Evan Thompson
@evanthompson.bsky.social
📤 4876
📥 408
📝 331
Philosopher, writer.
pinned post!
Since so many new people are arriving to bluesky these days, I'm just going to pin this to my profile for a while.
12 months ago
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@amandagefter.bsky.social
writing in Nautilus about a meeting on intelligence in which I participated last year in Tuscany.
add a skeleton here at some point
14 days ago
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Go glial cells! More and more evidence keeps pouring in that the cognitive brain is not just a neuronal network.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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Spontaneous activity of astrocytes is a stochastic functional signal for memory consolidation | PNAS
In the absence of explicit neuronal inputs, the glial cell astrocytes exhibit recurring intracellular Ca2+ fluctuations, primarily localized at thi...
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2500511122?utm_source=TOC&utm_medium=ealert&TOC_v122_i42=&ref=d8093
17 days ago
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19
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Beck Todd
17 days ago
New preprint of a theoretical paper with
@evanthompson.bsky.social
. We discuss using information theoretic approaches to test the role of emergent interaction dynamics hypothesized by
#ParticipatorySensemaking
on attention and agency — using dance improv as a laboratory:
osf.io/preprints/ps...
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OSF
https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/3q8j5_v1
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The Third Entity: Participatory Sense-Making, Agency, and Attentional Dynamics
osf.io/preprints/ps...
New paper by
@beckety.bsky.social
and yours truly.
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OSF
https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/3q8j5_v1
17 days ago
0
13
5
reposted by
Evan Thompson
Boaz Nash
about 1 month ago
Excited to learn about the Blind Spot podcast with
@evanthompson.bsky.social
@adamfrank4.bsky.social
and Marcelo Gleiser.
add a skeleton here at some point
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aeon.co/essays/why-q...
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Why quantum mechanics needs phenomenology | Aeon Essays
The role of the conscious observer has posed a stubborn problem for quantum measurement. Phenomenology offers a solution
https://aeon.co/essays/why-quantum-mechanics-needs-phenomenology
about 2 months ago
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Death, Grief, and Radical Hope by
@beckety.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/becketto...
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Death, Grief, and Radical Hope
Crepe myrtle’s confetti of flowers.
https://open.substack.com/pub/beckettodd/p/death-grief-and-radical-hope?r=123ij1&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
2 months ago
0
5
2
reposted by
Evan Thompson
Mariel Goddu
4 months ago
Grappling w my identity as a reluctant enactivist... My favorite formulation of the approach so far is
@xabibaran.bsky.social
's "Autonomy and enactivism: Towards a theory of sensorimotor autonomous agency" (2017)
link.springer.com/content/pdf/...
IMO, it does three great things:
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https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11245-016-9365-4.pdf
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Xabier Barandiaran
3 months ago
How ChatGPT is transforming agency:
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
If you are interested on the ontological status of LLMs or want to get a better technical grasp on their internal functioning (without a maths or engineering background) this might be a good starting point.
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Transforming agency: On the mode of existence of large language models - Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences
Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences - This paper investigates the ontological characterization of Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. Between inflationary and deflationary accounts, we...
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11097-025-10094-3
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So much for the Indian philosophical trope "horns of a rabbit" (used to signify nonexistence).
www.cbc.ca/news/science...
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Rabbits with strange horn-like growths spotted in Colorado | CBC News
Photos of rabbits in Colorado with grotesque, horn-like growths have been circulating on social media. Scientists say the photos are literally viral.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/rabbits-horn-like-growths-1.7608700
3 months ago
2
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=WchT...
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The Blind Spot Podcast - Episode 9: Why Science Hasn't Solved Consciousness (Yet)
YouTube video by The Blind Spot Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WchTHiItJNs&ab_channel=TheBlindSpotPodcast
3 months ago
1
17
5
reposted by
Evan Thompson
Guillaume Dumas
3 months ago
🤔 How can we study
#consciousness
between people, at the social level? 🧠✨ New
#preprint
co-led by Anne Monnier & Lena Adel: “Now is the Time: Operationalizing Generative Neurophenomenology through Interpersonal Methods” 🧵(1/3)
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEe5...
