“As the number of physicists increases, each specialty becomes more self-sustaining and self-contained. Such Balkanization carries physics, and indeed, every science further away, from natural philosophy, which, intellectually, is the meaning and goal of science.” — I.I. Rabi

Man, Du Bois had some bangers, but for me, it doesn't get much better than his scathing indictment of the "Christianity" of the United States. Certainly this was all true of the nation in his lifetime. But in my lifetime, his criticisms have never felt so true of the nation right now.

The LMU Munich chair of metaphysics is advertising a PhD position. For details, see below: #phdopportunity #philosophy #metaphysics

I just released a revised and expanded edition of my book, and it’s still a very reasonable price for paperback or kindle. History of form theories, from Aristotle to Goethe to Merleau-Ponty and quite a few others who came in-between.

The House of Monsieur Musy, Louveciennes https://botfrens.com/collections/49/contents/15019

ICE detained Arlit Maria Martinez on her way to work. 2 days later, her 15 yo son died of cancer. They wouldn't let her out to say goodbye. The family had planned to move back to Mexico prior to the cancer diagnosis but stayed for his treatment. Now, Mr Martinez has lost his wife to ICE & his son.

Replanned the unit on Margaret Cavendish for my modern philosophy survey this semester. Should be fun!

I definitely plan to read this one! 👏🏻

Breaking: NYT now says *six* federal prosecutors in Minnesota have just resigned over the Justice Department's push to investigate the widow of Renee Good and the department's reluctance to investigate the ICE agent who shot Good, according to people with knowledge of their decision.

People who aren't in Minnesota might not know that if you drive or walk past pretty much any school, there's going to be a group of people, parents and childless, standing guard to make sure the kids are safe from feds. It's pretty remarkable. And very disturbing. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

This looks super cool. I really wish I'd learned more about the Kyoto School during my grad research. Take advantage of the opportunity if you're able.

HOT TAKE Whatever you think the problem is, sending masked, anonymous, heavily armed men in unmarked vehicles into cities to hunt people isn't the solution

I published a paper (my first every attempt to write on feminist philosophy) in a special issue of Theoria 10 years ago, and had a very good experience - at the end, the paper was open-access but I also got a physical copy of the journal issue which was a nice surprise.

This picture was taken in 2000 by an Associated Press photographer who was allowed to be present as an observer. ICE now keeps press blocks away from the areas where they are operating. One of the first actions ICE takes during a raid is to confiscate phones.

we’re in the vet’s office waiting room and they just called for Agamemnon. we all looked at the Great Dane but it turns out Agamemnon is an orange kitten in a backpack that makes him look like an astronaut cheese puff

Separate from the obvious misogyny of the last few days, it’s been striking to watch the right wing media apparatus really confront the role of normie middle-aged women as a leading and increasingly radical force of opposition to trump

I think it’s more likely than not that we see the end of Fed independence and NATO this year.

I've made the mistake of looking at Facebook comments. So much of the victim blaming focuses on Renee Good's motherhood. Calling her irresponsible, not caring about her kids. Laying aside the fact that she was *driving home,* where do you think we'd be today if no mothers ever stood up to evil?

they've got Raffi calling for regime change. something has shifted.

"When fascism came to power most people were unprepared theoretically and practically. They were unable to believe that man could exhibit such propensities for evil, such a lust for power, such disregard for the rights of the weak." Erich Fromm

Texas A&M philosophy professor Martin Peterson, who was told by the university to remove readings by Plato & others from his moral problems course, is replacing them with a news article about the university's censorship and violation of academic freedom. See Update 3 at dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...

This is a vetted fundraiser for the family of Renee Good, the woman who was killed by ICE in Minneapolis. www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...

Rogue state.

There are times where “waiting and seeing” is wise; there are other times (like seeing an innocent person, who was clearly not threatening the life of the ICE agents, being executed in the streets) where “waiting and seeing” is providing cover for injustice

Really appreciate the clarity and scope of this book. The two physics books that I’ve found most clear are this one and Strassler’s ‘Waves in an Impossible Sea’. Oh, also Chiara Marletto’s ‘The Science of Can and Can’t.‘

In that hour when the sky moves from nursery pink and blue to a bruised half-light, spirits wake. They walk towards us down alleys made sodium orange. IA legion of invisible things making themselves known in footsteps, in rough bumpings. – Lou Kemp, Hookland artist, 1982

Road along the Loing canal https://botfrens.com/collections/49/contents/17088

Landscape on the Ile Saint-Martin - 1881 https://botfrens.com/collections/41/contents/9573

Some people just can't be satisfied with the FIFA Peace Prize.

It’s almost as though colonialism never ended

My statement on President Trump’s actions in Venezuela.

Jeffries is consistently disappointing. I’d take Nancy Pelosi over him.

you know chuck schumer is drafting a *very* strongly worded letter right now. you won't believe how cross he is

Trump on the US running Venezuela: It will not cost us anything because the money coming out of the ground is substantial. We’re going to take back the oil.

Constitutions are for weak, stupid people www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...

catholicism, the religion best-known for its embrace of the free market. many people do not know this but the Pope's primary job is to make needles large enough for the rich to get into heaven through

Village Corner https://botfrens.com/collections/49/contents/14855

Poppy Field, Argenteuil - 1875 https://botfrens.com/collections/41/contents/8627

2025 recapped

In case you're being hit with a bunch of things on the old timeline these days, I do highly recommend watching this. Just over a minute long. h/t @janeespenson.bsky.social

[SATIRE] "9:00 P.M. Crawl into bed exhausted from the cultural weight of being the town spinster librarian, but grateful I can read all day and enjoy peace and quiet and generally do whatever the hell I want. It actually is a wonderful life." www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-d...

**Rethinking the centrality of brain areas in understanding functional organization** New paper I anticipate will become a classic in neuroscience and a must-read for students at all levels. Understanding brain function beyond brain areas. #neuroskyence www.nature.com/articles/s41...

This review argues that ephaptic effects of electric fields and neural oscillations are central to consciousness. On biological and artificial consciousness: A case for biological computationalism doi.org/10.1016/j.ne... #neuroscience

Happy to share my new paper w/ @cgershen.bsky.social, just published at @royalsocietypublishing.org Interface! Open Access🔓: royalsocietypublishing.org/rsif/article... Instead of proposing a new theory, we offer a synthesis in theoretical biology. Want to know more? Read the full thread./1 👇🧵

Train Dreams was a touching movie. Next up I want to see Marty Supreme.

Did you know Max Horkheimer was a fan of the gestalt psychologists’ (like Max Wertheimer) work and thought? And he originally intended to become one of them. He wrote about them in his 1933 paper “Materialism and Metaphysics.” Source: Anne Harrington, ‘Reenchanted Science’