Pieter T. L. Beck
@ptrbck.bsky.social
Philosopher and historian of science: chemistry, experimentation, and the epistemology of (science) education
FWO Senior Postdoc @ Ghent University.
Research: https://research.flw.ugent.be/nl/pieter.beck
Blog: https://pietertlbeck.wordpress.com/
FWO Senior Postdoc @ Ghent University.
Research: https://research.flw.ugent.be/nl/pieter.beck
Blog: https://pietertlbeck.wordpress.com/
Pinned
Pieter T. L. Beck
@ptrbck.bsky.social
· Jul 31
I am proud to announce that the videos showing my replication experiments are now online!
Here you can see the replication of Priestley's production of "nitrous air": /1
Here you can see the replication of Priestley's production of "nitrous air": /1
Reposted by Pieter T. L. Beck
My latest: Without anti-authoritarianism, 'anti-imperialism' is just conservatism with left-wing aesthetics
www.hauntologies.net/p/iranian-pr...
www.hauntologies.net/p/iranian-pr...
Iranian protesters don't owe us an explanation
Without anti-authoritarianism, 'anti-imperialism' is just conservatism with left-wing aesthetics
www.hauntologies.net
February 7, 2026 at 4:01 PM
My latest: Without anti-authoritarianism, 'anti-imperialism' is just conservatism with left-wing aesthetics
www.hauntologies.net/p/iranian-pr...
www.hauntologies.net/p/iranian-pr...
Reposted by Pieter T. L. Beck
If you've been outraged or confused by self-styled leftists championing the Iranian Regime - even as it guns down thousands across the country - my latest video essay is for you.
youtu.be/Dbkkh6GWn5Y
youtu.be/Dbkkh6GWn5Y
What Are Tankies Really?
YouTube video by Politically Depressed
youtu.be
February 12, 2026 at 10:36 PM
If you've been outraged or confused by self-styled leftists championing the Iranian Regime - even as it guns down thousands across the country - my latest video essay is for you.
youtu.be/Dbkkh6GWn5Y
youtu.be/Dbkkh6GWn5Y
Reposted by Pieter T. L. Beck
On the day it was revealed that Jeffrey Epstein was a proponent of "race science," I finally get around to replying to some of Rindermann's rebuttals to my piece with @kph3k.bsky.social about Rindermann et al. "Identifying Pseudoscience." ericturkheimer.substack.com/p/the-rinder...
The Rindermann Reply
Identifying pseudoscience
ericturkheimer.substack.com
February 12, 2026 at 3:23 PM
On the day it was revealed that Jeffrey Epstein was a proponent of "race science," I finally get around to replying to some of Rindermann's rebuttals to my piece with @kph3k.bsky.social about Rindermann et al. "Identifying Pseudoscience." ericturkheimer.substack.com/p/the-rinder...
Link naar de aflevering op de website van de podcast zelf (waar je ook verdere info vindt over de podcast):
podcastfilosofie.transistor.fm/episodes/tho...
podcastfilosofie.transistor.fm/episodes/tho...
February 12, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Link naar de aflevering op de website van de podcast zelf (waar je ook verdere info vindt over de podcast):
podcastfilosofie.transistor.fm/episodes/tho...
podcastfilosofie.transistor.fm/episodes/tho...
Reposted by Pieter T. L. Beck
"Arguing intelligence & adjacent traits are biologically determined served a clear function for Epstein, who treated women as subordinate. It’s equally unsurprising that the powerful people he cultivated might come up with a natural, objective explanation for their perch at the top of society"
The Epstein Emails Show How the Powerful Talk About Race
The files reveal the disgraced financier’s interest in “race science.”
www.theatlantic.com
February 12, 2026 at 7:24 AM
"Arguing intelligence & adjacent traits are biologically determined served a clear function for Epstein, who treated women as subordinate. It’s equally unsurprising that the powerful people he cultivated might come up with a natural, objective explanation for their perch at the top of society"
Enkele maanden geleden had ik een gesprek over Thomas Kuhn met meester-vragensteller-en-multitasker Allard Amelink (@amelink.bsky.social) en Cees Zweistra van Podcast Filosofie. De aflevering staat nu online. Dank aan Podcast Filosofie voor deze fijne kans.