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The Blind Spot Podcast - Episode 8: What is the World Made Of? A Brief History of Ontology
YouTube video by The Blind Spot Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEe5zAxlsBg&ab_channel=TheBlindSpotPodcast
4 months ago
0
13
8
reposted by
Evan Thompson
Love & Philosophy
4 months ago
Algorithms don't play & animals only play when they feel safe. ❤️ Ep 65 with Julian Kiverstein (Amsterdam Medical) looks at how play relates to surprise, risk, & our capacity to handle uncertainty. New insights on Active Inference & the role of The Embodied Mind
#EmbodiedMInd
#play
#loveandphilosophy
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Play and the Mental Sweet Spot
Listen now (83 mins) | Surprise, Risk, Flourishing & Active Inference with Julian Kiverstein
https://open.substack.com/pub/lovephilosophy/p/playing-with-surprise-an-experiential?r=3qslz0&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
1
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Love & Philosophy
4 months ago
In this episode Julian credits
@evanthompson.bsky.social
and The Embodied Mind as his primary inspiration
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Very nice to see something intelligent about AI and about putting it to a good use for a change.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHlL...
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Artificial intelligence in the BC Wildfire Service
YouTube video by The Exchange
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHlL0P11y3Y
4 months ago
0
4
1
New episode with yours truly and
@adamfrank4.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCO-...
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The Blind Spot Podcast - Episode 7, Life: Beyond the Machine Metaphor
YouTube video by The Blind Spot Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCO-qZpJoXI&ab_channel=TheBlindSpotPodcast
4 months ago
1
13
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Why Science Hasn’t Solved Consciousness (Yet)
www.noemamag.com/why-science-...
by
@adamfrank4.bsky.social
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Why Science Hasn’t Solved Consciousness (Yet) | NOEMA
To understand life, we must stop treating organisms like machines and minds like code.
https://www.noemamag.com/why-science-hasnt-solved-consciousness-yet
4 months ago
2
15
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The cultural construction of “executive function” | PNAS
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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The cultural construction of “executive function” | PNAS
In cognitive science, the term “executive function” (EF) refers to universal features of the mind. Yet, almost all results described as measuring E...
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2407955122?utm_source=TOC&utm_medium=ealert&TOC_v122_i27=&ref=d618498
4 months ago
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14
1
reposted by
Evan Thompson
Philip Laughlin
4 months ago
Executive summary: "A major achievement....sweeping in scope, yet meticulously reasoned."
add a skeleton here at some point
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A review of The Blind Spot that appeared in Die Furche in April.
www.furche.at/wissen/the-b...
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„The Blind Spot“: Der Fluch des blinden Flecks
Das Gehirn-Geist-Problem und andere große Rätsel der Wissenschaft harren einer Lösung. Zwei Physiker und ein Philosoph plädieren in „The Blind Spot“ für einen radikal neuen Zugang, in dem die menschli...
https://www.furche.at/wissen/the-blind-spot-der-fluch-des-blinden-flecks-15785406
4 months ago
0
3
1
reposted by
Evan Thompson
Adam Frank
5 months ago
New episode of The Blind Spot just dropped. Problems with Cosmology and Unified Theories. Deep dive into success & challenges of the big bang model and String Theory and supersymmetry. Their major shortcomings and challenges. (spotify too)
@evanthompson.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d5m...
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The Blind Spot Podcast - Episode 5, The Modern Story of the Universe, pt II
YouTube video by The Blind Spot Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d5m3T3sTM4
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Episode 5 of The Blind Spot Podcast with
@adamfrank4.bsky.social
and Marcelo Gleiser. Part II of our reflections on modern cosmology.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d5m...
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The Blind Spot Podcast - Episode 5, The Modern Story of the Universe, pt II
YouTube video by The Blind Spot Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d5m3T3sTM4&ab_channel=TheBlindSpotPodcast
5 months ago
0
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"the neuroscientist has embraced the habit of treating neurons as cognitive agents, attributing to them capacities we would normally only attribute to persons." Information in the Brain: From Metaphor to Truth - Zahnoun - Theoria - Wiley Online Library
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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Information in the Brain: From Metaphor to Truth
Despite explicit warnings from Shannon to tread carefully when applying Information Theory to fields for which it was not designed, contemporary neuroscientists adopting the framework of Information ....
