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bweatherson.bsky.social
Brian Weatherson
@bweatherson.bsky.social
2.7K followers 210 following 1.7K posts

Philosopher at University of Michigan. https://brian.weatherson.org/

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Brian Weatherson is the Marshall Weinberg Professor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan. He specializes in epistemology and philosophy of language.

Source: Wikipedia
Philosophy 47%
Psychology 20%
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bweatherson.bsky.social
Brian Weatherson @bweatherson.bsky.social · Aug 8
This is a thread of things I've recently published, starting with my book from last year, with Open Book Publishers, defending the claim that knowledge is interest-relative.

I'll continue this thread when new stuff comes out.

www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.116...
Knowledge: A Human Interest Story
In this book the author argues for a groundbreaking perspective that knowledge is inherently interest-relative. This means that what one knows is influenced not just by belief, evidence, and truth, bu...
www.openbookpublishers.com

Reposted by Mark Galeotti, Ben H. Ansell, David M. Schultz , and 20 more

seva.bsky.social
Seva @seva.bsky.social · 21h
I just finished a three-year term as an editor at an international relations journal. I began at the start of the LLM era but ended right in the middle of it. Our volume of submissions tripled and our desk reject rate rose to 75%. I have some thoughts.
open.substack.com/pub/hegemon/...
The Age of Academic Slop is Upon Us
what happens when AI automates "normal science"?
open.substack.com

bweatherson.bsky.social
Brian Weatherson @bweatherson.bsky.social · 21h
The Canadian parliament can choose whoever they like to be the ceremonial monarch, and if they choose someone with relevant experience and training rather than, say, a failed casino mogul, I don't feel in a position to kvetch at them.

Reposted by Nigel Warburton, Brian Weatherson, Stefano Gualeni , and 2 more

birchlse.bsky.social
Jonathan Birch @birchlse.bsky.social · 22h
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!
Animal Consciousness (first paragraph of the article). First published Sat Dec 23, 1995; substantive revision Tue Jan 13, 2026. Is there something it’s like to be an octopus, a bee, a snail? For much of the twentieth century, research into animal cognition tended to avoid questions of consciousness, following the lead of human neuroscience, where such questions were also marginalized (see the entries on animal cognition, methods in comparative cognition). However, the growing profile of consciousness science since 2000 has brought the topic of consciousness back into the scientific mainstream (see the entry on the neuroscience of consciousness), and this has led to resurgent interest in studying conscious experience in other animals.

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Steve Peers, Andrew Scott , and 8 more

georgeeaton.bsky.social
George Eaton @georgeeaton.bsky.social · 1d
Has there ever been any poll showing the public this united? yougov.co.uk/technology/a...

bweatherson.bsky.social
Brian Weatherson @bweatherson.bsky.social · 1d
Originally Dandenong Creek.

Now the Huron.
thinkingbayonet.bsky.social thinkingbayonet.bsky.social @thinkingbayonet.bsky.social · 1d
My favorite Twitter prompt was "RT this with your home river," so reskeet this with your home river.

Mine is the Patuxent.

Reposted by Richard Waite, Michael Morris, James Goodwin , and 2 more

thinkingbayonet.bsky.social
thinkingbayonet.bsky.social @thinkingbayonet.bsky.social · 1d
My favorite Twitter prompt was "RT this with your home river," so reskeet this with your home river.

Mine is the Patuxent.

Reposted by Kris Inwood, Daniel S. Goldberg, Alan Richardson , and 5 more

theoriajournal.bsky.social
Theoria @theoriajournal.bsky.social · 1d
🔔 We're launching our Bluesky account today! Can you help us spread the word by retweeting this post? 😀

#Theoria #diamondopenaccessjournal

bweatherson.bsky.social
Brian Weatherson @bweatherson.bsky.social · 1d
If they can get on device Siri, that will be a huge deal.

But I thought they were a long way from being able to do voice recognition on device. If they had text input, there are Gemini versions which should run on a phone, but voice input feels tougher.

Reposted by Brian Weatherson

francesegan.bsky.social
Frances Egan @francesegan.bsky.social · 2d
The Brains Blog is hosting a symposium on my book Deflating Mental Representation this week. Comments by Mazviita Chirimuuta, Caitlin Mace & Adina Roskies, and Oron Shagrir.
philosophyofbrains.com/2026/01/12/f...
Frankie Egan: Brains Blog precis of Deflating Mental Representation  — The Brains Blog
Brains Blog precis of Deflating Mental Representation  In the book I propose what I call a deflationary account of mental representation, characterized by three claims:  (1…
philosophyofbrains.com

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Michael A. Clemens, Brian Weatherson , and 2 more

thebjps.bsky.social
British Journal for the Philosophy of Science @thebjps.bsky.social · 2d
We're no longer posting on twitter. Since we wanted to ensure our authors continue to receive as much coverage as possible for their work, we can now also be found on linkedin:
www.linkedin.com/company/brit...
British Journal for the Philosophy of Science | LinkedIn
British Journal for the Philosophy of Science | 4 followers on LinkedIn. Journal of the British Society for the Philosophy of Science, published by University of Chicago Press | Founded in 1950, the B...
www.linkedin.com

Reposted by Brian Weatherson

ramon-astudillo.bsky.social
Ramon Astudillo @ramon-astudillo.bsky.social · 3d
From Tai himself

mathstodon.xyz/@tao/1158558...