Podcast Luisteren (PodNL): Thomas Kuhn
From Podcast Filosofie. “Geschiedenis zou, wanneer we haar beschouwen als meer dan louter een verzameling van anekdotes en chronologieën, kunnen leiden tot een fundamentele verandering in de heersende...
podcastluisteren.nl
February 12, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Enkele maanden geleden had ik een gesprek over Thomas Kuhn met meester-vragensteller-en-multitasker Allard Amelink (@amelink.bsky.social) en Cees Zweistra van Podcast Filosofie. De aflevering staat nu online. Dank aan Podcast Filosofie voor deze fijne kans.
Reposted by Pieter T. L. Beck
“Epstein’s passion for injecting eugenics into conversation after conversation in his emails should shape the way we think about his role in funding scientific research and development—and steering richer men’s money in that world”
Evil men like Epstein are, in the simplest form, obsessed with eugenics because they believe that their ill-gotten gains are the product of some innate superiority.
Epstein couldn't stop emailing people about eugenics
In the latest files, the trafficker gives it a Silicon Valley–pilled name: "genetic altruism."
www.motherjones.com
February 11, 2026 at 8:38 AM
“Epstein’s passion for injecting eugenics into conversation after conversation in his emails should shape the way we think about his role in funding scientific research and development—and steering richer men’s money in that world”
Volgende week dinsdag vindt de eerste lezing plaats van de reeks 'Eugenics: Critical Perspectives on a Creeping Concept Between Science and Ideology'. Hieronder een draadje met een overzicht van alle lezingen. Telkens in Blandijn (Gent) - Auditorium 3 - 19u-21
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be/eugenics
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be/eugenics
Eugenics: Critical Perspectives on a Creeping Concept Between Science and Ideology | Humanities Academie
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be
February 11, 2026 at 8:44 AM
Volgende week dinsdag vindt de eerste lezing plaats van de reeks 'Eugenics: Critical Perspectives on a Creeping Concept Between Science and Ideology'. Hieronder een draadje met een overzicht van alle lezingen. Telkens in Blandijn (Gent) - Auditorium 3 - 19u-21
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be/eugenics
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be/eugenics
Ik herhaal: dit is Richard Hanania, de gezellige, compleet normale "conservatieve denker" die onlangs een platform kreeg in
@standaard.be
@standaard.be
Presented without comment. I just want everyone here to know.
I want you to know what you're looking at the next time you see this guy being interviewed or RTed by an Abundance bro.
1/8
I want you to know what you're looking at the next time you see this guy being interviewed or RTed by an Abundance bro.
1/8
February 3, 2026 at 12:35 PM
Ik herhaal: dit is Richard Hanania, de gezellige, compleet normale "conservatieve denker" die onlangs een platform kreeg in
@standaard.be
@standaard.be
Reposted by Pieter T. L. Beck
Wim Vanrie: “This involves detailed reading of philosophical and moral science texts, recognising, analysing and forming arguments, seeing and expressing conceptual connections, etc. Generative AI is a shortcut that is detrimental to developing these skills.”
apache.be/2025/10/24/b...
apache.be/2025/10/24/b...
October 24, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Wim Vanrie: “This involves detailed reading of philosophical and moral science texts, recognising, analysing and forming arguments, seeing and expressing conceptual connections, etc. Generative AI is a shortcut that is detrimental to developing these skills.”
apache.be/2025/10/24/b...
apache.be/2025/10/24/b...
Dit is de gezellige "conservatieve denker" die onlangs een platform kreeg in @standaard.be
Reminder for folks who might have forgotten how virulently racist Hanania is on the main.
January 18, 2026 at 9:23 PM
Dit is de gezellige "conservatieve denker" die onlangs een platform kreeg in @standaard.be
Reposted by Pieter T. L. Beck
☀️ Summer School 📚
“Critical AI Literacies for Resisting and Reclaiming"
Organisers and teachers:
👉 @marentierra.bsky.social
👉 @olivia.science
👉 myself
Deadline for application:
🐦 31 March 2026 (early bird fee)
1/🧵
www.ru.nl/en/education...
“Critical AI Literacies for Resisting and Reclaiming"
Organisers and teachers:
👉 @marentierra.bsky.social
👉 @olivia.science
👉 myself
Deadline for application:
🐦 31 March 2026 (early bird fee)
1/🧵
www.ru.nl/en/education...
