tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28149943538350041562024-03-18T21:33:00.441+00:00philosomamaPhilosopher. Mama. Not necessarily in that order.Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.comBlogger190125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-4581126588232406872024-02-07T22:37:00.002+00:002024-02-07T22:37:22.015+00:00Research cloud<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7fHjJf8oKEq7o2HCrur5u-ajk-qlDP8oTP1BjZCAin8UnhOjDddTLUubrCHoU6z6c99zzTcQtMbX1ooNeaZbrldVWlO7F-hvCxXjEa5-_yXDMWiWGsxt6bUxhDGorNV3eWRT1nPT3XWHSkMhJ1xW3UGdvfKsKHitB3m_g9J-blpB8HBEpjB7n1Dz1VWJH/s1000/wordcloud.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7fHjJf8oKEq7o2HCrur5u-ajk-qlDP8oTP1BjZCAin8UnhOjDddTLUubrCHoU6z6c99zzTcQtMbX1ooNeaZbrldVWlO7F-hvCxXjEa5-_yXDMWiWGsxt6bUxhDGorNV3eWRT1nPT3XWHSkMhJ1xW3UGdvfKsKHitB3m_g9J-blpB8HBEpjB7n1Dz1VWJH/s320/wordcloud.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />Seems about right. I'm glad 'life' is so big.<br /><div><br /></div><div>You can do your own here <a href="https://shiny.rcg.sfu.ca/u/rdmorin/scholar_googler3/?fbclid=IwAR0loKrBm117LXCPR7n2xbwIy_0mCUjWrLQnJjikFoKVsQ4WlmKI2UAGO8A">https://shiny.rcg.sfu.ca/u/rdmorin/scholar_googler3/?fbclid=IwAR0loKrBm117LXCPR7n2xbwIy_0mCUjWrLQnJjikFoKVsQ4WlmKI2UAGO8A</a><p></p></div>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-39708778775376405152023-11-01T17:44:00.001+00:002023-11-01T17:44:17.316+00:00Patricia Hill Collins awarded prize<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBqE3FO0KmfapupCZzn33WS34n_uflWQl20L1Atm7B6wnrP0KSz4gq9KDQvDkzJCwkOn0gQhWhoCj8XOZpvIgDSOs3Qgwa4LCM-BcUFvcaSJTFLNn0oTNbT90XFLNe-O5b4G-3yrHO69Yd85jb-xBeuXrK7yoK8efRp0Qo8XUq89Bd_WlJ_K49RiqDeWdP/s1920/b747f9e049dfe8e2243aae3d07ea948b300f2567-2672x2452%20(1).webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1762" data-original-width="1920" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBqE3FO0KmfapupCZzn33WS34n_uflWQl20L1Atm7B6wnrP0KSz4gq9KDQvDkzJCwkOn0gQhWhoCj8XOZpvIgDSOs3Qgwa4LCM-BcUFvcaSJTFLNn0oTNbT90XFLNe-O5b4G-3yrHO69Yd85jb-xBeuXrK7yoK8efRp0Qo8XUq89Bd_WlJ_K49RiqDeWdP/s320/b747f9e049dfe8e2243aae3d07ea948b300f2567-2672x2452%20(1).webp" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>I'm delighted to see that Patricia Hill Collins has been <a href="https://berggruen.org/news/usd1-million-berggruen-philosophy-prize-awarded-to-patricia-hill-collins">awarded $1 Million by the Berggruen Institute.</a></p><p>I've been a huge fan since I started teaching feminist philosophy five years ago and stumbled across her work on intersectionality and epistemic injustice. It was her writing on the <a href="https://philosomama.blogspot.com/2017/06/my-favourite-things-that-i-taught-this.html">agonies of raising Black children in a racist society</a> that first moved me. There is also something gorgeously optimistic in her work, in the way she centers and cheerleads the bravery and creativity of unsung women on the margins. She exposes hypocrisy and injustice, but always with a friendly twinkle in her eye that says 'Let's talk, we can fix this.' <a href="https://time.com/6328162/patricia-hills-collins-interview-berggruen-philosophy-prize/" target="_blank">She says </a>"<span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.95); font-family: __PT_Serif_34d25c, __PT_Serif_Fallback_34d25c; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">this is the way I want to write: critical, informed but where there is space for you to enter."</span></p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-3474579352418024242023-10-04T09:56:00.000+01:002023-10-04T09:56:02.150+01:00The ignorance of experts<p> You can now <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-PkzmMsVrY">watch</a> me chatting to Julian Baggini and Ben Burgis about whether we should trust science, at <a href="https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals">How the Light Gets In</a> at Hay last year. Full video via the <a href="https://iai.tv/video/the-ignorance-of-experts/the-ignorance-of-experts?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description">Institute of Art and Ideas </a></p><p>I argued against the idea that we should bash anti-vaxxers for being wary of politicians who insist they are following the science.</p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-78100958912740197922023-09-25T21:58:00.006+01:002023-09-25T22:01:06.663+01:00Solo mama role models<p>I had a bit of an emotional time last week, post-summer blues and despair at how behind I feel with everything. The house seems to be sliding inexorably further away from decent-enough-to invite-people-over. I've got drawers in the kitchen whose contents keep spilling out because the front has fallen off and I can't figure out how to get it back on. The garden is sprawling with weeds, broken furniture and unloved pots (good job I like <a href="http://philosomama.blogspot.com/2014/06/in-praise-of-unkempt-garden.html">unkempt gardens</a>, ha!) My bills are eye-watering and consistently outpacing my salary. And work seems to be piling up faster than I can tackle it too. </p><p>Generally feeling overwhelmed and in failuresville, then, and that was before I started reading <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/293887">all this stuff</a> about how single mothers have <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-single-mothers-are-more-likely-to-get-ill-when-they-get-older-42142">health problems and reduced life expectancy</a>, even when controlling for poverty (I'm still very much luckier in that regard than most single mothers!) because of all the stress and depression.</p><p>What does one do when it all feels too much? I started casting around for role models,<span></span></p><a name='more'></a> to show me the way and give me hope that I'm not defeated yet. Luckily I've got some amazing women in my personal life and family history who help shine a light. Sometimes its nice to be able to draw inspiration from someone famous, though it's not easy to find women who are appropriately relatable.