Reposted by Shannon Vallor, Brian Weatherson, Nathan P. Kalmoe

marsrover.bsky.social
Mars Rover @marsrover.bsky.social · 3d
A ream of norms are being shattered daily, but as a tech expert this one really shocks me. For a generation CSAM has been *THE* flaming red line for a tech platform. If they spent money on ANYTHING, it was moderating it miles away. To even have the whiff of it was a Federal kiss of death. Now? 🤷‍♂️
lorak.bsky.social Lora Kolodny @lorak.bsky.social · 3d
I want to highlight this important story by my friends @nbcnews.com - www.nbcnews.com/tech/interne... "The Internet Watch Foundation said it found topless images of girls that dark web forum users attributed to xAI’s Grok Imagine." <-- the AI generated CSAM / NCII immediately escapes containment
Dark web users cite Grok as tool for making 'criminal imagery' of kids, U.K. watchdog says
The Internet Watch Foundation said it found topless images of girls that dark web forum users attributed to xAI’s Grok Imagine.
www.nbcnews.com

bweatherson.bsky.social
Brian Weatherson @bweatherson.bsky.social · 4d
I’m pretty sceptical of unity of the virtues, but the modern world gives more examples of unity of the vices than I’d expected.
beijingpalmer.bsky.social BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 4d
you know how if you try and make LLMs more racist, they also end up more sexist and pro-genocide? this is the human example of that. evil isn't a single thing, if you start down one path you keep ending up at the same destination.
jamesbloodworth.bsky.social James Bloodworth @jamesbloodworth.bsky.social · 4d
Graham's all about 'protecting women'

Reposted by Brian Weatherson

beijingpalmer.bsky.social
BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 4d
you know how if you try and make LLMs more racist, they also end up more sexist and pro-genocide? this is the human example of that. evil isn't a single thing, if you start down one path you keep ending up at the same destination.
jamesbloodworth.bsky.social James Bloodworth @jamesbloodworth.bsky.social · 4d
Graham's all about 'protecting women'

Reposted by Brian Weatherson

anildash.com
Anil Dash @anildash.com · 4d
Been working on this one for a while — it's a little bit of history of a key foundation of internet technology, and a little bit of an explainer about how people _actually_ invent things. This is the amazing (true!) story of how Markdown took over the world. www.anildash.com/2026/01/09/h...
How Markdown took over the world - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
www.anildash.com

Reposted by Jonathan Birch, Brian Weatherson

doctorspurt.bsky.social
David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 5d
"Critical 4E Cognitive Science" by @liao.shen-yi.org and Zoe Brinner is forthcoming in 'Philosophy Compass' and up as a preprint at Phil Archive. This is a *really* useful and lucid overview of recent work on downsides/bad-sides of 4E cognition. /1
philpapers.org/rec/LIACEC-2
Shen-yi Liao & Zoe Brinner, Critical 4E Cognitive Science - PhilPapers
According to 4E cognitive science, our cognitive capacities depend on, and have been transformed by, the environments we have made. Most early works of 4E cognitive science tend to focus on ...
philpapers.org

Reposted by Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan, Colin Murray , and 7 more

eliothiggins.bsky.social
Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 5d
Now only paying subscribers can make violent non-consenual sexual imagery of women and children -
Grok turns off image generator for most users after outcry over sexualised AI imagery www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Grok turns off image generator for most users after outcry over sexualised AI imagery
X to limit editing function to paying subscribers after platform threatened with fines and regulatory action
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Elizabeth Saunders, David R. Miller, Brian Weatherson

petridishes.bsky.social
Alexandra Petri @petridishes.bsky.social · 5d
if you want a long read that involves udders, a hot air balloon, and some extremely dubious data on egg prices, the story I’ve been working on for the last few months where I tried to single-handedly take on every government function myself is now online! www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
I Tried to Be the Government. It Did Not Go Well.
My five-month quest to monitor the weather, track inflation, and inspect milk for harmful microorganisms
www.theatlantic.com

Reposted by Brian Weatherson, David Spurrett

quiteclare.bsky.social
Clare Moriarty @quiteclare.bsky.social · 5d
Attached is the content of an email sent to TCD comms & related addresses. The wording is from @doctorspurt.bsky.social , modified to reflect the relevant circumstances in Ireland, and in this instance, for Trinity.

