“For the real environment is altogether too big, too complex, and too fleeting for direct acquaintance." Walter Lippmann was right. And because the world is too big and complex, I’ve tried to assemble key passages from his 1922 book, "Public Opinion," that capture why it matters today. Link below.

Few things make me more despairing about the credibility and future of academic philosophy than reading certain referee reports.

Should we ditch elections, cancel politicians, and hand over decision-making power to a small and randomly selected group of fellow citizens? Here I review the case for and against two proposals: Alex Guerrero’s “lottocracy” and Hélène Landemore’s “open democracy.” Link in first comment.

Michael (@michaelhannon.bsky.social) and I are putting together a Special Issue on Political Epistemology for Midwest Studies. Deadline for the CFA is October 31, 2025. More details here! philevents.org/event/show/1... Please share with others who might be interested :)

I love a good epigraph.

The Supplementary Volume of the PAS 2025 is finally out!! Enjoy! academic.oup.com/aristotelian... #philsky @aristotsoc.bsky.social

Happy 100th birthday to Michael Dummett! Dummett was born on 27th June 1925. To mark the occasion, the Aristotelian Society have put together a special virtue issue celebrating his contributions to the Society over his lifetime. Enjoy! academic.oup.com/aristotelian...

Next Monday 16th June we've got Sarah McGrath from Princeton coming to chat to us about: 'What (if anything) is moral experience?' #philosophy ⏰ 17:30, Monday 16th June 📍 Woburn Suite, Senate House 🔗https://www.aristoteliansociety.org.uk/the-proceedings/the-2024-25-programme/sarah-mcgrath/

If you work in Political Epistemology, consider submitting to this Call for Abstracts for a special issue of Midwest Studies in Philosophy. www.politicalepistemologynetwork.com/midwest-stud...

ESEARCH! "Social Identity, Understanding, and Deference" @michaelhannon.bsky.social challenges the claim that marginalised individuals possess unique epistemic advantages regarding oppression. Read:https://tinyurl.com/ypu8xut2 #philosophy #deference #standpoint #epistemology IMG: varpal

So proud of @michaelhannon.bsky.social for receiving a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship! ✨ Even though he’d prefer he were still early career… Project: “Lies of the Electorate: The Role of Insincere Discourse in Politics” www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/mid-...

Woke up to this. Huzzah! I am pleased to inform you that your submission "Social Identity, Understanding, and Deference" has been accepted for publication in Philosophical Studies.

Tomorrow (Thursday) 4:30pm in Senate House, London. PPE Seminar | Promising to Do Wrong | Erik Zhang (Leeds) www.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

We're delighted share this video about @helendecruz.net's fantastic article, "Friendship with the Ancients," which was published by the Journal of the American Philosophical Association. www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGp4... @apaphilosophy.bsky.social Article here: doi.org/10.1017/apa....

Interested in writing applied epistemology for a public-facing audience? Apply to be part of our new working group! It'll meet four times over the summer, followed by a capstone in-person event here at UNC in September facilitated by Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Details here: philevents.org/event/show/1...

This Thursday Alison Hills (Oxford) will be talking about "Moral Understanding and Moral Motivation" at the PPE series in London. Join us! 📍Senate House (Room 243) 🕐 4:30pm 🗓️ March 20 philosophy.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

Two months ago, I launched a blog on Political Epistemology, and I've been thoroughly enjoying the writing process. I just published my fifth article, exploring Political Skepticism and Humility. Link in the comments.

University administrations are largely a scam and should be sized down.

New Substack post! Why do so many people accept evidence of widespread political ignorance but deny that we can determine who is politically knowledgeable? I look at some explanations. open.substack.com/pub/michaelj...

I recently started a Substack to try to rediscover the joy of writing. Here’s my third post. I’ve plan to keep writing about knowledge, truth, and politics, so please do consider subscribing! (It’s free.) open.substack.com/pub/michaelj...