<p></p><p>One that always comes up is Marie Curie. Sure, winning two Nobel prizes while being widowed with two young daughters is amazing. But I can't really relate. I'm not widowed (sadly, lol), I'm not mothering in 1910. It's written that she may not have seen her daughters much anyway - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%88ve_Curie#Youth">apparently</a> her father-in-law did much of the childcare, and then 'governesses'. Also I don't expect to ever win a Nobel prize (much). I guess my ideal solo mama role model would be British and vaguely my age (Kate Moss? Lily Allen? Adele?) It's easy to list celebrity single mums who seem to be making it work but it would be nice to find examples of people who made it without being stinking rich - although i'm sure being rich doesn't solve all the difficulties. </p><p>Here's my pick: </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI0gPs8HAGYBfwYQkXrEnS0YDlOiQFyMTFbaPYsHIS9HlqLXr0OjBLGhmr1htRsIjaGGKN4nF-kcgiPO6c0gFjzGREyxQmhXWknVdrNq9Q7pFGDWCh8SDkU8_mV_OzQCCx_38lutmisBilZasNBMI89hGxbGyK-9j4WkcCTwMAenPpC8M50zy-6FK-q2jx/s2000/ap060912044082-copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI0gPs8HAGYBfwYQkXrEnS0YDlOiQFyMTFbaPYsHIS9HlqLXr0OjBLGhmr1htRsIjaGGKN4nF-kcgiPO6c0gFjzGREyxQmhXWknVdrNq9Q7pFGDWCh8SDkU8_mV_OzQCCx_38lutmisBilZasNBMI89hGxbGyK-9j4WkcCTwMAenPpC8M50zy-6FK-q2jx/s320/ap060912044082-copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><u>Maya Angelou</u></p><p>Poet and civil rights activist. Became a single mum at 16. Clawed her way past terrible childhood abuse, poverty, racism, a series of awful jobs, to become one of the world's most moving and influential authors. </p><p>I don't know how to reasonably summarise the life and achievements of someone so amazing. If you haven't read 'I know why the caged bird sings' read it. Read <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46446/still-i-rise">her poetry</a>. Maya Angelou: "<span face="Lato, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-size: 16px;">Mother, A Cradle to Hold Me:</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #777777; font-family: Lato, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">It is true<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />I was created in you.<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />It is also true<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />That you were created for me.<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />I owned your voice.<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />It was shaped and tuned to soothe me.<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />Your arms were molded<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />Into a cradle to hold me, to rock me.<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />The scent of your body was the air<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />Perfumed for me to breathe."</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXxqW1NYjcgok1KdiRrQIEJ5iv6zkEakFmF9TKu3TGYli_WKFCoyaTcVaIPXgPXG6E9Weth2WfxSt--wABlq-JrDf4N7ysVyf7R8xZwX89M6tWaaiM3DlwuK5wqa4t2M7o5_8TbefDMwJ49H3827wVE4QJIkcaHiBAjMHQZlVcuEVEkFsqoV2Tkb_Pt7C/s2048/licensed-image.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1466" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXxqW1NYjcgok1KdiRrQIEJ5iv6zkEakFmF9TKu3TGYli_WKFCoyaTcVaIPXgPXG6E9Weth2WfxSt--wABlq-JrDf4N7ysVyf7R8xZwX89M6tWaaiM3DlwuK5wqa4t2M7o5_8TbefDMwJ49H3827wVE4QJIkcaHiBAjMHQZlVcuEVEkFsqoV2Tkb_Pt7C/s320/licensed-image.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><br /><u>Katherine Ryan</u><p></p><p>Successful comedian. Moved from Canada and raised her daughter alone whilst working her way up the ranks of the UK comedy circuit. She is hilarious, but she is also a great role model when it comes to confronting stereotypes and <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2021/02/14/katherine-ryan-was-concerned-for-slowthai-amid-misogyny-backlash-14081648/">dealing with harrsassment</a> and trolls, and <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/comedian-katherine-ryan-hits-back-24213856">being uncompromisingly herself</a>. Plus I love a happy ending and she now looks to be all happily coupled up, with two further kids, with her childhood sweetheart. And who can fail to respect a drinker of b<a href="https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/showbiz-tv/katherine-ryan-defended-fans-shuts-26172382">reakfast wine</a>?</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVx2MPgmidDa46ltCQ90oSHyTjJNzkf9WKQDupfU10E_3YhUOK_cZPGTYNDhGMzt8g6CvtJjrtyF9pTu4xBJ8HTxIFO99NqlNcmjFP8iP2gvFmqdFk5c6oFOjosp7N-QWlRVCIsrGtTOB4NqD3hE_zKkJPXZlAF4EByHsHqGN5cttdNnYGHa-_lAzDrp-V/s293/Official_portrait_of_Angela_Rayner_MP_crop_2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="220" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVx2MPgmidDa46ltCQ90oSHyTjJNzkf9WKQDupfU10E_3YhUOK_cZPGTYNDhGMzt8g6CvtJjrtyF9pTu4xBJ8HTxIFO99NqlNcmjFP8iP2gvFmqdFk5c6oFOjosp7N-QWlRVCIsrGtTOB4NqD3hE_zKkJPXZlAF4EByHsHqGN5cttdNnYGHa-_lAzDrp-V/s1600/Official_portrait_of_Angela_Rayner_MP_crop_2.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><br /><p><u>Rt Hon Angela Raynor</u></p><p>British MP and deputy leader of the Labour Party. She's a lefty, she grew up in a rough area, left school at 16 while pregnant without any qualifications. She later worked in social care before becoming a trade union rep. She got death threats in 2021 after describing senior Tories as 'scum'. She ended up having three boys and is now a grandmother. She vapes and was <a href="https://inews.co.uk/opinion/angela-rayner-raves-vapring-public-sick-polish-poshness-2559133">recently reported</a> to be enjoying 12-hour raves fuelled by a cocktail called 'venom'. Love.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2U65z0yGaA_G4GyS44dLjVQ_5RGD8CLGG8tK7eVttUxfAoXR5XVlFmsus396HXX-TxlDp5LF7_71nHRv3mgYDfvuoHs8Y7KoJUkVyfBZPR8DjRvc1DtIv7HMglKxv9sLj_Q-hJuOyCBQNKXe6gDKToxdsBMBm0LDcLzZZ0yc_WK6wVsNPJHmNgkcIZyX/s721/rrbog.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="721" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2U65z0yGaA_G4GyS44dLjVQ_5RGD8CLGG8tK7eVttUxfAoXR5XVlFmsus396HXX-TxlDp5LF7_71nHRv3mgYDfvuoHs8Y7KoJUkVyfBZPR8DjRvc1DtIv7HMglKxv9sLj_Q-hJuOyCBQNKXe6gDKToxdsBMBm0LDcLzZZ0yc_WK6wVsNPJHmNgkcIZyX/s320/rrbog.