A book review I recently wrote

Can social scientists use genomic tools to make claims about complex phenomena like equality while also steering behavioural genomic research away from determinism? My new paper argues that sociogenomic research on gene-environment interaction (GxE) faces significant challenges on both fronts.

Autumn vibes in Vienna

Happy to share I've been invited to give a talk as part of the panel "Showcasing excellent current work in the CEE region", organised by Magdalena Małecka at the PSA Around the World Conference this year. My co-panelists are Joanna Malinowska, Endla Lõhkivi, and Stathis Psillos. Save the date!

Had a great tour of the Zoological Collection of the University of Vienna. Apart from many interesting artefacts (including the Blaschka glass models of marine invertebrates which influenced the Art Nouveau movement), saw some of Ludwig von Bertalanffy's books stored in the same basement.

What I, as a philosopher of science, appreciate about work in STS/sociology of science: its swift response to emerging areas of science and the ability to capture their broad epistemic (as well as political) contours before philosophers of science even get there.

Happy to share that the double session on values in genomics I am part of has been accepted for ISHPSSB. Thank you @celsoneto.bsky.social and @yashaddad.bsky.social for organising the session, and I look forward to seeing many fellow scholars of biology in Porto in July!

When you work at an institute with a bunch of biologists, you learn about all sorts of cool life forms. This is Elysia chlorotica, a "solar-powered" sea slug that steals chloroplasts from algae to do its own photosynthesis, and it's shaped like a leaf through convergent evolution. Pretty awesome.

My Christmas call to my parents started with "Do you have electricity right now?", and they happily reported they had it for 1.5 hours before another emergency blackout caused by the Russian strike missile tonight.

📢 We’re hiring! We are currently looking for a Lecturer in Medicine, Health and Society to join our Department from Sept 25. For more info and to apply, please visit: https://bit.ly/41CTiXk Closing Date: 2nd March 2025 #medicine #health #society #science #technology #WeAreSTS

How do we judge whether a particular experiment is 'pursuitworthy'? What factors need to be considered? @ennofischer.bsky.social & I are receiving submissions exploring these & related questions for a topical collection in EJPS! Please help us spread the word! tu-dresden.de/gsw/phil/iph... #philsci

who called it "interventionism" and not "business causal"

Some starter packs I plan to do when I get around to it

Last week, the KLI hosted the much-anticipated launch of the book 'Evolution Evolving' published by @princetonupress.bsky.social. It was a fantastic event, with a presentation by Kevin Lala, commentaries by Gerd Müller and Tim Lewens, and a panel discussion moderated by @drlynnchiu.bsky.social.

If you are interested in integrative biosocial research (and whether philosophy of science can do justice to it), check out the recording of my talk from the U of Minnesota conference.

Happy Halloween to everyone in Minnesota, but especially these witches who paddled Lake Harriet this past weekend 🧙‍♀️👻

Excellent example of forensic meta-science in the wild: comparing polling results to their expected distribution www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...

If you know students interested in applying for a PhD in Cambridge HPS, they can catch an online session with guidance on how to do it next week. It’s on Tuesday 5 November at 4pm (UK time). A recording will be available afterwards. Use this link to register

Coming soon (open access!) www.cambridge.org/core/element...

Had to teach a lecture on logical empiricism earlier today as part of my course at the University of Vienna at it felt quite surreal (especially after coming back from the Minnesota conference).

Postgrad funding, especially for masters, is scarce. We are trying to maximise its availability and reach. Follow this link for info on a new HPS Futures Studentship for Widening Participation in History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine. Deadline Dec 3rd, tell your students! #philsci #histsci

Just returned from the Philosophy of Science: Past, Present and Future conference at the University of Minnesota. I feel very privileged and also humbled to have been part of this incredible event. Thanks @afabregastejeda.bsky.social for capturing me during my talk!

