Peter Godfrey-Smith
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petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith
@petergs.bsky.social
570 followers 54 following 95 posts
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Peter Godfrey-Smith is an Australian philosopher of science and writer, who is currently Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Sydney. He works primarily in philosophy of biology and philosophy of mind, and also has interests in general philosophy of science, pragmatism, and some parts of metaphysics and epistemology. Godfrey-Smith was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2022. .. more

Philosophy 26%
Biology 13%
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petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · 1d
A favorite encounter of 2025 – bobcat, Point Reyes (California).
Bobcat not lioness, but the image brings to mind the Iranian protestors right now.

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Jan W. Mueller, Matthew Bunn , and 38 more

birchlse.bsky.social
Jonathan Birch @birchlse.bsky.social · 4d
Martin Peterson's creative response to being banned from teaching Plato (shared with his permission).
An email from Martin Peterson to university administrators.

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · 7d
The London lecture is available as a video and podcast as well as text - see my website at the top. For the video: youtube.com/watch?v=1TWy... 6/
https://youtube.com/watch?v=1TWy0xaCymI…

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · 7d
Here I used an old (abandoned) paper by Tim Scanlon (1972). This part is just me; Ben shouldn't be assumed to agree (or disagree). Freedom of expression can be justified through its link to autonomy in belief formation. This is a basis for broad 1st-order tolerance & some 2nd-order intolerance. 5/

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · 7d
"Toleration of the intolerant" is not paradoxical when it's 2nd-order intolerance of those who are 1st-order intolerant. A complicated framework, but it helps. In the lecture I also defended broad 1st-order tolerance in the case of speech. 5/

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · 7d
This was the Karl Popper Memorial Lecture at LSE.
I'm applying to speech a framework developed with Ben Kerr for understanding tolerance in general, especially in relation to "toleration of the intolerant."
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Preprint: petergodfreysmith.com/wp-content/u... 4/

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · 7d
In the case of speech and elsewhere, we should understand tolerance using different levels: 1st-order tolerance (or intolerance) is directed at 'ordinary' behaviors; 2nd-order tolerance is tolerance of 1st-order policies, and so on. Different questions arise at each level. 3/

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · 7d
Free speech thread: In the aftermath of the Bondi murders, the state govt here is moving, unfortunately, in the direction of suppressing protest and proscribing specific phrases.
I gave talks in 2025 about tolerance & free speech. Wrote up the main one:
petergodfreysmith.com/wp-content/u...

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · 11d
What a dishevelled beauty. Does look nudi-esque. Or maybe a sea hare. (There is a 'shaggy sea hare,' but does not look too similar.)

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · 13d
In relation to the blog post about lights and camera gear: this is from a recent dive trip. Mine is the diminutive rig at the end (red arrow). (Blog post: Metazoan.net)

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · 14d
Thank you. Glad to hear it.

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · 17d
A natural light photo from the post:

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · 17d
A blog post obsessing about Phyllodesmium poindimiei, the nudibranch in the previous post.
Obsessing also about some photographic ethics – suddenly adding light to the world of these tiny creatures. Is it aversive? How could we tell? A scrap of data is included..
metazoan.net/126-spun-of-...
126. Spun of Light » Metazoan
metazoan.net

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · 21d
Thank you, from Beth's family (including Felix).

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · 26d
Neruda is wonderful.
Thank you for this.

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · Dec 11
Back in the water with Phyllodesmium poindimiei.
A gastropodic marvel. (Fly Point, Australia)

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · Nov 27
A Great Horned Owl, seen in Point Reyes during my recent California trip. Spotted (while quite a bit better hidden than he is here) by Daniel Dietrich. A young one, apparently. Flew off and then sat watching as I scrambled up the hill to get a photo.

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · Nov 20
.. and he agrees with a version of the 'dark room' challenge to predictive processing.
I don't read Italian (a retirement project, I say to myself..) and used Google translate, which seemed remarkably good, especially with the sophisticated language of the review. 3/

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · Nov 20
Some comments about the review by @gvallortigara.bsky.social. He discusses my treatment of the 'Umwelt' concept and also predictive processing (Friston, Clark etc). I am critical of both. Giorgio sees more value in the Umwelt concept (as many good scientists do, I must admit).. 2/

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · Nov 20
A review of 'Living On Earth' by @gvallortigara.bsky.social.
gvallortigara.bsky.social Giorgio Vallortigara @gvallortigara.bsky.social · Nov 16
Recensione della versione italiana del libro di Peter Godfrey Smith su Domenica del Sole 24 Ore
@petergs.bsky.social
@adelphiedizioni.bsky.social

Reposted by Peter Godfrey‐Smith

gvallortigara.bsky.social
Giorgio Vallortigara @gvallortigara.bsky.social · Nov 16
Recensione della versione italiana del libro di Peter Godfrey Smith su Domenica del Sole 24 Ore
@petergs.bsky.social
@adelphiedizioni.bsky.social

Reposted by Jonathan Birch, Peter Godfrey‐Smith

stepalminteri.bsky.social
Stefano Palminteri @stepalminteri.bsky.social · Oct 26
Just read this old-school sci-fi gem I found in a vintage bookstore in Bologna, where a Practical Philosopher Corps is deployed across the galaxy to assess sentience and cognition in alien species.
I guess the dream job for @birchlse.bsky.social @petergs.bsky.social

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · Oct 19
Driving down the east side of the Sierra Nevadas a few weeks ago. I keep coming back here.

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · Oct 17
Thank you.
I watched 'Jaws' again recently. Such a superlative film.
I'd not processed the fact that it really is 50 years old..

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · Oct 17
The title is from a William James letter - "such flexible intensity of life in a form so inaccessible to our sympathy."
Classic James. But perhaps not so inaccessible. 2/

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · Oct 17
In the @nybooks.com, a review by Verlyn Klinkenborg of all three books of the 'Other Minds' trilogy, plus David Scheel's octopus book and one by Craig Foster (of 'My Octopus Teacher').
Quite an armful. (Image by Jason Logan.) 1/
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
‘Such Flexible Intensity of Life’ | Verlyn Klinkenborg
Their striking intelligence makes octopuses tempting subjects for wishful anthropomorphism and uncanny reminders of nature’s mysteries.
www.nybooks.com

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · Oct 12
The article (I thought SMH usually has an immediate paywall, but maybe not always):
www.smh.com.au/environment/...
This year’s whale migration has been bigger – and louder – than ever
Australia’s east coast humpback whale population is now as large as it was before industrial whaling began, and by some estimates even bigger.
www.smh.com.au

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · Oct 11
Australian whale populations – what a pleasure to read this.

petergs.bsky.social
Peter Godfrey-Smith @petergs.bsky.social · Oct 10
Weather coming in over Eagle Lake, (California, near Tahoe), last week.

Reposted by Peter Godfrey‐Smith

triphilosophy.bsky.social
The Royal Institute of Philosophy @triphilosophy.bsky.social · Oct 6
"Living on Earth: Life, Consciousness and the Making of the Natural World" by @petergs.bsky.social (published by William Collins) has been shortlisted for the 2025 Nayef Al-Rodhan International Prize in Transdisciplinary Philosophy.

Learn more: royalinstitutephilosophy.org/news/shortli...