Simon Fitzpatrick
@simonfitzpatrick.bsky.social
Philosopher. Philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, animal cognition, animal ethics. https://philpeople.org/profiles/simon-fitzpatrick
Wondering when the next Philosophy of Animal Minds and Behavior Association meeting will be? PAMBA 2027 will be at the University of Warwick on April 27-29, 2027. Confirmed keynotes: Steve Butterfill, Marta Halina, Susana Monsó @martahalina.bsky.social @susanamonso.com Stay tuned for CFP!
Nice coverage in The Guardian of our article on the importance of conserving culture for conservation. with @simonfitzpatrick.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Bonobos enjoy pretend tea parties and chimps think rationally: why apes are more like us than we ever thought
A series of stunning findings about great apes’ mental capabilities in recent years has transformed how we see our closest relatives
theguardian.com
New open access publication in Topoi! @kristinandrews.bsky.social and I explore the ethics of AI animal translation projects. 🖥️🐬Before we build it, we need to take stock of the ethical implications. rdcu.be/fbZwv 🧵👇1/13
Can we talk to the animals? The ethics of using machine learning to decode animal communication
rdcu.be
It took 3 years to complete this paper and it was difficult(!) but I think both @ctennie.bsky.social and I are grateful for the varied perspectives we gained as a result of this collaboration. If you work on ape culture, hopefully you'll feel the same doi.org/10.1017/ehs.... [Opens in a new window]
Brokering peace in the ape (culture) wars | Evolutionary Human Sciences | Cambridge Core
Brokering peace in the ape (culture) wars - Volume 8
doi.org
Join us at the LSE for Philosophy & Anthropology of Animals Ethics, 30 April - 1 May. Looking forward to the innovative dialogue format! www.lse.ac.uk/philosophy/e...
When Philosophy Meets Anthropology Workshop| LSE Philosophy
Join our join workshop organised by the LSE Anthropology Department and the Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience and hear from world-leading researchers.
lse.ac.uk
Just accepted: Demand Sharing and the Evolution of Morality – Mike Dacey & Paul Schofield Abstract in alt text or read it here: www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/... #philsci #philsky #hpbio
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Social interdependencies: the deep evolutionary roots of morality and normativity - Biology & Philosophy
Biology & Philosophy - We propose that minimal morality (experiencing “ought-thoughts”) and minimal normativity (having expectations or “standards”) historically emerged...
link.springer.com
People who teach/research ethics of AI: philosophical discussions of human-AI relationships typically emphasize the worries, understandably. Is there any good philosophical work out there that is more positive about potential human-AI relationships? Looking for something accessible to undergrads...
Do non-human animals represent time? New Element in the #PhilBio series by Angelica Kaufmann—free to download until March 16! Kaufmann argues that temporal cognition is widespread across many animal species & advances comparative analyses 👇📕 www.cambridge.org/core/element... #evosky #HPS #cogsci
Chimpanzees have culture. Do they also have cultural heritage worthy of protection? @simonfitzpatrick.bsky.social and I argue they do in our new paper, because their cultural practices create value. link.springer.com/epdf/10.3758...
Animal cultures matter for conservation, but also to animals
link.springer.com
Happy to share this new paper with @kristinandrews.bsky.social. We discuss the logic of recent arguments for the conservation of animal cultures, and what they tend to overlook: animal cultures matter first and foremost because they matter to the animals themselves. link.springer.com/article/10.3...
Animal cultures matter for conservation, but also to animals - Learning & Behavior
A growing acceptance that many nonhuman animal communities have distinct cultures – group-variable patterns of behavior and information sustained over time by social learning – is beginning to reshape...
link.springer.com
"Animal cultures matter first and foremost because they matter to the animals themselves." If you enjoyed our recent episode on the value of animal cultures, you may be interested in this new paper by @simonfitzpatrick.bsky.social & @kristinandrews.bsky.social! link.springer.com/article/10.3...
Animal cultures matter for conservation, but also to animals - Learning & Behavior
A growing acceptance that many nonhuman animal communities have distinct cultures – group-variable patterns of behavior and information sustained over time by social learning – is beginning to reshape...
link.springer.com
Last call for papers for the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology! Don't miss a fabulous program in sunny Atlanta this February. Submissions due Nov 20. See you there! #philosophy #psychology #CFP southernsociety.org
SSPP submission deadline extended to Nov 20th!
