Evan Thompson
@evanthompson.bsky.social
đ€ 4941
đ„ 411
đ 343
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.
over 1 year ago
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Reposting because I forgot to tag
@haraldwiltsche.bsky.social
add a skeleton here at some point
1 day ago
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Here's our latest podcast conversation with the marvellous philosopher Harald Wiltsche.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LEy...
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The Blind Spot Podcast - Episode 21: Phenomenology and Quantum Weirdness
YouTube video by The Blind Spot Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LEyQ0vypgU
2 days ago
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bigthink.com/13-8/nature-...
by
@adamfrank4.bsky.social
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Why organisms are more than machines
Sixty years ago, a little-known philosopher challenged how science understands life. His perspective is finding new relevance in the age of AI.
https://bigthink.com/13-8/nature-of-life-hans-jonas/
9 days ago
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"I conclude that the enactive approach remains the only strand within 4E cognition where a full rejection of the foundational assumptions of traditional cognitive science is possible." - Henrique Mendes
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
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The exceptionality of enactivism within 4E cognition - Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences
This article critically examines the theoretical landscape of 4E cognitionâembodied, embedded, extended, and enactive cognitionâto assess whether it constitutes a true departure from the traditional f...
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11097-025-10131-1
10 days ago
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Katharine Hayhoe
14 days ago
Bluesky is the new science Twitter, new study by
@whysharksmatter.bsky.social
and Julia Wester concludes! "Results show that for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter."
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Scientists no Longer Find Twitter Professionally Useful, and have Switched to Bluesky
Synopsis. Social media has become widely used by the scientific community for a variety of professional uses, including networking and public outreach. For
https://academic.oup.com/icb/article-abstract/65/3/538/8196180?login=false
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Here's our latest podcast episode: a conversation with the formidable and admirable Yuria Celidwen.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc_Y...
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The Blind Spot Podcast - Episode 20: From Ancestral Wisdom to Our Planetary Future
YouTube video by The Blind Spot Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc_YflQceqQ&t=2511s
14 days ago
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Philip Laughlin
25 days ago
âThis is a beautiful book by one of our most inventive and profound thinkers. It is undisciplined because it transcends disciplinary limitations, and it is pro-human even as it resists all forms of anthropomorphism." -
@alvanoe.bsky.social
author of ACTION IN PERCEPTION
add a skeleton here at some point
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Kiana Ward
26 days ago
Excited to share my paper on an enactivist account of non-dual awareness, integrating ideas from constraint causality and NÄgÄrjunaâs notion of emptiness! Modeling non-dual awareness via constraint closure: a reinterpretation of groundlessness url:
academic.oup.com/nc/article/2...
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Modeling non-dual awareness via constraint closure: a reinterpretation of groundlessness
Abstract. Non-dual awareness (NDA) refers to a shift in consciousness in which the usual distinction between subject and object dissolves, and experience i
https://academic.oup.com/nc/article/2026/1/niaf068/8431344
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Modeling non-dual awareness via constraint closure: a reinterpretation of groundlessness url:
academic.oup.com/nc/article/2...
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Modeling non-dual awareness via constraint closure: a reinterpretation of groundlessness
Abstract. Non-dual awareness (NDA) refers to a shift in consciousness in which the usual distinction between subject and object dissolves, and experience i
https://academic.oup.com/nc/article/2026/1/niaf068/8431344
about 1 month ago
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
PessoaBrain
2 months ago
đ§đ”đČ đđ»đđźđ»đŽđčđČđ± đđżđźđ¶đ» Annual reminder that the book is open access. How do we think of the brain as a deeply interconnected system with highly distributed, non hierarchical processing. Want to learn about the brain from a fresh perspective?
#neuroskyence
mitpress.mit.edu/978026254460...
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The Entangled Brain
Popular neuroscience accounts often focus on specific mind-brain aspects like addiction, cognition, or memory, but The Entangled Brain tackles a much bigger ...
https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262544603/the-entangled-brain/
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Last night I dreamt I gave a very detailed and precise lecture about lucid dreaming. The dream was not lucid.