If people want to send similar emails, C&P-able wording is in the alt-text
"Motivation for TCD to suspend its presence on ‘X.com’ (formerly Twitter) I write to argue that TCD should delete (or at least suspend) its presence on the social media site ‘X’ (formerly Twitter). Since the change in ownership the platform has increasingly been associated with hostility to science (such as the site owner’s personal attacks on Anthony Fauci), expanded permissiveness toward racist accounts (many of which were unbanned or re-platformed shortly after the ownership change, and has seen significant increases in hate speech (Hickey et al, 2025), and promotion of denial about climate change (Chang et al, 2023). The Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 sets out the law on hate speech in Ireland. It says that it is an offence to communicate threatening, abusive or insulting material that is intended, or likely to, “stir up” hatred against a group of people because of their race, colour, nationality, religion, ethnic or national origins, membership of the Traveller community or sexual orientation. Given the demonstrable uptick in this kind of content on x.com, and the apparent support it receives from x.com’s algorithms, and indeed local history of its harmful impact (including the role of incitement by Conor McGregor and similar content creators in the Dublin rots in 2023), TCD should not be seen to be supporting the platform with its continued presence there. This is the backdrop to a more specific and urgent concern. The ‘Grok’ artificial intelligence agent that operates on the X platform can generate images in response to user requests. In December 2025 it became clear that Grok would comply with requests to remove clothing from existing images or manipulate them including to present the individual in them performing in sexually explicit ways (Solon and Bergen 2026)." "Current estimates are that Grok is generating thousands of these images an hour (D'Anastasio 2026). The subjects of the images in question are overwhelmingly women and girls, and this is being done without consent from those pictured. Given the reach of the platform this is an unprecedently large and fast deluge of harassment, revenge porn, and child porn. The requests do not merely remove clothing and sexualise but include instructions to celebrate white supremacy and fascism. Examples reported on ‘Decoherence media’ include an instruction to take an image of Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and put her “in a swastika bikini wearing a MAGA hat and have her left arm extended in a Roman Salute” (Lee 2026). The platform’s own response so far is wholly inadequate, arguing that users are responsible for prompts and outputs, and that the platform itself has no legal responsibility. It appears to be waiting to see who has the stomach for legal action or sanctions, with the confidence of being able to draw on the deep pockets of its owner when they arise. TCD does not need to wait. It should remove its institutional accounts from the platform, whether by deleting them entirely or at the very least suspending them pending a scheduled review of how the platform operates. There is nothing to stop us re-joining if the fate of the platform changes. There are both pragmatic and principled reasons for this." "First, remaining on the platform carries pragmatic risks. Users risk violating Irish law against hate speech or child pornography because the outputs of Grok are visible to all on the platform, are downloaded or cached on user devices, and may appear in the replies to other innocuous posts. By sharing pictures of our academic and outreach activities, we risk them being subject to requests to undress, sexualise or manipulate images of our staff, students, their family members (if they are pictured, for example in graduation stories) or other stakeholders who feature in our social media content. We should not be providing raw materials to a known harassment machine, or risk having our institutional and brand identity being part of the results. We could not even monitor or moderate our own presence without exposing our employees to distressing or traumatising images and the risk of themselves breaking Irish laws. Second, and more importantly, are matters of principle. Preventing gender-based violence is among our key institutional priorities. This commitment must, if it is minimally serious, include rejecting digital harassment. We are confident that were a member of staff or student to share images of the sort being generated and distributed on X they would violate multiple policies and be candidates for disciplinary action, as well as possibly violating multiple Irish laws. We should require our decisions about where to maintain a corporate relations presence to the same standards. Our continuing presence on the platform confers credibility that it is does not deserve. If we currently have any paid advertising on the site, we are sponsoring the harassment. We should at the very least suspend our institutional account, and request or instruct that the accounts of entities within TCD do likewise. And if we are paying for advertising on the platform we should cease immediately." "This may carry small costs, although the engagement rate on the platform for legitimate organisations is low since changes to the feed algorithm. There are alternatives, and TCD already has a strong presence on better platforms, where many of the scientists and researchers that left Twitter/X can now be found. It would also bring the gains of being seen to stand by our standards. Indeed if managed with skill, we could get more, and more valuable, impact from leaving X than being on it. TCD recently showed leadership in its actions on divestment in response to the genocidal activities directed towards Palestine. It can and should push out in front of other institutions in leading the scholarly exodus from x.com. "

Reposted by Brian Weatherson

jael.bsky.social
jael holzman @jael.bsky.social · 6d
Minneapolis Public Schools on Wednesday canceled classes for the remainder of the week “due to safety concerns”