Critical AI Literacies for Resisting and Reclaiming | Radboud University
This course is designed to foster critical AI literacies in participants to empower them to develop ways of resisting or reclaiming AI in their own practices and social context.
www.ru.nl
January 16, 2026 at 8:36 PM
☀️ Summer School 📚
“Critical AI Literacies for Resisting and Reclaiming"
Organisers and teachers:
👉 @marentierra.bsky.social
👉 @olivia.science
👉 myself
Deadline for application:
🐦 31 March 2026 (early bird fee)
1/🧵
www.ru.nl/en/education...
“Critical AI Literacies for Resisting and Reclaiming"
Organisers and teachers:
👉 @marentierra.bsky.social
👉 @olivia.science
👉 myself
Deadline for application:
🐦 31 March 2026 (early bird fee)
1/🧵
www.ru.nl/en/education...
Reposted by Pieter T. L. Beck
MAIHT3k newsletter:
The narrative of the denialism frame is that those opposing "AI" are afraid, under-informed and/or engaging in wishful thinking. None of that is true: The people who oppose the "AI" project are actively fighting and refusing to accept the premise of tech bros and AI boosters.
The narrative of the denialism frame is that those opposing "AI" are afraid, under-informed and/or engaging in wishful thinking. None of that is true: The people who oppose the "AI" project are actively fighting and refusing to accept the premise of tech bros and AI boosters.
Resistance Isn't Denialism
By Emily I've recently noticed a new tactic on the part of AI boosters to attempt to erase the work of people who are resisting the project of "AI" and...
buttondown.com
January 13, 2026 at 3:20 PM
MAIHT3k newsletter:
The narrative of the denialism frame is that those opposing "AI" are afraid, under-informed and/or engaging in wishful thinking. None of that is true: The people who oppose the "AI" project are actively fighting and refusing to accept the premise of tech bros and AI boosters.
The narrative of the denialism frame is that those opposing "AI" are afraid, under-informed and/or engaging in wishful thinking. None of that is true: The people who oppose the "AI" project are actively fighting and refusing to accept the premise of tech bros and AI boosters.
The department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences at Ghent University is proud to present a lecture series on the topic of eugenics. As philosophers and ethicists, we are concerned about the revival and normalization of eugenic discourse.
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be/eugenics
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be/eugenics
Eugenics: Critical Perspectives on a Creeping Concept Between Science and Ideology | Humanities Academie
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be
January 13, 2026 at 11:35 AM
The department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences at Ghent University is proud to present a lecture series on the topic of eugenics. As philosophers and ethicists, we are concerned about the revival and normalization of eugenic discourse.
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be/eugenics
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be/eugenics
De vakgroep Wijsbegeerte en Moraalwetenschap organiseert dit voorjaar een lezingenreeks rond het thema eugenetica. Als filosofen en moraalwetenschappers zijn wij bezorgd over de heropleving van het eugenetische discours.
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be/eugenics
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be/eugenics
Eugenics: Critical Perspectives on a Creeping Concept Between Science and Ideology | Humanities Academie
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be
January 13, 2026 at 11:24 AM
De vakgroep Wijsbegeerte en Moraalwetenschap organiseert dit voorjaar een lezingenreeks rond het thema eugenetica. Als filosofen en moraalwetenschappers zijn wij bezorgd over de heropleving van het eugenetische discours.
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be/eugenics
humanitiesacademie.ugent.be/eugenics
Reposted by Pieter T. L. Beck
Just days into 2026, the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has sparked protests around the US.
If you’re planning to protest, here’s how to safeguard your digital security.
If you’re planning to protest, here’s how to safeguard your digital security.
How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance
Law enforcement has more tools than ever to track your movements and access your communications. Here’s how to protect your privacy if you plan to protest.
www.wired.com
January 8, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Just days into 2026, the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has sparked protests around the US.
If you’re planning to protest, here’s how to safeguard your digital security.
If you’re planning to protest, here’s how to safeguard your digital security.
Reposted by Pieter T. L. Beck
🔔 We're launching our Bluesky account today! Can you help us spread the word by retweeting this post? 😀
#Theoria #diamondopenaccessjournal
#Theoria #diamondopenaccessjournal
January 12, 2026 at 3:50 PM
🔔 We're launching our Bluesky account today! Can you help us spread the word by retweeting this post? 😀
#Theoria #diamondopenaccessjournal
#Theoria #diamondopenaccessjournal
Reposted by Pieter T. L. Beck
Meer dan 500 doden. Kinderen neergeschoten. Ziekenhuizen overspoeld.
Wij zijn solidair met de moedige Iraniërs die op straat komen voor hun basisrechten. Free Iran.
