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Anita Leirfall

@anitaleirfall.bsky.social

Associate Professor of #Philosophy at the University of Bergen. 🇳🇴 Various philosophical interests. Kant’s theoretical philosophy is my field of specialty. Other interests: arts, science, music, literature, photography, and travels.

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Anita Leirfall@anitaleirfall.bsky.social · 2d ago

Sounds before Words | On the evolution of human language The q. of how humans alone came to be blessed with words is not to be lightly dismissed. Language is an evolved feature of the human organism, but words don’t fossilise like bones. How to find the missing links? www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Francis Gooding · Rocket Science for Monkeys: Sounds before Words

So far as we know, true symbolic language is unique to the human species. The question of how we alone came to be...

lrb.co.uk

Aníbal M. Astobiza@anibalmastobiza.bsky.social · last wk.

Our new paper in Sci Eng Ethics (OA). What if you choose to live inside the Metaverse? We propose "Meta-Autonomy". Not just did you choose freely, but can you see who designed your options? Plato's Digital Cave (thought experiment) + what GDPR, the AI Act and the DSA miss. doi.org/10.1007/s119...

What if I Want to be an Avatar: Moral and Legal Implications of Opting for a Life in the Metaverse - Science and Engineering Ethics

The rise of virtual worlds, collectively known as the Metaverse, compels a re-examination of longstanding debates concerning personal freedom, moral responsibility, and legal accountability. These immersive digital environments differ from prior communication technologies not merely in degree but in the phenomenological quality they produce: a pervasive sense of presence that blurs the boundary between the virtual and the physical. This article examines the ethical and legal challenges that arise when individuals choose to spend a substantial portion of their lives within such digital spaces. We introduce the concept of “Meta-Autonomy” as a theoretical framework for understanding personal agency in algorithmically mediated environments. We argue that existing accounts of autonomy — Kantian, procedural, and enactivist — each capture important dimensions of this challenge but face specific difficulties when confronted simultaneously with four structural properties of Metaverse environments: algorithmic mediation of choice architecture, radical fluidity of identity, networked and distributed causal agency, and the moral embeddedness of virtual experience. Meta-Autonomy is proposed as a framework that holds these four dimensions together and derives from their interaction both a set of diagnostic criteria for identifying autonomy deficits and a set of normative implications for regulation. We develop the thought experiment of “Plato’s Digital Cave” to illustrate the first-order/second-order autonomy distinction, and apply Meta-Autonomy’s four components systematically to specific legal questions — mens rea, legal personhood, distributed liability, virtual harm, and the regulation of Metaverse platforms under the GDPR, EU AI Act, and Digital Services Act. The article concludes by identifying concrete directions for future philosophical and legal research.

doi.org

Marco Portillo@marcoportillo.com · 4d ago

The programme for the 12th European Congress of Analytic Philosophy has now been published. I will be speaking on 25 August as part of the panel on Metaphysics of Biology.

ECAP 12th European Congress of Analytic Philosophy@ecap12th.bsky.social · 4d ago

The ECAP12 conference programme is now available! Explore the schedule, sessions, symposia and plenary lectures here: 🔗 easychair.org/smart-progra... We look forward to welcoming you to Madrid on 24–28 August. #ECAP12

Sabina Leonelli@sabinaleonelli.bsky.social · last mo.

And it’s out - our homage to the inimitable John Dupré, a giant of contemporary philosophy, from his loving colleagues and a stellar cast of contributors link.springer.com/book/10.1007... : #philsci

Life Beyond Human Boundaries: John Dupré’s Philosophy and the Interdisciplinary Study of the Life Sciences

This open access book is self-standing as the only substantive anthology of writings centered on John Dupre’s work.

link.springer.com

Raphaël Millière@raphaelmilliere.com · 2mo ago

Now published in open access! Your one-stop shop for the philosophy of language models. It's the spiritual descendant of our two-part preprint from 2024, fully updated. This should be particularly useful for anyone looking for an entry point into this rapidly growing field.