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><u>Dr Rebecca Roache</u></p><p>Welsh Philosopher, life coach, solo mama to two children. Escaped an abusive relationship and somehow holds it all down. She has just written a book with an excellent cover on the <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/cks-Sake-Swearing-Shocking-Rude/dp/0190665068">philosophy of swearing</a>. She is funny and cool and writes <a href="https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=ObYwTcAAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">top-notch paper</a>s. Oh and she does <a href="https://www.academicimperfectionist.com/about">Life Coaching</a> and a <a href="https://www.academicimperfectionist.com/podcast">podcast too</a>.</p><p>Of course, it's a big deal to me to find role models who are academics as well as solo mamas.I do know a few other single mum philosophers but they generally aren't public about their status, <a href="https://rebeccaroache.weebly.com/failures-and-lowlights.html">unlike Rebecca</a>. Hell, there aren't that many people who are *mothers* as well as philosophers. </p><p>There are some good recent examples of single mothers in film and tv.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOW16U1RrwtpU7yvev84UD1_C6X-Eq6i5B8CCY92LaVXdJaFn0bTZAWJJvXttjBIqy6TIts5qiTzVHgSGq6vtLHMq3AAg1F4jFJW9Gjsm2BEMOnvg65tgmj0CreVHV008SCkpjlsCPQ_pABPTPPjR--_t3W1bl9Yvcv_GJCTzZ4Cw9Xf5dAo-s0ZfUlWjc/s300/motherland_0203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOW16U1RrwtpU7yvev84UD1_C6X-Eq6i5B8CCY92LaVXdJaFn0bTZAWJJvXttjBIqy6TIts5qiTzVHgSGq6vtLHMq3AAg1F4jFJW9Gjsm2BEMOnvg65tgmj0CreVHV008SCkpjlsCPQ_pABPTPPjR--_t3W1bl9Yvcv_GJCTzZ4Cw9Xf5dAo-s0ZfUlWjc/s1600/motherland_0203.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p>Liz from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motherland_(TV_series)">Motherland</a>, played by Diane Morgan, is foul-mouthed, hard-smoking and sarcastic but always has a parenting hack up her sleeve.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaxCBJNzZUUD9EwUvjlrFPJQ5rwJ8StFW8AJuAGmnz5ROR0ja_XN4geb9NEITP58uriJGb3fqkxC0ECTAMl09NG1Q2jisBMYnjJVBCCdaA28BtlPxKDQHAxgB6NamAo0FBTmZCg0T6gzg16VMUxBfwhPY5kB-9cuASYQet6i_ah0vMYJFxDD_UCl2ZoP2z/s2519/9212444.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2519" data-original-width="2100" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaxCBJNzZUUD9EwUvjlrFPJQ5rwJ8StFW8AJuAGmnz5ROR0ja_XN4geb9NEITP58uriJGb3fqkxC0ECTAMl09NG1Q2jisBMYnjJVBCCdaA28BtlPxKDQHAxgB6NamAo0FBTmZCg0T6gzg16VMUxBfwhPY5kB-9cuASYQet6i_ah0vMYJFxDD_UCl2ZoP2z/s320/9212444.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Dr Jean Milburn from '<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_Education_(TV_series)">Sex Education</a>' (played by Scully I mean Gillian Anderson) combines motherhood with glamour and a high-flying career as a therapist and writer, and still finds time for a fulfilling sex life.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVijggG07e0l_4tSZcnlUAhAxCh-BI2-iZC91edo45AcSsVoZlfRRykfMHWEavG-lmnNpwFKN-Xoi6Rv3RQeuqYXKNueKsIVQ3l912Ya_rqgS15Yw47ey65sXIZXW4AlAL9kg0aD9vMukBuBYDVBuEgR_hPo2DofJOfFjj7RFUML5Mhvnspnq4pmkk_JJn/s3300/cred-colleen-hayes-fx_wide-86476224a8a36fb7180927705fa7676fe535df98.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1856" data-original-width="3300" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVijggG07e0l_4tSZcnlUAhAxCh-BI2-iZC91edo45AcSsVoZlfRRykfMHWEavG-lmnNpwFKN-Xoi6Rv3RQeuqYXKNueKsIVQ3l912Ya_rqgS15Yw47ey65sXIZXW4AlAL9kg0aD9vMukBuBYDVBuEgR_hPo2DofJOfFjj7RFUML5Mhvnspnq4pmkk_JJn/s320/cred-colleen-hayes-fx_wide-86476224a8a36fb7180927705fa7676fe535df98.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sam from '<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Better_Things_(TV_series)#:~:text=Pamela%20Adlon%20as%20Sam%20Fox,Sam's%20strong%2Dwilled%20middle%20child.">Better Things</a>' has three volatile daughters and is a struggling actress. She is very likeable, and the show really captures the raw and bitter intensity of her domestic chaos.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Can you suggest any I've forgotten? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I might do a list from books next.....</div><p><br /></p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-38101311210443512022023-09-03T09:52:00.001+01:002023-09-13T11:16:45.328+01:00How human do you think you are?<p> My essay on the Post-Human body, now freely available <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thephilosopher1923.org%2Fpost%2Fthe-post-human-body&data=05%7C01%7CE.Clarke%40leeds.ac.uk%7C09337f03f3c340b04f5508dbac147a18%7Cbdeaeda8c81d45ce863e5232a535b7cb%7C1%7C0%7C638292976182775180%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=2f3sz6SN0Rz0XVIBgvTQWJOF8miVDH2i4SBX%2BGUjq%2BI%3D&reserved=0" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;" title="https://www.thephilosopher1923.org/post/the-post-human-body">online</a> at Public Philosophy Journal 'The Philosopher' <a href="https://www.thephilosopher1923.org/">thephilosopher1923.org</a></p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-72249180241432997472023-08-03T15:03:00.004+01:002023-09-13T11:16:29.206+01:00My favourite things that I taught this semester: Fiona Woollard<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoikZUvwTyIR15CnhAsEuSduT-BBKgqE68Q763L-keemgHCV4pJ_NYi9Nq9VBIIPb8PKWT28hT247CPSuxl_8zu1j2vorOLOBOq2rqZLCXNu1TFpriJUTYHTC80DB3O-rYkGZXPiWAMl6jjY0tGCU9m-AJslA-n28E5lCb0kBKToTAxxX7FT6E4WCJ1A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="277" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoikZUvwTyIR15CnhAsEuSduT-BBKgqE68Q763L-keemgHCV4pJ_NYi9Nq9VBIIPb8PKWT28hT247CPSuxl_8zu1j2vorOLOBOq2rqZLCXNu1TFpriJUTYHTC80DB3O-rYkGZXPiWAMl6jjY0tGCU9m-AJslA-n28E5lCb0kBKToTAxxX7FT6E4WCJ1A" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p>Last semester I had my 'Feminist Philosophy' students read Woollard's <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14685930#">prize-winning</a> 2021 paper, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/japp.12464">'Mother knows best: Pregnancy, applied ethics, and epistemically transformative experiences.