It’s #OAWeek, so it’s the perfect time to remind you that you can read all the issues of the journal _Philosophy, Theory, and Practice in Biology_ for free—and authors publish free with us too! #philsci 🌱🐋 🌎 #EvoBio Follow us at @ptpbio.bsky.social , and please share this post! ptpbio.org

🌟Attend 'Evolution Evolving' Book Launch event 🌟 KLI Klosterneuburg, Vienna Thurs 7 Nov 2024 2 - 7 pm Introductory talk from Kevin Lala Panel discussion with Kevin Lala, Tobias Uller, Nathalie Feiner, Marc Feldman, Scott Gilbert & Lynn Chiu Reviews of book by Gerd Muller & Tim Lewens Food & wine

This looks super cool. 2 postdocs on 1. philosophy of scientific method and philosophy of causality. 2. evidence review and research methods. Applications due Nov 4 jonwilliamson.uk/projects/isr

as a Big Nerd I have to tell you I went to Mendel’s abbey to look at his peas but the most notable part is actually the little hats he made for his microscopes

🚨JOB ALERT🚨 Egenis is hiring a four-year philosophy of science postdoc to work on my ERC-funded project on race, values, and human genomics. Come work with our vibrant community in Exeter! Deadline is October 10! #philsky #philbio #philsci #HPbio #STS jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...

Ukraine celebrates its hard-won independence today. If our freedom and our continuing fight mean something for you, please join me in donating to the Hospitallers, a volunteer medical battalion saving lives at the frontline. donate.justgiving.com/page/hospita...

Resharing in the hope of submissions from the fresh bsky citizens #philsci #histsci #philsky #STS

I’m happy to share that my paper “Is Quantitative Measurement in the Human Sciences Doomed? On the Quantity Objection” has been accepted for publication by The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. Check it out here: www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/... Or ask me for a copy!

I am preparing to teach a session on causal selection in the context of the social sciences and there seems to be surprisingly little literature on the topic. Am I missing something? Suggestions welcome.

Starting from tomorrow, I will be teaching a summer school on causal inference in the social sciences for Ukrainian researchers and graduate students. Many of them work at NGOs and international organisations, trying to find solutions to the many socio-economic problems Ukraine currently faces.

I got selected to present at the "Philosophy of Science: Past, Present and Future" conference at the University of Minnesota in October this year. The title of my talk will be "Can Philosophy of Science Successfully Engage With Interdisciplinary Research?" (spoiler:

If you are interested in novel and exciting research on evolutionary biology, I highly recommend following bsky.app/profile/eesu.... They regularly showcase recent/forthcoming literature on the extended evolutionary synthesis and beyond - my reading list grows every day!

My institute currently has a vacancy for a Group Leader in Philosophy of Biology or Theoretical Biology. At least 5 years of postdoc experience is required. Please apply and share!

Had my abstract accepted for the ENPOSS annual conference at the University of Bergen. I very much look forward to travelling to Norway in August and presenting my work on credibility and trustworthiness in social and behavioural genomics.

And so I can finally announce the big news: I have recently passed my PhD viva, with no corrections. I am very happy and thankful to everyone who has supported me on this journey, and most of all to my brilliant supervisors including @annaalexandrova.bsky.social!

I created an event page for the conference into which we at EENPS are pouring our hearts this year. Please circulate, consider submitting a symposium or a paper, or just come along to beautiful Krakow on Sept 9-10th. @elenapopaphi.bsky.social @magdalenamalecka.bsky.social @malinowska.bsky.social

At the end of January, I will be presenting at the "Bioethics Meets Political Philosophy" conference at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Ethics, Jagiellonian University in Kraków. If you happen to be around at the time, come say hi!

I am looking for examples of corpus-based digital humanities approaches in philosophy of science. Please help! #philsci

So I am currently looking at the some of the critiques of the concept of meritocracy and I wonder if there is anyone else I should read, apart from Sandel and Littler? I particularly wonder if there is work on the topic outside of political philosophy and sociology. Suggestions highly welcome.