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/theo.70021
5 months ago
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11
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Kevin Mitchell
7 months ago
Fabulous discussion with Dr. Kate Nave - wide-ranging, nuanced, clear, smart thinking about agency, purpose, life, cybernetics, the FEP, process philosophy and lots more!
open.spotify.com/episode/4PKy...
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Life, free energy, and the pursuit of goals
Many Minds · Episode
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4PKyK8pnHf4eatay8RH6yZ?si=vHKqd8qcT1-YSesxrsnRUw
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If you think the brain should be defined as a massive neural network, think again.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Psychedelic control of neuroimmune interactions governing fear - Nature
Inflammatory monocytes in the brain meninges promote stress-induced fear behaviour, and the pathways involved can be modulated using psychedelic compounds.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08880-9
5 months ago
1
31
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
MIT Press
5 months ago
“A game-changer for cognitive science." —
@evanthompson.bsky.social
In "A Drive to Survive,"
@kathrynnave.bsky.social
offers an extended critical analysis of the strengths and limitations of the free energy principle. Available
#openaccess
:
mitpress.mit.edu/978026255132...
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Pelagia
5 months ago
Dear friends, I wrote a piece in which I explain why I think reviving ancient views of phil life can work only partially for us today. I also explain why I think that bringing great books to the counseling table is the key to self-transformation.
social-epistemology.com/2025/06/04/p...
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Prolegomena for a Philosophical Practice in the 21st Century, Ljiljana Radenovic
The history of modern-day philosophical counseling is short. It starts in the 1980s of the last century. Its official founder is the philosopher Gerd Achenbach, who became the first philosophical…
https://social-epistemology.com/2025/06/04/prolegomena-for-a-philosophical-practice-in-the-21st-century-ljiljana-radenovic/
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In memory of Nancy Jack Todd by
@beckety.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/oceanark...
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Nancy Jack Todd
Remembering
https://open.substack.com/pub/oceanarks/p/nancy-jack-todd?r=123ij1&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
5 months ago
0
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Episode 4 of our new podcast The Blind Spot with
@adamfrank4.bsky.social
and Marcelo Gleiser. This time we're talking about cosmology.
open.spotify.com/episode/45sm...
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Episode 4: Cosmology, The Modern Story of the Universe
The Blind Spot Podcast · Episode
https://open.spotify.com/episode/45smVfjIO2QQ1mfJWeYLq2
5 months ago
1
7
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My mother-in-law, the inestimable Nancy Jack Todd, has left us. Here's a piece about her by her daughter and my partner,
@beckety.bsky.social
substack.com/@beckettodd/...
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Rebecca Todd on Substack
This note is a first tribute to my mother, Nancy Jack Todd, who died peacefully at home in the evening of May 30, in sunlight, with John and her grandson Max holding her hands. Other obituaries and t...
https://substack.com/@beckettodd/note/c-122213495?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=123ij1
5 months ago
2
11
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Adam Frank
6 months ago
Just a reminder that
@evanthompson.bsky.social
Marcelo Gleiser and I have started a podcast called The Blind Spot (its about science, philosophy and beyond). Here is a link to the latest episode which is Part II of our discussion of Time
open.spotify.com/episode/3KYp...
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Episode 3: What is Time? Part II - The Arrow of Time and Time in Relativity
The Blind Spot Podcast · Episode
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3KYp7sM0wf40TygXkjvzDk
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Gregory Kohn
6 months ago
Really excited to read the reprint of Varela’s Biological Autonomy annotated by
@evanthompson.bsky.social
. I really want to offer a special topics course focusing on it in an upcoming semester.
0
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Jaan Aru
6 months ago
This is the sequel that some of you wanted and some of you perhaps didn't want :)
@pessoabrain.bsky.social
@jbarbosa.org
@algarwegian.bsky.social
@evanthompson.bsky.social
@frosas.bsky.social
@haesemeyerlab.bsky.social
@networksunknown.bsky.social
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Philip Laughlin
6 months ago
Open access edition of "Principles of Biological Autonomy" can be found here:
direct.mit.edu/books/oa-mon...
