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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 7d

I really think I’ve got a shot at this.

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 8d

In which I throw a small and very timid cat amongst some large and aggressive pigeons.

philpapers.org/rec/LEVTWO-10

Neil Levy, The work of philosophy in the age of mechanical reproduction: How AI threatens the meaningfulness of philosophy - PhilPapers

Some philosophers have worried that AI threatens meaning in life by making humans redundant in the workplace or by relegating them to menial tasks. While these worries may be justified, there's ...

philpapers.org

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 8d

The case for instant runoff voting is overwhelming.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Australian bird of the year 2025: vote for your favourite #birdoftheyear in the Guardian / BirdLife Australia poll

From little penguins to (very big) cassowaries, every bird has its fans. Vote for your favourite in the 2025 Guardian/BirdLife Australia poll

www.theguardian.com

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 11d

There's definitely genetic vulnerability to addiction. There's also contextual vulnerability. The famous rat park study seems to show that even rodents will prefer natural rewards - even after addiction - if they are available in sufficient quantities.

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 11d

I think that slot machines have been designed to generate quite precisely the intermittent rewards and expectations that are required for the hijacking of the reward signal. I wonder if poker addiction is really addiction sensu stricto? It's empircally tractable: we understand the neurobiology. I

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 11d

bsky.app/profile/acer...

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · 11d

New preprint!

You may have seen Netflix’s Adolescence. It quickly became their most-watched mini-series ever, even prompting roundtable discussions between writers & the Prime Minister.

osf.io/preprints/ps...

Why Incels Capture Attention: A Cultural Attraction Theory Perspective
AUTHORS
William Costello and Alberto Acerbi

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 11d

It might be better to abandon the term in the second case. I don’t have an opinion other than they’re different things.

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 11d

We might say there’s addiction (sensu stricto) and addiction. The first induces significantly greater behavioural deregulation in typical circumstances.

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 12d

2/2 Only gambling produces the same sort of midbrain dopaminergic response. We can’t learn the reward value of drugs and gambling because they hijack the reward signal. Nothing else is like that.

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 12d

1/2 I hate this kind of talk. People may find themselves struggling to control any sort of behaviour. But the neurobiology of alcohol and other classic addictive drugs is distinctive. That difference is almost certainly correlated with special difficulties in control over use.

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 12d

I understood the US typically understood "working class" as meaning "without a four year degree". At least, that's how it is used in some polling I've read. It's obviously problematic: Bill Gates would be working class.

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 23d

Big news: a companion to gorilla glue is coming.

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 25d

'Why' is my question.

Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 25d

In my mid 20s, I was working on Foucault and Heidegger and accepted a strong social constructionism of scientific facts. I have a terrible memory: protects me from ever solidifying.

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 25d

I think politicians generally are underpaid. If it were up to me, they would be paid more and have an even more generous superannuation. Those who have served for more than some number of years would be banned from holding a paid position after leaving office.

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 25d

Leibniz 'cookies' (if you must) are actually named after the philosopher.

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 26d

I think this is exactly how Bruce Willis found out he isn't real in the Sixth Sense.

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 27d

They scent it to me.

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 27d

Springer sent me an empty box that smelled of tea and said "tea" on the lid. The commissioning editor knew I was a tea drinker. Beyond that, I can't explain it.

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 27d

We crap on them, but academic publishers do it tough. I know from experience.
For around a decade, I edited the journal Neuroethics. When I stepped down, Springer scraped together money to send me a gift.
Sadly, Springer couldn't afford not to consume the tea that was in it when they bought it.

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 28d

My view is moral assertions have many different causes, vs among them. I have no idea what proportion of the variance vs explains.

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 28d

On some views, we are (unless we’re right wing, in which case we are guided solely by truth).

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · 28d

The virtue signaling literature predicts ever more escalation, driven by status competition. My sense is woke views have de-escalated in the past few years. Do the signaling accounts have an explanation?

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Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · Sep 13

I doubt most people bring their beliefs are inconsistent even at the margins. For those who do, sure, every token belief.

Neil Levy @neillevy.bsky.social · Sep 13

That’s ….just how relations of entailment and support work?

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