oh Americans may not understand this, but a 'magistrate' in the UK is a local volunteer with typically no legal background. But it's ok, they receive about 10 days of training. And now they can send you to jail for two years without a jury!

Whomst among us hasn't felt a little vacuum about snackie all done

My student Arlene Lo has a paper on the philosophical underpinnings of Canada's attempts to integrate Indigenous groups into its environmental impact assessments. It's now out in (appropriately enough!) the Canadian journal of philosophy. It's good, check it out! www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

New episode!! 🎉🎙️ A conversation with @aliboyle.bsky.social & @jomahr.bsky.social about the functions of memory. We may not immediately think of memory as an evolutionary puzzle. But in certain respects—and from certain angles—it is quite puzzling indeed. Listen: disi.org/what-is-memo...

This thread is utterly extraordinary. I both have a new respect for Home Alone and am laughing my ass off

The wet bandits are Sisyphus and Kevin is their boulder

Gonna spend the entire month thinking about this philosophical discussion of Die Hard vs Home Alone.

I thought it's very clear: the pigeons are a symbol of peace, succeeding where concussion and thermal injury did not. The whole thing is about nuclear disarmament

Debate at The Federation Society for Medieval Earth History, Stardate 912365.68. Topic "What was the Cult of Kevin actually about?" Vulcan opener:

So, rather than "man against the odds" its "war of the gods". A manichean struggle in which good (in the shape of a child) inevitably wins.

The final sentence here is just pure poetry

The moment you clicked Send on this post a dozen Hollywood execs all woke up as if possessed, grabbed their phones, and texted "Home Alone X-Men origin story"

Love this conversation, and on the pigeons: seems like they serve the same function as the eagles in Tolkien's stories. The winged messengers of God, who shift things at key moments only

Trying to generate stat & ability blocks for Kevin McCallister and Marv & Harry units would be nuts. But all the more up-for-grabs: Alignment? Are the Wet Bandits lawful evil? Is Kevin Chaotic Good?

For anyone considering applying to the LSE please be aware that your faculty will be engaged in High Level Debate, and our advanced thinking may be a bit difficult for you to handle at first. We trust though that with time and our training you will be able to Ascend to our level.

"the fae are open source" is an incredible premise for a fantasy novel that would appeal specifically to me.

Anyone know why AMA Journal of Ethics is suddenly closing? “Breaking Bad News” journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/brea...

I know BlueSky has problems with humour so just to be clear: I, like everyone else, am aware that postdocs aren't real. I'm not spreading misinformation when I refer to them as if they exist, they're jokes and everyone knows that. Chill, ok?

Good news everyone: #Duke Summer Seminars in Neuroscience and Philosophy (SSNAP) are back!! We are now accepting applications for SSNAP 2026, which will take place from May 26 to June 6, 2026. #neuroscience #philosophy #brain Please spread the word! ssnap.submittable.com/submit

PhD project on the evolution of animal memory now available in my research group, through the TREES DLA: www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/evo.... Come and join us if you're interested in the evolution of animal minds and you want to do some cool experimental evolution!

The rumours are true: Leeds is hosting BSPS 2026! Make sure you put the date in your calendars (21-23 July) and, while you're at it, consider submitting a symposium proposal (CFS closes on 14th January 2026)! www.thebsps.org/news/bsps-an...

Received a very fancy email from a predatory publisher this morning. This one’s a doozy. 🧵

Happy World Jellyfish Day! 🪼

Come for the title, stay for the learning

My new paper has just been published online in @journalphp.bsky.social! Popperian animals and instrumental reasoning: Philosophical Psychology: Vol 0, No 0 - Get Access www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

More than five years in the making, my paper about the metaphysics of pregnancy is out today, open-access in PPR 🧵1/7 doi.org/10.1111/phpr...

Thanks very much to The Royal Institute of Philosophy for awarding me the Nayef Al-Rodhan Book Prize 2025. Thanks as well to the ERC who funded it, Peter Momtchiloff who commissioned it for OUP, all my LSE team members past and present, and everyone who made the book possible!