</a>' <span><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p>Woollard utilizes <a href="http://philosomama.blogspot.com/2013/10/what-laurie-paul-expected-about.html">Laurie Paul's innovation</a> regarding the epistemic consequences of transformative experiences. As I <a href="http://philosomama.blogspot.com/2013/10/what-laurie-paul-expected-about.html">wrote back in 2013</a>, Paul attempts to capture exactly how ineffable the experience of becoming a parent is. The ineffablity is so profound, she argues, that you cannot understand what it is like, until after it has happened. When combined with another key feature of the transition - its tendency of altering the identity of the parent - there is an important consequence: There is no way to access knowledge about whether you will enjoy being a parent, in advance of its being too late to back out. You can't know what it will be like, nor what *you* will be like - what preferences you'll have, for example. So there is no way to make rational decisions about whether or not to enter that state.</p><p>Paul's argument has received a large amount of interest and some push-back. But Woollard's is one of the first papers, as far as I'm aware at least, that puts it to further conceptual work. And big work it is! For Woollard argues that Paul's conclusions have consequences for the permissibility of abortion. In fact, it goes even further than that. If Woollard is right, then there might be consequences for the very idea of objective moral truths. Big news.</p><p>So how do we get there? First off, Woollard focusses on the ineffability of pregnancy, rather than parenthood more generally. There might be a few reasons for this. For one thing, in abortion debates it is typically assumed that the costs of actually raising a child aren't relevant, because a woman might avoid those by giving a child up for adoption. For another, its important to Woollard's point that only certain members of the population actually experience pregnancy, whereas many more will experience parenthood. The people who experience pregnancy will overwhelmingly be women.</p><p>Woollard argues that pregnancy is sufficiently unlike any other experience that only those who have been pregnant can grasp what it is like. A friend of mine fairly recently had a sky diving accident in which he broke both ankles. It was a near-death experience which left him changed, with large amounts of metal pins now holding him together. Although he now enjoys a fairly normal life, there are certain things he now can't do, and it has affected his identity. We agreed that his experience might be the closest a man can get to pregnancy and childbirth. It hurt, his body changed in unexpected ways, it was frightnening and left him with reduced options open to him, in unanticipated ways. Of course there are also lots of differences - pregancy is far more common, and often results in very big gains as well as losses. Pregnancy also involves the experience of a life growing within you, and in the potential generation of an incredible intimacy - an emotional attachment to the thing growing, which is very hard to put into words. </p><p>A crucial presupposition here is that there are limits to the obligations that may be reasonably demanded of moral agents. This means we may only require a person to do something if we understand what it would cost them. If only people who have experienced pregnancy can understand what it is like to be pregnant, then only such people can understand what it can cost - the burden it can impose. Of course, some people experience pregnancy as enjoyable overall, or as having negligible costs. Nonetheless, Woollard argues that even someone who experienced a low-cost, high-gain pregnancy has a better grasp of what it would be like to have a very costly, awful pregnancy, compared to someone who has not been pregnant at all. Crucially, Woollard argues that someone who has never been pregnant can have only a very limited understanding of what it's like to be pregnant, and therefore of what they would be demanding if they required someone to continue a pregnancy against their will.</p><p>Woollard stops short of concluding that only people with experience of pregnancy may judge the permissibility of abortion. But she does say that the permissibility of abortion can only be determined after the right kind of engagement with the perspectives of people who have experienced pregnancy. That pregnancy-experiencers have a sort of privileged epistemic status, when it comes to abortion ethics.</p><p>One reason why this paper is a big deal is because it speaks to the intuition that there is something deeply uncomfortable about photos like this of US lawmakers campaigning against abortion rights.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilKSrfhobEu2Qtd9fIx0j6pjDRWnrZFJvaA53wHgzKxuW0Op0arYiqiuU7p5vsmVKjJJUCpnWxBEO9FJB6YVAsvNgD_X5NVyVpcQBJt_JzRgMMDLmPzMLiosbe0refAtHR5kvmsvpDrTPGfo-CnmtqIDknYT_s4nHEKku-MI6Q7HkD8ZxWDbYGrdtmtR50" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="759" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilKSrfhobEu2Qtd9fIx0j6pjDRWnrZFJvaA53wHgzKxuW0Op0arYiqiuU7p5vsmVKjJJUCpnWxBEO9FJB6YVAsvNgD_X5NVyVpcQBJt_JzRgMMDLmPzMLiosbe0refAtHR5kvmsvpDrTPGfo-CnmtqIDknYT_s4nHEKku-MI6Q7HkD8ZxWDbYGrdtmtR50" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another reason, however, is its potential impact on other ethical issues. Does one always need relevant experience of an event or action in order to be qualified to judge its permissibility? Perhaps child sex abuse, for example, should only be litigated by former victims of such abuse? Perhaps famine relief ought to be organised only by former victims of famine? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Woollard tries to head off such conclusions by arguing that pregnancy is a special case - that's why she focuses so much on the details and weirdness of pregnancy. but this doesn't foreclose the worry that we might need even more finegrained categories. Perhaps the permissibility of abortion in cases of rape should be determined only by people who have experiences abortion as a consequence of rape, for example? This slope slips into relativism however. We want to avoid saying that matters of right and wrong depend too much on where one stands.