Simon Fitzpatrick@simonfitzpatrick.bsky.social · 10mo agoThe Philosophy call for papers for SSPP 26 is out! Speakers include Elisabeth Camp, Kristin Andrews, Muhammad Ali Khalidi, and Roberta Millstein. There'll also be a session in honor of Frans de Waal. Tell your friends! See you in Atlanta. southernsociety.org/AnnualMeeting/
The Philosophy call for papers for SSPP 26 is out! Speakers include Elisabeth Camp, Kristin Andrews, Muhammad Ali Khalidi, and Roberta Millstein. There'll also be a session in honor of Frans de Waal. Tell your friends! See you in Atlanta. southernsociety.org/AnnualMeeting/
The Southern Society
southernsociety.org
Which animals do you co-construct behaviours with? Read our new paper and get inspired! @anthrofuentes.bsky.social Thank you to @carlsbergfondet.dk, @aiasdk.bsky.social and the John F. Templeton Foundation
Elodie Mandel-Briefer@ebriefer.bsky.social · 9mo agoGreat new paper by @mfhansen.bsky.social and Agustin Fuentes on human-macaque co-existence link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Don't forget to submit to SSPP '26! Deadline is Nov 10th.
Simon Fitzpatrick@simonfitzpatrick.bsky.social · 10mo agoThe Philosophy call for papers for SSPP 26 is out! Speakers include Elisabeth Camp, Kristin Andrews, Muhammad Ali Khalidi, and Roberta Millstein. There'll also be a session in honor of Frans de Waal. Tell your friends! See you in Atlanta. southernsociety.org/AnnualMeeting/
The Philosophy call for papers for SSPP 26 is out! Speakers include Elisabeth Camp, Kristin Andrews, Muhammad Ali Khalidi, and Roberta Millstein. There'll also be a session in honor of Frans de Waal. Tell your friends! See you in Atlanta. southernsociety.org/AnnualMeeting/
The Southern Society
southernsociety.org
Humans have many unusual traditions. But did you know animals’ strange behaviors can become culture too? Out now in Current Biology (doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...) we show the rise and spread of a surprising tradition: interspecies infant abduction. Interactive timeline (www.ab.mpg.de/671374) 🧵 (1/12)
PAMBA Santa Barbara begins! @simonfitzpatrick.bsky.social examines how and why animal culture matters
In the past 5 years, there’s been an explosion of new work on the philosophy & cog sci of norms. If you want to get up to speed on it, check out this newly revised SEP entry on the Psychology of Normative Cognition by @dryan149.bsky.social, Stephen Setman & me. plato.stanford.edu/entries/psyc...
The Psychology of Normative Cognition (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
plato.stanford.edu
New paper alert 📢📢📢 Study from the Taï chimpanzees shows that some gestures used by chimpanzees reflect dialects and that human activity has led to loss of cultural signal use. Please read here: Signal traditions and cultural loss in chimpanzees: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...
Signal traditions and cultural loss in chimpanzees
Malherbe and colleagues provide evidence for cultural gestural dialects in four chimpanzee groups and document a unique case of cultural loss associated with anthropogenic pressure.
cell.com
In case you need a distraction from... *gestures broadly at everything* here's a cool 🚨NEW PREPRINT🚨: Philosopher of medicine Cristian Saborido and I tackle the question of whether animals engage in medical practices. Spoiler alert: we think they very much do👇🧵 1/20
Animal medicine - PhilSci-Archive
philsci-archive.pitt.edu
Are humans the only species that communicates when a collaborator is missing information? In @pnas.org, Luke Townrow and I show that our closest relatives, bonobos, can track when a partner is knowledgeable or ignorant, and tailor communication accordingly www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
We are pleased to invite submissions for the 2025 PAMBA Prize essay contest in the philosophy of animal minds for early-career researchers. The winning paper will be published in Biology & Philosophy and presented as a keynote at the meeting in Santa Barbara. For details: www.the-pamba.com/prize
PAMBA Prize — PAMBA
the-pamba.com
More cool work on nonhuman normativity! link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Normativity in Chimpanzees’ Tool Behavior - Topoi
In this paper, I will argue that chimpanzees deploy some normative sensitivity when they select (i) materials they will use to manufacture tools and (ii) objects to be used as tools. To defend this cl...
link.springer.com
📣 New publication! Most animals used in research are also killed. The traditional 3Rs framework (Replace, Reduce, Refine) focuses solely on decreasing distress while ignoring the harm of death itself. This needs to change. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
My latest book (w/ Andrew Fenton & Mary Lee Jensvold) is finally out! We argue that harmful research w/ NHPs must be held to same ethical standards as research w/ vulnerable humans. The digital version is free Open Access: www.cambridge.org/core/element... #Bioethics #ResearchEthics #AnimalEthics
The Three Pillars of Ethical Research with Nonhuman Primates
Cambridge Core - Developmental Psychology - The Three Pillars of Ethical Research with Nonhuman Primates
cambridge.org
Looking forward to the second (but my first) PAMBA in April! Should be a good time.
Philosophy of Animal Minds and Behavior Association@pamba.bsky.social · 2y agoPAMBA 2025 in Santa Barbara is inching closer! April 24-26 will be here before you know it, with keynote speakers Dorit Bar-On Laura Danón Simon Fitzpatrick Mark Rowlands Stay tuned for the CFP and exciting news!