The Philosophy of Language Models

The success of large language models (LLMs) across many domains of AI research has generated intense debate. Some attribute their impressive performance on complex tasks to human-like linguistic and ...

compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Raphaël Millière@raphaelmilliere.com · last yr.

Despite extensive safety training, LLMs remain vulnerable to “jailbreaking” through adversarial prompts. Why does this vulnerability persist? In a new paper published in Philosophical Studies, I argue this is because current alignment methods are fundamentally shallow. 🧵 1/13

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Peter Adamson@histphilosophy.bsky.social · last mo.

Here is an #OpenAccess article in which I describe and explain a syllabus on women thinkers in ancient and medieval philosophy; this is based on a class I teach for King's College London: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... The whole issue is on teaching women philosophers. #philsky #philosophy

Women of the world: teaching women thinkers in pre-modern global philosophy

This paper reflects on experiences teaching courses on women thinkers from antiquity and the medieval period. The discussion is built around a proposed syllabus (similar to one used in teaching at ...

tandfonline.com

Marylin Delgado@philosophypills.bsky.social · last wk.

Plato's digital cave and "meta-autonomy” as a theoretical framework for understanding personal agency in algorithmically mediated environments #philsky

Aníbal M. Astobiza@anibalmastobiza.bsky.social · last wk.

Our new paper in Sci Eng Ethics (OA). What if you choose to live inside the Metaverse? We propose "Meta-Autonomy". Not just did you choose freely, but can you see who designed your options? Plato's Digital Cave (thought experiment) + what GDPR, the AI Act and the DSA miss. doi.org/10.1007/s119...

Gen Eickers@geneickers.bsky.social · last wk.

Yay! Our paper “What is emotional injustice, really? Distinguishing emotional injustice from emotional harms and oppression” was accepted for publication in Inquiry 🥰 This is a follow-up to our 2024 paper “Emotional Injustice”: journals.publishing.umich.edu/ergo/article... #philsky #philosophy

Emotional Injustice

In this article we develop a taxonomy of emotional injustice: what occurs when the treatment of emotions is unjust, or emotions are used to treat people unjustly. After providing an overview of previo...

journals.publishing.umich.edu

Anita Leirfall@anitaleirfall.bsky.social · 6d ago

Do all students really need a laptop? Schools are rethinking device programs as educators weigh the benefits of technology against concerns about screen time and learning. theconversation.com/schools-are-... #technology #learning

Schools are rethinking whether every student needs a laptop

Rather than considering how much time students spend on screens, the more useful question is whether they are asking questions and solving problems with the help of technology.

theconversation.com

Sean Carroll@seanmcarroll.bsky.social · 3w ago

Lemaître gets and deserves credit for many things, but for me the most important is just the intellectual flexibility and courage to take seriously what the equations were telling us. Surprisingly less common in the history of physics than one would hope! People would rather trust their intuitions.

Robert McNees@mcnees.bsky.social · 3w ago

Physicist and astronomer Georges Lemaître was born #OTD in 1894. In 1927 he proposed a model of an expanding Universe. Then, in 1931, he ran the clock backwards and hypothesized its origin as a “unique atom” or “unique quantum,” paving the way for modern ideas about the Big Bang. 🧪 ⚛️ 🔭

Black and white photo of diocesan priest Georges Lemaître. He is wearing a dark jacket and shirt with his white priest’s collar. He has glasses on, with his hair combed back, and is looking at the camera with a neutral expression.
Dr Buki Fatona@bukifatona.bsky.social · 2w ago

Happy birthday Alexandre Dumas (1802) French novelist & playwright (The Three Musketeers & The Count of Monte Cristo etc) His father, General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, was born into slavery and went on to have an illustrious military career Here is Alexandre Dumas who puts the afro in #AfroEuropean

B/w image of Alexandre Dumas with arms folded and sporting a gorgeous 'fro.
Petra Michaela@petramichaela.bsky.social · 2w ago

One of the most astonishing behaviors exhibited by whales is the upright sleeping posture of sperm whales (*Physeter macrocephalus*): they stand vertically in the water in groups—resembling candles—to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. It is a majestic sight.

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