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Paul's critics were largely unconvinced that transformative experiences are a discrete category. It seems more plausible that we can grasp things more or less, and that very transformative experiences are on a continuum with less transformative experiences. And Woollard allows that people aren't entirely trapped in the solipsism of their own experiences. We can use narrative, imagery, poetry, metaphor and the like to approach an understanding of what other people experience.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But in a world where women's narratives tend already to be ignored and minimised, I really welcome this paper which calls for us to give more space, more priority, to the views of those people who have relevant experience.</div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-42500503025954127672023-07-18T21:56:00.001+01:002023-09-13T11:19:12.898+01:00Book check-inWell this blog has clearly been floundering of late. Six months with no new posts. That seems like a bad thing. It's not all bad news though. <span><a name='more'></a></span>The book project isn't off-track. It's just that the publisher sent it out for reviews which took ages to come in. Then they arrived in March and were positive, which was great. but then it was mid-semester and i needed to wait until the easter break to have any time to act on them. Then a lot of life happened in the easter break......first kid got norovirus, then i got norovirus, then second kid got hospitalised with an eczema complication. The window passed. Then i got through the rest of the semester and fought my way through all the marking and got excited about finally making the final edits. Then more life happened. <div><br /></div><div>It's got to the point where i'm superstitious. Every time i get poised to work on this book some crisis happens. A global pandemic was the first example, and chickenpox the most recent. Does the world not want my book? Am i subsconsciously manifesting crises so i don't have to work on it? Lol. I actually really want to work on it! I really enjoy it when i get the chance!</div><div><br /></div><div>It probably doesn't help that i have a bit of a racehorse methodology when it comes to writing. That is, its all about getting myself into the zone. I need the right amount of sleep, exercise, the calm state of mind that happens first thing in the morning and nothing disturbs me. It's physiological. I just need to catch my brain when its in peak condition and then i find writing easy. Sure i do things that trigger it. There are certain authors or journal i'll browse to help get the juices flowing. it helps to talk about what i want to write about the night before i want to write about it. and i can often solve problems by thinking about them just before bedtime and letting my dream brain figure out the answer.</div><div><br /></div><div>But its mainly about shielding my consciousness from things that ruin it - social media, time tables, hangovers. Getting rid of distractions. So I'm not someone who can write in stolen half hours here and there in the middle of a busy schedule. I need PEACE, time when my brain isnt in a reactive mode and i have enough time to build up to flow.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think one day I'll look back and marvel that i wrote anything at all this decade. I suspect people without children can't remotely comprehend just how distracting and time consuming they are, just how normal it becomes to have crisis after crisis once they're on the scene. There is so much that just cannot be planned for. So much that can steal your attention and consume your time. I'll never be someone that can sit in a doctors waiting room with a sick child and still deal with emails. If i was doing that then the sick child would know i wasn't really with them. I'm someone that whatever i'm doing, i'm doing it completely.</div><div><br /></div><div>My well-meaning line-manager recently told me i could do with becoming better organised. In many ways that's right. I am not the kind of person for whom things run on schedule. i often don't even have a schedule. I drop balls all over the place. But in an important way my gut resists that verdict. I don't drop important balls. And frankly, as a single parent who works full time with two primary school age children, the only way to avoid dropping important balls is to be ruthless prioritiser who drops many many little balls, all the time. I miss emails. i forget meetings. my house is a mess. I forget where i parked my car and spend more minutes than i would like to confess looking for my phone each day.</div><div><br /></div><div>But its funny cos i bought some books about how to be better organised, how to manage email overload etc. because thats what i do to solve problems, i find the book for it. and one of the main messages in these books is about prioritising. Letting go of answering all your emails and just answering the ones that really matter. Check! I'm the king of that one. </div><div><br /></div><div>I get things done, even if i get them done to an unpredictable timetable. I neglect tasks consistently, because i'm focussing on other tasks. I'm never going to be the kind of person who remembers to send regular reminder emails about things, or communicates with people in a predictable fashion. But i rarely miss deadlines either. I'm never going to be neat or professional-looking. I'm never going to have a clean car, or a proper filing system. but i'm usually on time to things - albeit sweaty from a very hasty bike ride and without a functioning pen. i'll probably carry on being late with my nieces and nephews birthday presents, double-booking myself socially and having to wing things and rely on friends to bail me out when i over -reach on how much i can fit in or achieve on my own. </div><div><br /></div><div>But i think its all ok. We're all different sorts of people, and while the world needs organised, reliable, professional types, it also needs hectic, hyperactive dreamers. </div><div><br /></div><div>I can't complete my book edits while my littlest needs me to sit with her while she waits for her chickenpox spots to scab over. She needs me to fetch her drinks, to hold her hand, to pay attention to her and take an interest in her. She needs me to be with her completely.