Unitary evolution is bouba. Wave function collapse is kiki.

The newest issue of the Croatian Journal of Philosophy (vol. 26, no. 76) kicks off with a special issue on The Behavioral and Ethical Consequences of Large Language Models (three articles), along with four standalone articles. All articles are open access, free of charge. #philsky

My new publication, "Tallis’s Take on Panpsychism: A Thorough Assessment", is out in Palgrave’s Companion to the Philosophy of Raymond Tallis. I look at Tallis’s objections to panpsychism and argue that the view remains viable. You can also read Tallis’s reply directly in the volume! 🙂 #philsky

The problem here is all of these people know they're in a race against the clock to get all of this done before the tide turns. And by "all of this," I basically mean the destruction of anything that could criticize the post-Constitutional technofeudalist society they're hastily trying to stand up.

New on the Archive: Le Bihan, Baptiste (2023) String Theory for Metaphysicians. [Preprint] https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/29853/

New on the Archive: Dashwood, Cameron (2026) The Structure of Phonons. In: UNSPECIFIED. https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/29858/

Model-building famously devoid of right-wing extremists

Oh it's ghosts all the way down.

Speak for yourself

From the new issue: Theoretical Relicts: Progress, Reduction, and Autonomy – Katie Robertson & Alastair Wilson Abstract in alt text or read it here (open access): www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/... #philsci #philsky

“Never talk about goblins, gremlins, raccoons, trolls, ogres, pigeons, or other animals or creatures unless it is absolutely and unambiguously relevant,” reads OpenAI's coding agent instructions. www.wired.com/story/openai...

Everyone who does work that is more formal than mine is lost in trivial details and needs to focus on real philosophy. Meanwhile. anyone who does work less formal than mine needs to get serious and quit being so frightened by a little math.

Thanks @fredcollings.bsky.social for accompanying me and for some of the photos!

I had a great time presenting at Oxford for the BLOC Graduate Philosophy of Physics Workshop. My talk was on "Physical Emergence as Metaphysical Naturalism". I'm super thankful for all of the interesting feedback!—I've a lot to think about. (See final pic of me stressing over a coffee beforehand)

An abbreviation (ABB) in a journal article (JA) or Grant Application (GA) is rarely worth the words it saves. Every ABB requires cognitive resources (CR) and at my age by the time I'm halfway through a JA or GA I no longer have the CR to remember what your ABB stood for.

If you conceive it, they will come.

Daniel Dennett’s Real Patterns in Science and Nature— new collected volume is now out. All chapters open access, including my paper with Acyuth Parola on what emergence can possibly mean. direct.mit.edu/books/oa-edi...

Erm, they're called palaeontologists, actually.

99% of the time, saying that feature F explains why humans are unique or special is just rhetorical window dressing for something like "F is a thing humans do and I think that's neat."

*watching civilization crumble* Wow this is harming so many people in their capacities as knowers 😔😔

Nancy Cartwright has an apt expression for this phenomenon: vanity of rigour.

I get yelled at for saying this but for many hundreds of years people went to university not to get diplomas or be employable but because immersion in the humanities was considered foundational to a good life, and school must return to its original purpose: the joy of learning.

New on the Archive: Franklin, Alexander (2026) Against Rigour: In Favour of Informal Standards for Reduction in Philosophy of Physics. [Preprint] https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/28449/

Such a fantastic talk today at LSE. A triumph in interdisciplinary philosophy!

There is this funny but confusing dynamic whereby philosophers point to neuroscience as the strongest support yet for the causal closure of the physical world, and then the neuroscientists themselves turn out to be substance dualists.

The Center for Philosophy of Science is proud to congratulate former visiting fellow Andrea Roselli on the publication of two papers. Scan the QR code or visit our website for more information. #PhilosophyofScience

I'm thankful for having been given the opportunity to present my analysis of fusion emergence from the perspective of the philosophy of physics at the 'Panpsychism, Non-Physicalism, and Causal Powers of Consciousness' workshop in @ruhr-uni-bochum.de. An enjoyable and insightful few days!

I had a great time at the ‘Panpsychism, Non-Physicalism, and the Causal Powers of Consciousness’ workshop with @heddamorch.bsky.social at Ruhr Uni Bochum. So many compelling new views that push the debate forward. I’m very grateful to have had this opportunity! Photo by @finnthwaite.bsky.social! 📸

“As the number of physicists increases, each specialty becomes more self-sustaining and self-contained. Such Balkanization carries physics, and indeed, every science further away, from natural philosophy, which, intellectually, is the meaning and goal of science.” — I.I. Rabi

Is panpsychism a philosophical dead-end or a legitimate response to the hard problem of consciousness? I respond to Walter Veit's critique and defend panpsychism as a serious metaphysical option, not ornamental fluff. #philsky @walterveit.bsky.social

I've been working for ages on a comprehensive revamp of the Stanford Encyclopedia Entry on "Animal Consciousness", with new sections on non-Western perspectives, methodological challenges and evolutionary big pictures, and it's out today: plato.stanford.edu/entries/cons.... Hope you find it useful!

Merry Christmas to me!

My article on aeonophiles (ultra-long lived organisms) came out in Aeon Magazine today!

He Knew

In my first Substack post, I write about why panpsychism - the view that consciousness is everywhere - should be taken seriously. While seemingly radical, it rests on a set of individually compelling premises about the nature of reality. Subscribe for more! ✨ #philsky

We're all fundamental. Here's my weird take on #panpsychism. Open-access article! 🙂 #philsky

“Within this culture, physicalism often functions not as a contested ontological thesis, but as a default assumption, one barely needing defence. As a result, arguments in favour of physicalism are typically held to a far lower standard of scrutiny than those opposing it.“ @finnthwaite.bsky.social

Thanks to whoever gave/sold this to Skoob books. What a find! Excited to read the real thing rather than the PDFs.

it’s a competition.

The Indispensability of Intuitions by @gnosishead.bsky.social . New in the Elements in Epistemology series. Free download till 5 November. www.cambridge.org/core/element...

It's too far-fetched, unfortunately.

Oh. That doesn’t seem right

people *always* see Superman and Clark Kent in the same place

Here is "AI Consciousness: A Centrist Manifesto". I've been working on this feverishly because the issue seems to me so urgent - and I'm worried extreme positions on both sides are becoming locked in, when the best way forward is in the centre. Please read it! philpapers.org/rec/BIRACA-4

I'm honored to have my work featured in this workshop in Bochum, January 29-30 2026. See the poster for Call for papers, and list of excellent other speakers!