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Principles of Biological Autonomy
A new, updated edition of the 1979 classic from one of the foremost authors in cognitive science and theoretical biology, with the original text as well as
https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/5965/Principles-of-Biological-Autonomy
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Yesterday's book launch discussion for our new edition of Francisco Varela's Principles of BIological Autonomy published by
@mitpress.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbdN...
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Book Launch & Roundtable Discussion: Principles of Biological Autonomy
YouTube video by Mind & Life Europe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbdN2E9q1qo&ab_channel=Mind%26LifeEurope
6 months ago
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The Entangled Brain by
@pessoabrain.bsky.social
aeon.co/essays/how-t...
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How the human brain is like a murmuration of starlings | Aeon Essays
The brain is much less like a machine than it is like the murmurations of a flock of starlings or an orchestral symphony
https://aeon.co/essays/how-the-human-brain-is-like-a-murmuration-of-starlings
6 months ago
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"Information is a manner of speaking, nothing more."
www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/27...
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https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/27/5/514
6 months ago
5
13
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The Blind Spot, by
@adamfrank4.bsky.social
, Marcelo Gleiser and Evan Thompson featured at the MIT Press blog
mitpress.mit.edu/the-best-rea...
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The best reads for recent graduates
Big books on science, technology, and design for eager minds.
https://mitpress.mit.edu/the-best-reads-for-recent-graduates/
6 months ago
0
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Pelagia
6 months ago
'Classics with Pelagia' is here! The first piece on Huxley & Aristotle is open to everyone. If you like it pls click "free to join" then upgrade to paid membership (5$ a month) to read monthly pieces. In June my thoughts on K. Hamsun's Pan are coming. Link in the comments!😊
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Pelagia
7 months ago
Dear friends, Pelagia is back with a website! This time as a philosophical counselor. If you need me I am here.
www.lradenovic.com
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Home
PPC
https://www.lradenovic.com/
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And here is Episode 3 of our new podcast The Blind Spot with Adam Frank and Marcelo Gleiser. We'll be working on adding guests soon. Stay tuned.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEl1...
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The Blind Spot Podcast - Episode 3, What is Time? Part II: The Arrow of Time and Time in Relativity.
YouTube video by The Blind Spot Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEl1eTo057o&ab_channel=TheBlindSpotPodcast
6 months ago
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Looking forward to this event in Trondheim, coming up in early June.
6 months ago
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New paper, "Enaction as the bringing forth of worlds," by yours truly. Behind a paywall but email me if you'd like a copy.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
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Enaction as the bringing forth of worlds - Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences
This paper describes Francisco Varela, Evan Thompson, and Eleanor Rosch’s idea of enaction as the bringing forth of a world and compares it with Alva Noë’s idea that we enact presence.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11097-025-10079-2
6 months ago
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
MIT Press
6 months ago
The updated edition of Francisco Varela's 1979 classic "Principles of Biological Autonomy" reintroduces a seminal work in theoretical biology and cognitive science, including over 220 margin annotations to supplement the reading of the text:
mitpress.mit.edu/978026255140...
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
MIT Press
6 months ago
New this week from the MIT Press 📚👇
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This should be fun.
6 months ago
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Philip Laughlin
6 months ago
Should be posted soon here:
mitpress.mit.edu/978026255140...
We try to align the print and OA publication on the same day. But sometimes the OA edition isn't available until a couple days later. (Technical issues.)
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https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262551403/principles-of-biological-autonomy/We
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Today is publication day! A new edition of Francisco J. Varela's (long hard-to-obtain) 1979 classic Principles of Biological Autonomy in a new annotated edition by Ezequiel Di Paolo and Evan Thompson, with a Foreword by Amy Cohen Varela.
mitpress.mit.edu/978026255140...
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Principles of Biological Autonomy
Francisco Varela’s Principles of Biological Autonomy was a groundbreaking text when it was first published in 1979, putting forth a novel theory of how...
https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262551403/principles-of-biological-autonomy/
6 months ago
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Episode 2 of our new podcast The Blind Spot with
@adamfrank4.bsky.social
and Marcelo Gleiser.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XGa...
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The Blind Spot Podcast - Episode 2, What Is Time? Part I
YouTube video by The Blind Spot Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XGa1cY5NIo&t=1349s&ab_channel=TheBlindSpotPodcast
6 months ago
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