Wij zijn solidair met de moedige Iraniërs die op straat komen voor hun basisrechten. Free Iran.
January 12, 2026 at 3:48 PM
Meer dan 500 doden. Kinderen neergeschoten. Ziekenhuizen overspoeld.
Wij zijn solidair met de moedige Iraniërs die op straat komen voor hun basisrechten. Free Iran.
Wij zijn solidair met de moedige Iraniërs die op straat komen voor hun basisrechten. Free Iran.
Reposted by Pieter T. L. Beck
People in Iran daring to express their anger at decades of repression and demand fundamental change are being met with unlawful use of force and firearms and mass arbitrary arrests, in scenes reminiscent of the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising of 2022.
www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...
www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...
Deaths and injuries rise amid Iran’s renewed cycle of protest bloodshed
The crackdown has resulted in the killing of at least 28 protesters and bystanders
www.amnesty.org
January 9, 2026 at 3:16 PM
People in Iran daring to express their anger at decades of repression and demand fundamental change are being met with unlawful use of force and firearms and mass arbitrary arrests, in scenes reminiscent of the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising of 2022.
www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...
www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...
Reposted by Pieter T. L. Beck
“Verantwoord gebruik van AI aan de universiteit kan enkel ‘geen gebruik’ betekenen”. Pieter Beck en Wim Vanrie, docenten kennisleer en wetenschapsfilosofie aan UGent, hekelen het concept 'verantwoord gebruik' van AI aan de universiteit.
apache.be/2026/01/09/a...
apache.be/2026/01/09/a...
Artificiële intelligentie hoort niet thuis aan een universiteit
‘Verantwoord gebruik’ van AI aan een universiteit is ‘geen gebruik’.
apache.be
January 9, 2026 at 4:18 PM
“Verantwoord gebruik van AI aan de universiteit kan enkel ‘geen gebruik’ betekenen”. Pieter Beck en Wim Vanrie, docenten kennisleer en wetenschapsfilosofie aan UGent, hekelen het concept 'verantwoord gebruik' van AI aan de universiteit.
apache.be/2026/01/09/a...
apache.be/2026/01/09/a...
Collega Wim Vanrie en ikzelf schreven een tekst over de discussie rond de hallucinaties in de rede van Petra De Sutter. De casus toont volgens ons vooral waarom GenAI niet thuis hoort aan de universiteit.
apache.be/2026/01/09/a...
apache.be/2026/01/09/a...
Artificiële intelligentie hoort niet thuis aan een universiteit
‘Verantwoord gebruik’ van AI aan een universiteit is ‘geen gebruik’.
apache.be
January 9, 2026 at 3:16 PM
Collega Wim Vanrie en ikzelf schreven een tekst over de discussie rond de hallucinaties in de rede van Petra De Sutter. De casus toont volgens ons vooral waarom GenAI niet thuis hoort aan de universiteit.
apache.be/2026/01/09/a...
apache.be/2026/01/09/a...
Reposted by Pieter T. L. Beck
So glad we got rid of cancel culture though
Texas A&M actually tells a philosophy professor he may not teach Plato.
Texas A&M Bans Plato - Daily Nous
Drop the race and gender material from your course and the Plato readings, or teach a different course. You have a day to decide. That's a paraphrase of what Martin Peterson, professor of philosophy a...
dailynous.com
January 7, 2026 at 8:06 AM
So glad we got rid of cancel culture though
Reposted by Pieter T. L. Beck
I wrote about the bizarre case of Herasight, the embryo selection company going all in on eugenics.
Embryo selection company Herasight goes all in on eugenics
...
open.substack.com
December 13, 2025 at 8:16 PM
I wrote about the bizarre case of Herasight, the embryo selection company going all in on eugenics.
Reposted by Pieter T. L. Beck
If you're an educator and feel anything from disgust to discomfort with AI please consider joining.
November 23, 2025 at 12:34 PM
If you're an educator and feel anything from disgust to discomfort with AI please consider joining.
Reposted by Pieter T. L. Beck
Belgian AI scientists are advocating *against* the use of AI in academia. “If independent thinking is no longer encouraged at university, where would it?” apache.be/2025/10/24/b...
Belgian AI scientists resist the use of AI in academia
Several AI scientists have published an open letter calling for a ban on AI use by students.
apache.be
October 24, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Belgian AI scientists are advocating *against* the use of AI in academia. “If independent thinking is no longer encouraged at university, where would it?” apache.be/2025/10/24/b...