It's been a pretty good January–not as productive as I'd hoped, but I'm getting there. That's good, because the spring semester starts today (though my classes don't start until Monday), and writing once again needs to be slotted in alongside teaching and chairing. Personnel issues are nowhere near as intense in the spring as in the fall, which is a relief, but we have no full-time office staff for the first month of the semester, which will be a test for all of us.
In terms of writing, after far too much hemming and hawing, I finished my short paper on Kantian ethics-and-economics and corporate social responsibility (which I presented in Chicago) and submitted it to a journal. I also started background reading for a paper taking a Kantian approach to altruism in the family, which needs to be submitted to a special issue of a journal by April. My efforts have been more oriented toward books and book chapters of late, but I think I should try to get in the journals regularly too (although journal article writing feels very alien to me now).
In terms of books, there's been modest advancement since I returned from the conference, full of vim and vigor. I finished one proposal for a co-edited book and sent it to the publisher (and am eagerly awaiting word), clarified a few things with my Stanford editor regarding the two books we have planned, and should hear something on my paternalism book very soon. I need to start the proposal for the next book I'll edit for my Palgrave series, but I think that can wait a little bit, especially considering the next item.
While work on Superman and Philosophy continues (albeit slowly), I received an opportunity too good to pass up: to develop a unique project for Wiley based on Downton Abbey. As a longtime fan of British costume drama (Merchant Ivory movies, film and TV adaptations of Jane Austen books, etc.), I jumped at this–I should have more to say about it before long (because Wiley wants it done before long!), but it will dominate my writing/editing time for a little bit. And last night I cranked the foolishness up to 11 and suggested a similar project based around a prominent figure in an upcoming movie–again, hopefully I'll be able to say more soon. (And we mustn't forget the chapter I'm writing for series editor Bill Irwin's Black Sabbath and Philosophy book, which is a dream come true for both of us.)
What can I say–I love the rush of all this work. Take that as you will!
Finally, I had a few new things up online in the last month:
- A substantive post at Economics and Ethics, posted just this morning, on the Kaiser poll released yesterday regarding people's perceptions of Supreme Court decision-making (with respect to Obamacare in particular).
- A piece at the Good Men Project titled "The 'Good Man' Is a Response to the Myth of the 'Bad Man,'" detailing my epiphany regarding what the "good man" means.
Three new posts at Psychology Today: "Why Do the Self-Loathing Cycle In and Out of Relationships?" (January 8), "The Wrong Way–and the Right Way–to Think about Long-Term Commitment and Marriage" (January 11), and "Is Serendipity the Answer to Finding Love?" (January 15), the last one inspired by once again watching Serendipity, one of my favorite romcoms, newly released on Blu-ray.
Mark D. White 
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