James Stacey Taylor writes:
In brief, I argue that the increasing pressure on academics to publish has led to a decrease in the accuracy of academic work, and suggest ways to rectify this.
I begin Markets with Limits by outlining how Jason Brennan and Peter Jaworski (both of Georgetown University) have inadvertently misrepresented the views of the “anti-commodification theorists” they criticize in their influential book Markets Without Limits.
I then expand my discussion to identify “woozles” (claims that are widely repeated but false) in other disciplines–such as the claim that Eskimos have many different words for snow, that Victorian physicians “cured” their female patients of hysteria by using vibrators, and that Popeye ate spinach because it had high levels of Vitamin D. (This part of the book was a lot of fun to write!)
Along the way I also provide a taxonomy of different types of expressivist arguments, of which semiotic arguments are only one, and a taxonomy of the different ways in which one might understand the debate over the moral limits of markets. And I insert Easter Eggs–hidden academic jokes–throughout the text, Index, and Bibliography!
The link to his new book is here. Check it out! And check out his excellent essays on colonialism here.
Are there reasons that there are increasing pressures on academics to publish. Intuitively (and only intuitively) I am skeptical. I doubt the pressure has changed in fifty years. Important question because a likely consequence of truly increasing pressure is that some who shouldn’t do.
Correcting the comment above. It should read: “Are there reasons to believe that…”