Do you have a memory so vivid you can relive it? @campsydept.bsky.social and @durham.ac.uk are exploring how vivid human memories work across our lives – and how ideas about them have evolved over time. Your experiences could help us understand memory better. Take our survey: bit.ly/3J1FQ8y

Forthcoming in SHPS 'A pink lie in French medicine' where I tell you the story of Spasfon/phloroglucinol - a pink shiny pill created in France in the 1960s - and one of the most prescribed pharmaceutical drugs in France, especially to women philpapers.org/rec/FERAPL-3

"PhD-level experts in your back pocket" is a completely nonsensical description of AI but a pretty good description of social media if you follow the right people

Two job ads for people in philosophy in my dept (www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOD999/a... and www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOD995/a...). Ever heard of this thing called AI? You probably haven't it's pretty niche. But if you have maybe apply? Also this even more niche thing (sustainability) so that too.

an annoying thing about my profession is, psychologically speaking, i need to be told i'm a very clever boy every three weeks, but my professional activities result in being told i'm a very clever boy only every six weeks

Claire Mac Cumhaill and Rachel Wiseman’s characterization of this move as “aggressive incomprehension” was really clarifying for me.

I don’t know what this—

Philosophers stop saying 'I don't know what that means' about things they definitely understand challenge (impossible)

🚨 Calling all dog behavior & cognition researchers - ManyDogs Project is launching ManyDogs 2! 🔍🐕‍🦺We're studying overimitation: Do dogs copy irrelevant actions just b/c their favorite human does them? Email [email protected] to collaborate globally and contribute to reproducible science!

Ftr I think everyone should have to take philosophy please my students need jobs

Many congratulations to @davidpapineau.bsky.social and Hasok Chang on their election as Fellows of the British Academy. Major recognition for philosophy of science!

Two permanent Lecturer posts at Birkbeck (equivalent of Assistant Professor). Area of specialisation is open but with teaching needs in ethics & phil of AI, ethics and poli phil, ancient, gender, continental, engaged. Closing date August 28th, start in Jan 2026 'a significant advantage' #philsky

This is slightly old news, but now that I have access to Bluesky again, I'm going to take the opportunity to flag my most recent publication 'Longtermism and Aggregation' at PPR. I first drafted this paper years ago, so it's great to finally see it out! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

📽️ The recording of the Sir Karl Popper Memorial Lecture 2025 by @petergs.bsky.social on freedom and tolerance is now available online! Watch it here: www.youtube.com/live/1TWy0xa...

'I have not adopted a counterpart theoretical understanding of modal statements... The reason I have not done this is that, when you come right down to it, I simply do not like counterpart theory.' (van inwagen). This is so honest. I love it.

Can't believe we still have to say this in 2025: Yes, academics, you must use the mic. No, everyone cannot hear you if you just "speak loudly"

Seeing an old friend might prompt vivid memories of times you spent together. Do other animals have the same kind of memory - episodic memory? @aliboyle.bsky.social and I introduce philosophical issues around such questions in a new Phil. Compass piece doi.org/10.1111/phc3... 1/9

Do you have a research interest in how AI can harm or benefit non-human animals? I'm recruiting a Research Officer to drive forward the "Animals and AI" priority area of The Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience at the LSE. Please apply by 6 May! 🐖🐔🐟 jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...

An emotional day - I can announce I'll be the first director of The Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience at the LSE, supported by a £4m grant from the Jeremy Coller Foundation. Our mission: to develop better policies, laws and ways of caring for animals. (1/2) www.lse.ac.uk/News/Latest-...

in retrospect it's kind of funny that sci fi was like "imagine a world where robots gain sentience, but humanity refuses to grant them personhood" but in reality every loser techbro loser thinks chatgpt deserves more rights than like, actual people

We have three videos already: @kmurphyhollies.bsky.social tells us why people think the world is flat. @zoophilosophy.bsky.social chats about animal welfare @aliboyle.bsky.social works out what animals are thinking

Proud to announce Philosophy Smash! It's a series of video interviews with leading philosophers, about topics that matter to everyone. Designed for classrooms, especially at Key Stage 2 and 3. Each video comes with a lesson plan! henrytaylorphilosophy.com/philosophy-s...