Who on earth is punishing birds for masturbating? Are aviculturists puritanical Victorian types? www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

Who on earth is punishing birds for masturbing? Are aviculturists puritanical Victorian types? --> Masturbation among birds is ‘natural’ and should not be punished, say experts | Animal behaviour | The Guardian www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

Καλό μήνα σε όλους!

Strange times

Είναι το Ψυχοσάββατο της Πεντηκοστής και τρώω κόλλυβα. Θεός συγχωρέσοι τους.

Propelling the fatherstuff

@mattpolprof.bsky.social reviews Gad Saad's new book. jacobin.com/2026/05/saad...

I rarely subscribe to or recommend Substacks, but I have subscribed to this one by @johnkittmer.bsky.social, and I recommend it warmly. Να το απολαύσετε! johnkittmer820172.substack.com?r=1uvaul&utm...

Few people know and love Greece better than John. This is an essential Substack for philhellenes everywhere.

Oh, this good. Which am I? Which are you?

Judging from some examples I've seen, a fully anesthetized brain can *create* a podcast singularityhub.com/2026/05/18/t...

dégringolade (n.) a dark, bitter beverage, typically consumed by dictators during their final days in power. ("If it's a ballroom, why's he stocking it with dégringolade?")

Mind Chat is back! Watch the first episode of Series 5 here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDc9...

My paper "Fungal Memory and Minimal Cognition" is available as a preprint, TBP in Topics in Cognitive Science. Since it's an invitation-only issue, I am choosing to believe the fungi summoned me personally 😎 philpapers.org/rec/EKRFMA #cogsci #consci #cognition #fungi #philtwit #philsky #philosophy

How would #psychology look through the lens of @michelamassimi.bsky.social's Perspectival Realism? In her new paper, Suilin Lavelle defends the pursuit of Majority World psychological frameworks and experiments beyond WEIRD biases 👇 link.springer.com/article/10.1... #philsci #philsky #psysky #cogsci

"I'm going to have to stop you there, Sonia. You are wrong; I do know the man who released a giant protest balloon at a Bono concert. If you tune in to Mind Chat at 2.30 UK time, you will see for yourself what good friends we are. And then you will have to eat your words." @philipgoff.bsky.social

'Dégringolade' is a nice word. I must use it more often.

Starting in two hours. Be there, for the sake of the machines!

In the most eagerly awaited reunion since Abba Voyage, Mind Chat is back! There's a new episode tomorrow (Thu 28) at 2.30pm UK time (= 9.30am ET), when @philipgoff.bsky.social and I will be asking Tom McLelland if AI could be conscious. Don't miss it! www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDc9...

America at its peak. www.bbc.com/news/article...

The only question people are asking about me.

A bit of justified schadenfreude from eKathimerini.com www.ekathimerini.com/opinion/1304...

Finally! BOOK 2 OUT SOON -- THIS AUGUST (e-book will be Open Access/free): THE SENSES: PERCEPTION AND EXPERIENCE (Cambridge University Press, Elements in Philosophy of Mind, ed. by @keithfrankish.com ) www.cambridge.org/gb/universit...

To be fair, though . . . singularityhub.com/2026/05/18/t...

Tip: Entertain yourself during departmental meetings by imagining that you're George Smiley trying to which out which of your colleagues is a mole. When asked for your opinion, smile to yourself and say something enigmatic, such as, "Don't you think we've asked that question too many times already?"

website that picks the Rothko closest to how the weather feels in your location (by Joonas Virtanen) rothko.joonas.wtf

Many academics fail to realize that the academic freedom and independence they enjoy is a distinctive feature of a system of elite education, a good part of the purpose of which was to acculturate the upper classes, not something one should expect (or will get) from a system of mass education.

Joan www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ_8...

An attractive opportunity for an indigent philosopher!

Maria Kasmirli (my partner) is now offering philosophical counselling and other types of mentoring through her business @philosynthesis.com. She welcomes online clients from anywhere in the world. I may be biased, but I think she's fantastic at this. Contact her to book a free trial session!

Bob Dylan - License to Kill www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRrl...

The quintessence of Dylan www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AIR...

Good novels can be adapted into even better films. Great novels cannot. John le Carré wrote good novels. Charles Dickens wrote great ones.

Things could be worse. Scientists might create . . . The Doomsday Organism www.noemamag.com/the-doomsday...

With very few exceptions, social media posts should end with the words, 'But I may be wrong about that'. But I may be wrong about that.

There is too much of almost everything.

A painfully honest depiction of addiction by Les Blair. Excellent, low-key performances from Reginald Stewart, Richard Ireson, and Jean Leppard. Worth your time. Play for Today - Bet Your Life (1976) by Les Blair - YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xl5...

DIY movies The Lady Varnishes

free download

I'm not sure if 'lass' here means the same as it does in Yorkshire, but I hope it does. #Heraklion

Why not tell someone else on here (not me) that you appreciate them? I appreciate many people here, but I'll start with @lordbonkers.bsky.social, @ancientnmodern.bsky.social, @epicciuto.bsky.social, and @wrathofgodherself.bsky.social. I appreciate you. Your posts brighten my day.

Philosophers used to think there was a ghost in the machine. Many still there's some ghostliness in it.

Paradise Mislaid

Of course, the political profile I posted reflects my explicit views only -- the ones I avow, self-ascribe, and would attempt to defend. 'Superbeliefs', I call them. These may differ from the implicit ('basic') beliefs revealed in my unreflective or forced choices. Most people's do, I suspect.

This is so easy

Here's an analysis of my political position, in case you wanted to know what it is findmypolitics.com?e=-75&so=-44...

Shaming is a widely used strategy in online political discourse. Maybe it's justified. But I dislike it. It's easy to make me feel ashamed, which means it's easy to manipulate me, and I don't like that.

And the Canterbury Tales may secretly be about subatomic physics scitechdaily.com/dantes-infer...