“There is only one thing a philosopher can be relied upon to do, and that is to contradict other philosophers.” — William James, Memories and Studies #philosophy #philsky

"Given their disciplinary expertise, we believe that evolutionary scholars are uniquely equipped to critique these speculations, which borrow from EP’s credibility to advance a depreciatory view of women, while harming the public reputation of the field at large and in academia."

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is the laziest moral philosophy ever invented and I'm tired of pretending it's wisdom. youtu.be/A1z2xW6Zyto

Currently busy dealing with our insurance regarding a leak and water damage to our home. This is so frustrating, as the service providers clearly missed a leak when they came the first time and are now claiming we need to submit a second claim for the 'new' leak. We have now gotten to the point ...

"He who indulges empty fears earns himself real fears." Seneca

Uninformed manosphere influencer: "No, no, I voted for a 'good strong man', not a bad one. A good strong man would have been awesome."

A quote that gets to me every time: "I must die. But must I die bawling?" - Epictetus Stay strong and keep fighting the good fight. #ethics #stoicism

This is such an amazing passage from The Brothers Karamazov! It is easy to see why some considered Dostoyevsky to be a prophet. Now more than ever, we must remeber this message. Don't foster solitude, foster brotherly love. #booksky

As usual, Shaun hits it out of the park. This is a fantastic breakdown of the completely bullshit book, The War on Science. Have a look if you have the time. youtu.be/tyU5Xkk6TuE?...

This is my regular reminder to everyone that jstor is open to the general public now; a free account there will give you access to 100 papers a year.

New paper accepted!🎉 Is Taylor Swift responsible for how she makes her fans feel? Yes; the notion of affective power (the ability to influence how others feel) can help identify the responsibilities celebrities have towards their fans. w/ G.Mills & @alfredarcher.bsky.social Preprint ⬇️

“Each day acquire something that will fortify you against poverty, against death, indeed against other misfortunes as well; and after you have run over many thoughts, select one to be thoroughly digested that day.” — Seneca, Moral Letters to Lucilius

this exists it is called thinking

I just wanted to share the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy article on Miracles. I enjoyed it much more than the SEP article on the same topic. I found it slightly more fair-handed and balanced. The discussion on miracles as gestures is also interesting. #philsky iep.utm.edu/miracles/

As I used to say on Twitter, you either die a hero, or you live long enough to see your work become an 'Oxford Studies Online' pdf

Theories of analyticity cannot handle this

“Three passions have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.” — Bertrand Russell, The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell

Just showing up in lefty spaces doesn’t mean you are engaging with them. He always pivoted to whatever he wanted to talk about. That’s why his visit to Oxford recently went viral. Tilly knew his game and was ready for his pivot. So no, he doesn’t get credit for politicking. youtu.be/Zn0_2iACV-A?...

I hadn’t given it much thought, but I guess I really thought we were gonna get ‘Charlie Kirk’s complicated legacy’ rather than ‘America mourns her sweet perfect boy’ and, uh, serves me right for overestimating legacy media I guess!

Having a real-time debate over here whether “practicing politics the right way” is essentially about form (Klein) or about content (everyone left of him). Klein’s problem is that his valuing of current open debate welcomes demagoguery that destroys the possibility of future open debate.

Something I have to say: Someone who puts on the act of being a 'cordial debater' but only does this in contexts where such a thing cannot be productive, is not a model example of the modern politically engaged person. All this praise being put on someone who actually only stirred the pot is awful.

The assassination of Charlie Kirk makes we worry we can no longer have peaceful discussions of whether gays should be stoned to death or civil and collegial debates about whether black people are inherently inferior. Our culture will suffer. New York Times tomorrow

“If you wish to be loved, love.” ― Seneca

Latest post. Don’t know how many I have still in me helendecruz.substack.com/p/cant-take-...

This paper by Hannah Winckler-Olick looks cool. We need more Beauvoirean existentialism in contemporary moral philosophy. (DM me your email address if you need a copy) onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

to be found on Gutenberg as well: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4583 ... adding to my to-read list

Far more people should read Hume's Dialogues! Not only is it a great and engaging read, but Hume's arguments and observations are still relevant and hugely convincing. Anyone who wants to be reasonable regarding religious belief should contend with the ideas in the Dialogues. #philsky

At this point I'll settle for a bigger bookshelf. The rather small one I have is getting a little cluttered.

Philosophy is structurally unable to acknowledge that "I dunno, man, maybe?" is objectively speaking the correct answer to most of our questions.

This was a really interesting episode and I feel like I learned some new interesting concepts and history. Check it out: music.youtube.com/watch?v=bttF... #philsky #economics

This is super awesome! And a great challenge to the four season model that makes it so difficult to understand the complexity of the world's seasonalities. theconversation.com/see-earths-s... #phenology #envhum

When we talk about dominant groups wilfully refusing to understand or use the conceptual and expressive resources that marginalised groups have come up with to talk about their lives and experiences, it's usually a bit more subtle than just having a big 'avoid' list on a powerpoint presentation

Man Experiences Joy For the First Time in Decades After Brain Stimulation Treatment gizmodo.com/man-experien...

I think it's wonderful that these large institutions primarily dedicated to fielding football teams allow us to teach our silly classes and do our silly research on the side. Quite kind of them, really

"But how am I to say what I want so much to tell you? Paper, they say, does not blush, but I assure you it's not true and that it's blushing just as I am now, all over. Dear Alyosha, I love you..." - The Brothers Karamazov #Dostoyevsky #booksky I really like this passage. It made me smile.

Exactly why I'm so excited for next year's annual PSSA conference. I hope to see as many philosophers in Cape Town as possible! If you can, definitely attend. #philsky #PSSA2026

No one tells you in grad school the actual point of conferences: since academia scatters you and your friends across the world, so we need places to get together and hang out and drink, but we trick schools into paying for that by giving talks or whatever

On the left is a rabbit. On the right is an elephant. But guess what: They’re the *same image*, rotated 90°! In @currentbiology.bsky.social, @chazfirestone.bsky.social & I show how these images—known as “visual anagrams”—can help solve a longstanding problem in cognitive science. bit.ly/45BVnCZ

This was a great episode and I think worth the watch. If you are interested in physics and philosophy, check it out. #philsky #science #physics youtu.be/rscDW-l8N0Q?...

Seems like a reason to endorce Mereological Nihilism. "You can't throw stuff-arranged-sandwich-wise at ICE agents" clearly works so much better!

Experimental philosophy

Here is one line from Sartre's #existentialism novel, Nausea, that I deeply relate with and something that I believe I have experienced: "The real sea is cold and black, full of animals; it crawls underneath this thin green film which is designed to deceive people. The sylphs all around me..." 1/2

I just uploaded my new profile banner. I feel like it represents so much of life...so profound... Also...our dog is adorably cute... #dog

his name was socrates and they killed him for being a pain in the ass

Went for a trip today to get lunch and check out some book shops close to the sea. Managed to find two introductions from the Oxford series, one on Hume and the other on Locke. Super happy. The best part is that I bought both for less than the price of a Big Mac meal here in SA. #booksky #philsky

We just went to watch the new Superman film. I liked that the movie was not simply a defense of the status quo. I like that he saved a squirrel. Good vibes all round. Certainly one of the better superhero movies I've seen. Check it out!

the cool thing about having published scholarship is you have something you can look back on and violently disagree with