</div><div><br /></div><div>But next week, <i>next week........</i> i'll see what the world throws at me. But if its a quiet one, one without terror-inducing phone calls from school, without stubborn fevers or global disasters, then.......</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm doing a few chapter re-writes, where friends have suggested different lay outs to make the ideas shine. I'm sourcing a few photo credits. I'm completing a few arguments where i previously didn't know how to conclude, but thanks to some conferences i did this year i've figured out what i want to say. I'm chasing a few references. I'm adding some framing and some sign posting. </div><div><br /></div><div>If i'm lucky, and there are a couple of periods with several calm days in a row this summer, then i'll get it finished, reader. I really will. There might be no other profession where one has the luxury of entirely fabricating and constantly amending the timeline according to which your progress is evaluated. So even though it feels like i've been writing this book forever, i'll be damn proud of myself, given the circumstances. </div>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-78479896299402340512022-12-12T11:07:00.001+00:002023-09-13T11:17:07.342+01:00You sure axolotl questions<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-bzlEldtTyhTgcIPjrKxSqWrUYd-XxJtU-Z-niytd6Biq4mPYv3JMoxCIvdFoSBRlojfD97btW6wqJOsUiokJsoLsI5v4NvzaUoZVvlAXnE0OcQPHZ-DcNyNsYNki1a2mXfPnmmprLW3g6wEhzUt6WvOhgsVQeTiMxI3mIgtrAMvUcsYDSHdWQc_Fhg/s590/axolotl.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="590" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-bzlEldtTyhTgcIPjrKxSqWrUYd-XxJtU-Z-niytd6Biq4mPYv3JMoxCIvdFoSBRlojfD97btW6wqJOsUiokJsoLsI5v4NvzaUoZVvlAXnE0OcQPHZ-DcNyNsYNki1a2mXfPnmmprLW3g6wEhzUt6WvOhgsVQeTiMxI3mIgtrAMvUcsYDSHdWQc_Fhg/s320/axolotl.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br />So I fell down a google hole for a little personal project I started recently on life forms that can regrow and become rejuvenated after serious injury and loss of parts. It's something I got interested in ages ago through reviewing a <a href="https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Styles-of-reasoning-in-the-British-life-sciences-by-James-Elwick-author/9781851965489">James Elwick book </a>which detailed the way regeneration was a topic of fascination for biologists in the 19th Century. Apparently Richard Owen, the founder of the Natural History Museum and head honcho biology man in the UK until a certain mr Darwin came along and dethroned him, was particularly enamoured of the problem of explaining why some creatures could grow new bits to replace ones that fell off, and others could not. For Owen the ability of a lobster to regrow a claw, or a lizard to replace its tail, was a central mystery of life and held the key to understanding not only how life works but how to prolong it. <p></p><p>Owen's research program fell into disfavour in the late 19th Century because he never got along very well with Darwinism. I still find his explanation for varying regenerative capacity fascinating though. He theorised that in higher life forms, the vital essence had become centralised in the nervous system, especially the brain, which is why higher forms can only reproduce if they're imbued with 'fecundating principle' A.K.A sperm. Simpler creatures have their life force spread out more evenly throughout their bodies, which is why if a fragment breaks off it can simply regrow. I don't know why this appeals to me so much. </p><p>The axolotl is a bit of a poster child for regeneration, because it regrows not only its tail but other limbs and even internal organs.Sea cucumbers get the prize for self-repairing not just comprehensively but rapidly, regrowing lost parts in as little as a w<span style="font-family: inherit;">eek. Hydras outdo their mythological name sake, because a<span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">ny fragment larger than a few hundred epithelial</span><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"> cells that is isolated from the body has the ability to regenerate into a smaller version of the whole. They're also thought to be truly immortal, because they show no processes of senescence -aging. They can just renew indefinitely. </span>A planarian flatworm can also<span style="background-color: white; color: #323232;"> grow back its entire body from a speck of tissue,</span></span></p><div><p>One interesting thing is that there is often a key area or body part that must remain intact, in order for regeneration to be viable. We all know (right?) that an earthworm's future depends on <i>where</i> you split it. But did you know that if you cut it after its 13th segment (counting from the head) then it can regrow its head, but not sexual organs? Whereas cutting it between segments 20 and 21 can create two whole new worms? but cut between the 23rd and 55th segments and you'll end up with no worm at all. Mind you, this is just 'red wrigglers', while 'blackworms' will actually self-amputate in response to temperature shifts. And one unfortunate species can be induced to develop a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jez.a.205">head at both ends.</a></p><p>Why can't humans regrow limbs and organs? The standard modern line would, I think, be that such regenerative powers in a complex multicellular would be too risky, because it would make cancers more dangerous. But this isn't really a complete explanation. Axolotls are pretty complex after all - why doesn't cancer destroy them? Why do some very complex organisms suffer little or no cancer at all? Variable regenerative power could be a product of inherited constraints, frozen into certain lineages by chance. </p><p>Makes me wonder if there is any cool scifi imagining humans with axolotl-like abilities. Some superheroes have it, sure, but what if everyone did - how would that change society? It wouold affect our attitude towards risk, presumably. And create interesting new possibilities for body modification.