The types and quantity of errors that get introduced to a manuscript at the copyediting/proofing stage are truly absurd. Our book manuscript now has entire sentences with no spaces between words, for example.

Join us in London next week for Jonathan Benson's @j-benson.bsky.social talk: "Affective Polarization and the Aptness of Partisan Anger".

Externalist solutions to skepticism are a cop out and you know it.

So excited for this! @elisewoodard.bsky.social and I will be talking about themes from our forthcoming book: www.routledge.com/Political-Ep...

📢 TODAY: The Politics of Fear 📅 Today | 🕑 2-6 PM | 📍 Senate House 🗣️ Talks by Phil Tinline, Sarah Churchwell, Manos Tsakiris & Jonathan Leader Maynard, followed by a panel discussion. philosophy.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

Article abstracts should be one paragraph. I'll die on this hill.

I started a Political Epistemology substack, and I decided to begin with an uncontroversial topic. I currently have 3 followers, but I welcome more!

Literally every company now youtube.com/shorts/hL9pl...

Epistemic democrats say the legitimacy of democracy depends on its ability to make good decisions. If voters are incompetent, we should abandon democracy. Critics say this is a problem. I say: let's gamble democracy on epistemology! Now forthcoming in Episteme! philpapers.org/rec/HANBDO-4

The Journal of the American Philosophical Association is now on 🦋 Bluesky 🦋! We aim to publish papers that break new ground, are from diverse philosophical traditions, and are on topics of wide interest. Here are our most recent articles! www.cambridge.org/core/journal... Follow us for updates.

If you’re in London, come to this at 4:30pm today!

Join us Monday to discuss "Truth, Expertise, and Democracy." Why are true beliefs essential for democracy? How can truth be weaponized for political domination? 🗓️ Mon, Dec 9 | 2pm ET | 7pm UK 📍 Register: bit.ly/3OJ7Ahc

If you live in London or plan to visit in the New Year, you should book this exhibit. It’s phenomenal.

This Tuesday! 5pm. Senate House.

This 10,000-word journal article is currently 26,000 words. Should I keep going and write the book, or organize an intervention for myself?

On Sunday, I had the pleasure of attending an LSE event at the Cumberland Lodge, where I spoke with a group of exceptionally bright students about political ignorance and dogmatism. The discussion was based on this: "Are Knowledgeable Voters Better Voters?": journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Thrilled to share next year's line-up for the Practical, Political, & Ethical Series!! Co-organized with @michaelhannon.bsky.social & generously supported by the Institute of Philosophy. elisewoodard.org/ppe-seminar-25

The Aristotelian Society would like to call for expressions of interest in the role of Executive Committee member. The Society is looking for one new member to join the committee beginning in September 2024. www.aristoteliansociety.org.uk/about/announ...

The Practical, Political, and Ethical Series kicks off this week! For our first talk, we’re joined by Victor Tadros, whose talk is on “Sexual Orientation, Sexual Identity.” 📅: Thurs, Jan 25 🕓: 4:30-6:30PM 📍: Senate House, London Details: philosophy.sas.ac.uk/events/sexua... See you there!

A new film is directed by a real jerk. Should you go see it? The APA has an online event on "Immoral Artists and Art Consumption". Thurs Nov 9th - 4pm EST With Heather Battaly, A.W. Eaton, Dominic Lopes, and Ian Stoner Register: apaonline.org/events/Event...

On Monday Oct 30th, my good friend Max Hayward is speaking about "Doing Our 'Best'?" at the Aristotelian Society. If you're in the London area, please come along! It'll be a great talk and discussion. www.aristoteliansociety.org.uk/the-proceedi...

Hey philosophers, Today at 6pm in London, Catherine Rowett is speaking at the Aristotelian Society on "Ownership, property and belonging". If you're keen to join, here are the details: www.aristoteliansociety.org.uk/the-proceedi...