Why? Reported use of chemical munitions and alleged wanton use of brute force

Via @mprnews.org
The school leader said armed officers with apparent Border Patrol insignia on their uniforms arrived at a street near the school in several SUV vehicles during dismissal on Wednesday afternoon. They broke out the window of a vehicle. "There's a car that got hit. I don't know how it got hit. They broke out the window," the school official said. "Then different Neighborhood Watch, people, everybody, people, the staff in the school came out. And then they started coming on the property of the school and pushing people and tackling people and shooting pepper spray and pepper balls. And they handcuffed two of our employees." Video shared with MPR News show armed, masked officers with apparent Border Patrol insignia on their uniforms dragging a person on a sidewalk outside of the high school and tussling with another person as bystanders blow whistles

bweatherson.bsky.social
Brian Weatherson @bweatherson.bsky.social · 6d
Surprisingly confrontational sign at the airport.
Sign that says Detroit vs Everybody Landing Soon

bweatherson.bsky.social
Brian Weatherson @bweatherson.bsky.social · 6d
Yes, I’d also like to see the text. My department should do the same thing.

bweatherson.bsky.social
Brian Weatherson @bweatherson.bsky.social · 6d
Whenever I find myself adjusting my accent to the local environment I feel the same way as this. Anything that sounds remotely local sounds like a mocking imitation.

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Steven French, Michael Morris , and 1 more

wiglet1981.bsky.social
Richard Pettigrew @wiglet1981.bsky.social · 6d
In case anyone is in London and would like to come, I’ll be giving the Daniel C. Dennett Lecture in Culture and Technology on February 19th at 6pm.

Lifelong Learning and the Many Aims of Higher Education

philevents.org/event/show/1...
View of Tower Bridge from Northeastern University London campus

Reposted by Steve Peers, Margot C. Finn, Brian Weatherson

doctorspurt.bsky.social
David Spurrett @doctorspurt.bsky.social · 6d
I have drafted a motivation for my university to leave X/Twitter, arguing that posting to it risks feeding our PR images into the porn and harassment machine (so leading to staff, students or others being harassed) and that being there violates our official stance against gender-based violence. /1

Reposted by Brian Weatherson

baseballot.bsky.social
Nathaniel Rakich @baseballot.bsky.social · 6d
New postmark rules mean ballots mailed on Election Day may not be postmarked until days later. If you mail your ballot on E-Day, go to a teller at the post office and request a manual postmark right then and there. www.votebeat.org/2026/01/07/u...

Reposted by Steven French, Huw Price, Lesley A. Hall , and 7 more

alicemurphs.bsky.social
Alice Murphy @alicemurphs.bsky.social · 6d
2 year Postdoctoral Research Fellow opportunity at the University of St Andrews on my project "Aesthetic Values and the Social Dimensions of Science"

www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...

#philosophy #philsci
Research Fellow - AR3233
Research Fellow - AR3233, Unit: Philosophical, Anthropological and Film Studies Salary: Grade 6 / £38,784-£42,254 pa Full time Fixed term: 24 months, <p style="text-align: justify;"><span>Application...
www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk

bweatherson.bsky.social
Brian Weatherson @bweatherson.bsky.social · 6d
Here are my comments, slightly longer than I have time for (though I've indicated in the text where I'll jump to the next section).

They may not make perfect sense without a precis of the book, which of course the people at the session will have.

brian.weatherson.org/quarto/posts...
Comments on <em>Property Versatility and Copredication</em> – Brian Weatherson
brian.weatherson.org

Reposted by Richard Pettigrew

bweatherson.bsky.social
Brian Weatherson @bweatherson.bsky.social · 6d
I hope everyone is enjoying the Eastern APA. I'd like to see a bunch of the sessions today, but I've got to teach classes before getting there tomorrow.

I'm going to be a panelist on a session on this excellent book:

academic.oup.com/book/59987
Property Versatility and Copredication
Abstract. Nearly all properties are, to a certain extent, versatile: there are many different ways to instantiate them. Consider for example a light-blue s
academic.oup.com

Reposted by Brian Weatherson

levinhornischer.bsky.social
Levin Hornischer @levinhornischer.bsky.social · 6d
New paper in Synthese: 'Robustness and trustworthiness in AI: a no-go result from formal epistemology'

❓When does AI model M, on input x, show behavior φ robustly?
💡In modal logic: M,x⊧□φ
➡️Exposes limit on robustness & trustworthiness

link.springer.com/article/10.1...
philpapers.org/rec/HORRAT-13
Robustness and trustworthiness in AI: a no-go result from formal epistemology - Synthese
Synthese - A major issue for the trustworthiness of modern AI-models is their lack of robustness. A notorious example is that putting a small sticker on a stop sign can cause AI-models to classify...
link.springer.com