</p><p>Right i should really get back to work now.............</p></div>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-19547099216767026172022-12-08T22:17:00.002+00:002023-09-13T11:17:20.467+01:00"Nothing was wrong with his mind"<p>Blown away by these moving words on mental illness from philosopher justin_garson. Great article. I hope the abyss is kind. </p><p><a href="https://aeon.co/essays/evidence-grows-that-mental-illness-is-more-than-dysfunction">https://aeon.co/essays/evidence-grows-that-mental-illness-is-more-than-dysfunction</a> </p><p>One day I'll write about my own brushes with mental illness, and the services that were supposed to help. But not today.</p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-83371787023135167352022-11-25T14:16:00.005+00:002023-09-13T11:17:30.726+01:00The P-Value Podcast<p>I don't normally get on that well with podcasts, annoyingly. They rarely seem to hold my attention adequately, and my mind starts wandering onto something else while it fades into background noise, then i realise i've missed a bit, but im not sure how much. It's really hard work to keep attending to it properly.</p><p>But i've nevertheless been meaning to listen to this one for a while, because it features my close friend and awesome philosopher Rachael Brown, and I had a feeling it would be something special. I was unprepared for quite how *cool* and engaging it is though! </p><p>I love the series on t<a href="https://thep-value.buzzsprout.com/1997629/11413337-is-good-science-value-free">he role of values in science</a>, and I think my students will love it too. I know many people are different from me, and find podcasts easier to attend to than text, so its great when i'm able to offer further resources in a variety of different modalities. </p><p>Rachael is based in Australia, but in the UK at least, academics get little to no formal recognition for creating this sort of resource, which I think is a great shame, because it is hard to carve out time for anything that isn't essential to one's career. All the more reason then to thank Rachael for making this freely available!</p><p>Listen here!</p><p><a href="https://thep-value.buzzsprout.com/">https://thep-value.buzzsprout.com/ </a></p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-8220685554415218842022-11-21T11:20:00.003+00:002022-11-21T11:20:52.854+00:00Stats<p>According to the (basic) blogger stats function, this blog gets a fair number of views. I mean, not that many. Nearly 110k since i started it ten years ago. The interweb seems to think I'd need that many *every month* for it to be commercially viable - ie to generate enough money that I could be a full-time blogger. Luckily I have a job!</p><p>But i'm curious about it. I get weird spikes where I'll suddenly get 600 views in a day for no reason that i can discern. And i only very very rarely get comments. So it seems plausible that the views are mostly bots, especially when there are spikes, but i don't really understand how it all works.</p><p>I'd love to get more comments from readers. </p><p>So do us a favour: drop a quick line in the comments if you're a human!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-34595026587035172312022-11-04T18:49:00.000+00:002023-09-13T11:17:51.409+01:00My job is insane<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKtJsOtn8RPDxBWWs0JWqkQH2PvY8uEyyXFNUaI9R9D6FeVPzRJ-j5uGUublIMBkwGIw79z-DevmTZCe-VmMWuHJzsndMw9MvgBOO1rAZIXBakV3CHmyTKpulHb6FMXwpBXBKOl-YO1CKiqRYs4WCZMrJwGxCd8YHwMZUu5PbOLbNisBbDQjkb858v9Q/s4032/blackboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKtJsOtn8RPDxBWWs0JWqkQH2PvY8uEyyXFNUaI9R9D6FeVPzRJ-j5uGUublIMBkwGIw79z-DevmTZCe-VmMWuHJzsndMw9MvgBOO1rAZIXBakV3CHmyTKpulHb6FMXwpBXBKOl-YO1CKiqRYs4WCZMrJwGxCd8YHwMZUu5PbOLbNisBbDQjkb858v9Q/s320/blackboard.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>As in, you have to be a bit weird to do it, I think. And before you think I'm being ablist, I'm using 'insane' in its reclaimed sense, to mean unusual, non-standard, <i>special, </i>rather than anything perjorative. </p><p>This semester has been relentless.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a> I can't decide if it's because we're back to being fully in-person now, and it was always this intense, but I forgot what it was like. Or it really is more intense because everyone is adapting again and trying to make up for lost time. Either way, much as it's invigorating to get to breathe the same air as students again, to make eye contact and feel like you're actually communicating, and much as their relief and gratitude is evident in every moment..............it's beyond exhausting. <p></p><p>This time last year I was folding laundry during staff meetings, prepping dinner while I made lunch, returning socks to their homes while i nipped to the loo. Now I collect hungry kids on my way home and we open the front door to reveal pyjamas strewn adown the stairs, cereal bowls on the sofa, while a hundred realisations - i forgot we ran out of milk, i didn't put the bins out, i missed a delivery, i have no idea what's in the fridge, let alone what we might eat now - hit me at once. Some people complained that they were never off-duty during lock-down, with no distinction between work time and home time. I get it. But now that my lunchtimes are back to sprinting to a local shop to haemorrhage cash on empty carbohydrates before dashing back to try and remember who is scheduled to knock on my door next and what i'm supposed to be sounding like an expert about......well there just isn't any time any more.