On March 11th my paper "Things Gone Wrong: Aristotle on Deviations and Failures in Art and Nature" will appear in this great volume on the concept of "against nature" (παρὰ φύσιν) in Aristotle.

Hiking in October around Bergen is just phenomenal.

Starting a new thread to collect critical perspectives on AI, as they are articulated dozens of times every day and appear repeatedly on my timeline. I can't read everything right away, but if, like me, you want to stay up to date, then this might help a bit:

Miira Tuominen and I edited this new book from Brill with no fewer than 25 chapters on various aspects of ancient and medieval philosophy in Greek, Arabic, and Latin texts. Actually there's a little Persian in there too. brill.com/display/titl...

Fresh off the press! A paper in a wonderful volume edited by Peter Adamson @histphilosophy.bsky.social and Miira Tuominen ("Animals in Greek, Arabic, and Latin Philosophy"). This has been the most fun I had in writing a paper, as it combines my favourite topics: Aristotle, animals, and artefacts.

So where can you go teach where students are told not to use genAI? It's for a friend

"Anyone who works in manuscript studies or philology knows that these are thoroughly digital disciplines. ... Accusations of technophobia ... would therefore be completely inappropriate. It is precisely our technical literacy ... that must make us critical." @dehypotheses.bsky.social

Aristotle, Historia Animalium IX.48 on the case of dolphins discussed by @susanamonso.com in her “Playing Possum” as an instance of animal care behaviors towards individuals in distress.

I'm always trying to come up with child friendly insults for Loki to use and I think "You massive landlord" is a winner.

Amazing photo of Jasmine Paolini at the US Open by Ray Giubilo

New article (open access!) out in Synthese by @marilupapandreou.bsky.social - arguing for a new Aristotelian approach to artifacts, esp. in the domain of natural philosopher instead of the metaphysician. Looks very good: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

I am very pleased that my paper “Artworks, Technical Artefacts, and a Few Other Things: A Fresh Aristotelian Approach” is now published in Synthese! This is my first publication outside ancient philosophy or history of philosophy, so I am particularly satisfied. And it’s Open Access.

More on Greed. Next week in Bergen!

Ancient philosophy people are so great at labels.

Seeking advice from colleagues and friends #classicssky, #ancientsky: the press that has recently published by book is now asking me to sign a AI addendum that would allow them to include the volume in future AI licensing deals. 1/2

There is also a poster!

The question is “why?” but the answer is “time to leave”.

Today I lost an NIH grant training clinicians to do research about intimate partner violence with perinatal women. More women are murdered in the perinatal period than die of obstetric complications. I didn't just lose a grant. We lost an entire cohort of people building careers to prevent that.

As a historian of ancient philosophy, I am very pleased and a little proud to speak at a Philosophy of Technology workshop! www.uib.no/en/fof/17810...

You guys, a conclave of old cardinals can decide on a POPE faster than an academic search committee can decide on the four people we're bringing to campus for an assistant professor search.

Nobody told me that once you publish a book, you just want to publish another book.

Even accepting the premise that AI produces useful writing (which no one should), using AI in education is like using a forklift at the gym. The weights do not actually need to be moved from place to place. That is not the work. The work is what happens within you.

New issue of The Monist Vol. 108, No. 2 (2025) academic.oup.com/monist/issue... @oupphilosophy.bsky.social The Ethics of Partiality: Ancient and Modern Perspectives.

Villa di Livia’s wonderful frescoes of garden views.

“Know thyself”, Terme di Diocleziano

I made a 10-minute, richly illustrated summary of Margaret Cavendish's Blazing-World (1666), a very early (some say earliest) Science Fiction novel. Please have a look and share if you like it! www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4zi...

It’s nice to have the little book coming together. But where have I seen that cover before?

In late March and the first half of April, I'll be giving talks at a bunch of East Coast universities in the USA and Canada (Lehigh, Yale, Fordham, Boston College, Dalhousie). Details here, please come on down to see me if you can! www.historyofphilosophy.net/peter-north-...

Question for book historians and manuscript people: Who knows of good, interesting studies, including case studies, on tables of contents? I would appreciate any hints! #BookHistory #medievalists #manuscripts

Very much looking forward to presenting my paper "Aristotle's Democritean Forms: Metaphysics H 2" in a couple of weeks in Fribourg!

Finally in Princeton!

My wonderful colleague Kristin Sampson is going to discuss the question “Why read Plato today?” on March 10! bergenbibliotek.no/arrangement/...

Honored to contribute to this vol. - finally coming out in April! On Gregory's account of creation, with Greek/transl. + short comm. ch's. Evidence that early Christians do interesting philosophy. Many thanks to Johannes, Anna, and my other colleagues! global.oup.com/academic/pro...

At the end of the month I will be at Princeton University to present my paper “Aristotle’s Democritean Forms”. Thrilled!

I don't think I have a high IQ (I'm terrible at test-taking), and, judging by the behaviour of folk who claim to have one, I wouldn't want one.

I really hope everything beautiful and good is preserved in some Platonic realm of Forms, just in case Trump destroys all the copies.

Here is an early announcement of a big Aristotelian conference in Lisbon in early July. The call for papers is still open, I understand.

Deadline on Friday!

A list of ancient philosophy folks on here bsky.app/profile/did:...

How nice! A review of my book in French by Ulysse Chaintreuil for Revue de métaphysique et de morale

I actually collected all the ways in which Plato’s characters express agreement. A document 9 pages long.

With the New Year came the start of my #ERC funded project FitMA ("Fluidity in the Medieval Aristotle") @kuleuvenuniversity.bsky.social. Watch out for more news and announcements! cordis.europa.eu/project/id/1...

Year 2025 starts with casually going out on the balcony and seeing the northern lights.

Year 2025 starts with casually going out on the balcony and seeing the northern lights.

Happy holidays from Talete (Italian for “Thales”) and me

Very pleased to see a review of my book by Riin Sirkel for Bryn Mawr Classical Review! She even drew schemata based on my views: bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2024/2024.11...

It would really help, Microsoft, that something is done by now to be able to add comments to footnotes on Word.

One more infinite regress argument for us all. My article is finally entirely open access!

Reading Hávamál, the Old Norse poem with life advice and philosophy, written around 1000 AD, in an excellent translation by Jackson Crawford (Hackett) hackettpublishing.com/the-wanderer...

Next week in Heidelberg and online: check out the updated program of the ancient philosophy conference on technê!