The following statement was prepared by the committee
on the status and future of the profession (Richard Schacht, chair) and
approved by the board of officers at its 1993 meeting. Originally published
in Proceedings and Addresses of the
American Philosophical Association, Vol.
67, no. 4, pp. 94-96.
Among the duties of members
of philosophy departments at all institutions, as in the cases of their
colleagues in most other disciplines, teaching is of paramount importance. At
many colleges and universities, philosophers are also expected to engage in the
various activities that have come to be subsumed under the general rubric of
"research"—significant philosophical inquiry and scholarship, and
related contributions to the literature of the discipline and the life of the
profession. These activities include the development and publication of
original work, editing, reviewing, refereeing, presenting papers, taking part
in conferences and programs, serving on professional boards and committees, and
performing other professional functions. Such expectations are often among the
criteria of hiring, retention, promotion, salary increases, and other
"merit"-related decisions on the part of departments and institutions.
The American Philosophical
Association (APA) welcomes the application of such expectations to
philosophers. Research and professional activity support must be commensurate
with what is expected of faculty along these lines, however, if such
expectations are to be meaningful and reasonable. Such support obviously must
be warranted by evidence of the likelihood that it will be well used; but this
evidence must be prospective as well as retrospective, in order to enable those
who have not already proven themselves to have the chance to do so.
The kinds of support for
research and professional activities needed by philosophers today are not
insubstantial and extend well beyond basic office supplies. Like their
colleagues in other disciplines, philosophers cannot be expected to carry on
such activities in the absence of a suitable research environment. This
includes a teaching load compatible with such expectations; an office in which
such activities can be pursued; mailing, long-distance phoning and faxing
privileges; and access to photocopying, personal computer, and printer
equipment. These should be regarded as standard conditions associated with
research expectations. Other appropriate and usual forms of support for such
activities include travel support (to take part in conferences and conduct
research); sabbatical leaves; permission to take leaves without pay when
fellowships or other such opportunities are garnered; the possibility of
obtaining teaching load reductions on other occasions for research-related
purposes; provision for research assistants when needed; and publication
subventions and assistance with manuscript preparation for publication when
necessary.
Philosophers for the most
part have few opportunities for obtaining research support from external
sources of funding. (Fellowship programs typically provide only stipends in
lieu of regular salaries.) In the absence of external funding opportunities
comparable to those available in many other disciplines, they are dependent upon
their own institutions for the provision of a research environment and forms of
support that will enable them to meet institutional expectations of research
and professional activity. The APA calls upon institutions to ensure that the
realization of these expectations is made possible in these crucial practical
ways, and is promoted and fostered as fully as circumstances permit.
At some institutions
philosophy departments are provided with pools of discretionary funds for these
purposes, while at others pools of such funds are established at higher levels,
to which members of their philosophy departments may apply. In either case, it
is imperative that the pools be commensurate with the size of the faculties and
with what is expected of them. (Where the latter practice is followed,
decisions upon philosophers' applications for funds should be informed by their
assessment by other philosophers qualified to consider their merit.) The APA
recognizes that funds for all academic purposes are limited and must be
allocated with care. In the case of our discipline, however, modest investments
in the provision of the kinds of support needed for research and professional
activity can yield significant results for philosophers and institutions alike.