate news sources. This is the real catastrophe and, many believe, the objective of Russia’s fake news campaign leading up to the 2016 U.S. elections. Fake news threatens the institution of democracy itself, because an uninformed public cannot make sound governance decisions.

Fake news, crafted to exploit us, wreaks havoc on our health, finances and politics.

Many groups have tried to stem fake news through various fact-checking initiatives that have all failed, because they fundamentally misunderstand the problem. Some employ human editors, who cannot possibly keep up in any useful timeframe. More scalable schemes crowd-source the work, as though the public could possibly know what is happening elsewhere in the world. Others employ machine learning, as though reality follows some recognizable pattern. Others use automated reference-checking to verify facts elsewhere online, defying the very definition of “news.” Some internet media platforms necessarily publish “both sides of the story” side by side, serving up contradictory facts that guarantee misinformation and confusion. Some find the problem so intractable that their only remedy is to “educate the public” that news sources simply cannot be trusted, and that truth is a matter of opinion always “worthy of respect.” […]

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