2 months ago
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I'm happy to announce that I've been awarded the Mind-Matter Prize by the Society for Mind-Matter Research. (See "news" at the top right). My prize-acceptance Lecture will be at the Society's Models of Consciousness Conference in Copenhagen, October 12-16, 2026.
www.mindmatter.de/index.html
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Society for Mind-Matter Research
https://www.mindmatter.de/index.html
2 months ago
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Happy to announce this NEH Summer Institute at UC Berkeley, co-directed by
@christiancoseru.bsky.social
@alvanoe.bsky.social
and yours truly
@evanthompson.bsky.social
www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~skneh/
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Self-Knowledge for Humans and Artificial Systems â NEH Summer Institute, UC Berkeley
An interdisciplinary NEH Summer Institute exploring the nature of self-knowledge in humans and artificial systems
https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~skneh/
3 months ago
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Adam Frank
3 months ago
The Blind Spot Podcast was an Instant Hit in 2025 according to Spotify. Have you been tuning in to our conversations about Life, The Universe and Everything? It's science from a different perspective. The band = me,
@evanthompson.bsky.social
, Marcelo Gleiser.
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
UBC Faculty of Arts
3 months ago
đ Congratulations to
@evanthompson.bsky.social
and
@kiransoma.bsky.social
for being newly named Distinguished University Scholars, one of UBCâs highest honours for faculty excellence. đ
@ubcphilosophy.bsky.social
@psych.ubc.ca
Discover more about their work and contributions âŹïž
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Arts faculty named 2025 Distinguished University Scholars - Faculty of Arts
Dr. Evan Thompson (Philosophy) and Dr. Kiran Soma (Psychology) have been named Distinguished University Scholars, one of UBCâs highest honours for faculty excellence.
https://www.arts.ubc.ca/news/arts-faculty-named-2025-distinguished-university-scholars/
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
UBC Philosophy
3 months ago
Congratulations to Dr. Evan Thompson, who was recently named a UBC Distinguished University Scholar!
buff.ly/D0kniM3
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Here's my review in Mind of Mazviita Chirimuuta's fantastic book The Brain Abstracted.
@pessoabrain.bsky.social
you'll be interested in this one!
academic.oup.com/mind/advance...
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The Brain Abstracted: Simplification in the History and Philosophy of Neuroscience, by M. Chirimuuta
âWhatâs in the brain that ink may character?â asked Warren S. McCulloch (1964) (borrowing from Shakespeare) shortly before his death. Trained in philosophy
https://academic.oup.com/mind/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/mind/fzaf029/8345986?redirectedFrom=fulltext
3 months ago
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Précis of my book with
@adamfrank4.bsky.social
and Marcelo Gleiser. Soon to be followed with a response to commentators. The Blind Spot
rdcu.be/eQkzc
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Précis of the blind spot: Why science cannot ignore human experience
https://rdcu.be/eQkzc
3 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
4 months 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
4 months ago
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Beck Todd
4 months 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 â 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
4 months ago
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Boaz Nash
5 months 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
5 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 myrtleâs 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
6 months ago
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Mariel Goddu
7 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
6 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
7 months ago
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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
7 months ago
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Guillaume Dumas
7 months ago
đ€ How can we study
#consciousness
between people, at the social level? đ§ âš New
#preprint
co-led by Anne Monnier & Lena Adel: âNow is the Time: Operationalizing Generative Neurophenomenology through Interpersonal Methodsâ đ§”(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
7 months ago
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Love & Philosophy
8 months ago
Algorithms don't play & animals only play when they feel safe. â€ïž 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
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Love & Philosophy
7 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
8 months ago
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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
8 months ago
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Why Science Hasnât Solved Consciousness (Yet)
www.noemamag.com/why-science-...
by
@adamfrank4.bsky.social
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Why Science Hasnât 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
8 months ago
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The cultural construction of âexecutive functionâ | PNAS
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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The cultural construction of âexecutive functionâ | 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
8 months ago
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Philip Laughlin
8 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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âThe Blind Spotâ: Der Fluch des blinden Flecks
Das Gehirn-Geist-Problem und andere groĂe RĂ€tsel der Wissenschaft harren einer Lösung. Zwei Physiker und ein Philosoph plĂ€dieren in âThe Blind Spotâ fĂŒr einen radikal neuen Zugang, in dem die menschli...
https://www.furche.at/wissen/the-blind-spot-der-fluch-des-blinden-flecks-15785406
8 months ago
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Adam Frank
9 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
9 months ago
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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
9 months ago
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Kevin Mitchell
10 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
9 months ago
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
MIT Press
9 months ago
âA game-changer for cognitive science." â
@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
9 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 philosophicalâŠ
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
9 months ago
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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
9 months ago
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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
9 months ago
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reposted by
Evan Thompson
Adam Frank
9 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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