</p><p>I got sick a few weeks back. Just a cold, no official virus to declare, but it was bad enough to put me out of action for a day and a half, during which emails blurred into dancing fonts on the page and i was forced to reschedule a couple of things. The catch-up was then nightmarish, because my timetable didn't have any wiggle room in the first place. </p><p>It didn't *have* to be so bad but, reader, i can only say that my semester of research leave generated HEROIC levels of naivety concerning what i can fit in on top of a semester of regular teaching service. How I sob with mirth at the sheer audacity with which i accepted invitations and requests. Sure i can referee that book manuscript, said prior Ellen, from the vulgar indulgence of her empty diary back in June. Yes, let's shackle future Ellen to three months of no lunch-breaks, constant apologies and poor sleep, she may as well have said, the fool. </p><p>This week I've been trying to catch up on admin (fixing the deadlines and asssessment i should have sorted ages ago) and a backlog of one-to-one supervisions while doing eleventh hour prep for undergraduate logic lectures, completing a refereeing job on which I'm *five months late*, all in time to prep for a talk i'm giving at the workshop in Washington next week.</p><p>It's been a bare-knuckle fight to get the absolutely essential things done and apologise sufficiently for the rest. I haven't slept properly all week. I've got a headache and a sore throat. My house is filthy and i missed the bin men three weeks in a row. I'm pledging to get a tattoo on the back of my hand that reads 'Say no to all requests and invitations during term time!'</p><p>But, reader, here is the insane part. The bare-knuckle fight having concluded, I gave my last lecture for a fortnight today, scheduled the last few urgent emails, and came home to finally start thinking about the talk i'll give in America in just a few days. Finding myself starving hungry, i started to cook food, and staring at the tiles i've long hated above my stove, decided to multitask by repurposing the space as a black board.</p><p>A glass of red is sipped while i leaf through the pages of a book. Words are scrawled in white chalk pen. </p><p>Mere minutes have passed and i am transformed. The resentful, stressed-out harridan is gone. It's just me and the wide open space of ideas, flying free. Everything is possible. I love my job. All is forgiven.</p><p><br /></p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-85623725473946909412022-11-03T22:45:00.003+00:002023-09-13T11:18:02.129+01:00Paradox in Washington<p> I’m travelling to this on Sunday <a href="http://www.paradoxoftheorganism.com/">http://www.paradoxoftheorganism.com/</a></p><p>Looking forward to it!</p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-85054718535995892672022-11-02T15:53:00.003+00:002023-09-13T11:18:12.565+01:00Philosophy for physicists<div>I teamed up with some colleagues last week to produce a short video promoting philosophy of science to physics undergraduates. All credit to <a href="https://mnp.leeds.ac.uk/people/dr-ben-hanson/">Ben Hanson</a> and <a href="https://eps.leeds.ac.uk/physics/staff/9991/timothy-moorsom">Tim Moorsom</a> for the smooth editing!</div><div><br /></div><div><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/0FzkIOUmxCg" width="480"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Facepalm moment for suggesting Descrates was a Medieval Philosopher though. This is why I don't do hps...........</div>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-23487953759228651602022-09-23T10:09:00.000+01:002023-09-13T11:18:21.633+01:00Decree absolute<p>Well it's been an eventful september. I got the book draft in, by the skin of my teeth. And my divorce just got finalised too. If I can just defeat the kids' headlice once and for all too, I'll have overcome some of the biggest challenges of my life.</p><p>Obviously some things are too personal for a blog but I'm always in favour of making visible the struggles that people often endure silently. Suffice to say, it's been bleak, bleaker than I ever imagined a marriage could get. And I wholeheartedly don't recommend anyone try to get divorced and write a book at the same time. Although, in the same way that kicking someone in the shin will distract them from a headache, it might be that each has been a welcome distraction from the other, at times. </p><p>Most important for me is to mark the occasion, the moment, the beginning of a new era. Begin on a fresh page and start the re-build. I'm lucky in many ways. I'm financially solvent, unlike most women in my position. I've got a house, my kids, my cats, a fulfilling career. I'm not saying don't send gin. Definitely send gin. All the gin. Even though it won't mix with my sertraline. The point is, onwards and upwards. Or at least sideways.</p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-48580607947651414882022-09-07T18:02:00.003+01:002023-09-13T11:19:43.835+01:00Day 359 .............it's in!!!!!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZSV8Nv4RQbocLQW5UKyFB_nBDX_wN1gAdjRg0gwwoqBkXibVHjz1bA7ouxVl06XCmLBk64NiIP8nMaTK2XfmVCKUduJA4HOD1epXW74gP_ycroMZJSnSO0R1a0CzlSBOQsau1lwmeQRWFzkiabb4z4-wNP4bIOBzCTCazXG2fU1BZvw6-K6QdGlldA/s200/200w.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZSV8Nv4RQbocLQW5UKyFB_nBDX_wN1gAdjRg0gwwoqBkXibVHjz1bA7ouxVl06XCmLBk64NiIP8nMaTK2XfmVCKUduJA4HOD1epXW74gP_ycroMZJSnSO0R1a0CzlSBOQsau1lwmeQRWFzkiabb4z4-wNP4bIOBzCTCazXG2fU1BZvw6-K6QdGlldA/w320-h320/200w.gif" width="320" /></a></div><br />Let me know if you're willing to comment on the draft for me!<p></p><p>Here's the outline:<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u>Part 1 Finding our target<o:p></o:p></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chp 1: What is the problem? <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_Hlk46429040"><i>Key puzzle: Why is it hard to say
what an organism is? The objective of this chapter is for the reader to be able
to differentiate a few key ways in which defining a biological individual is
problematic.<o:p></o:p></i></a></p>
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk46429040;"></span>
<p class="MsoNormal">Summary: We are pulled in different directions about
individuality. Concepts can be valuable in lots of different ways. To
arbitrate, we need to choose criteria. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chp 2: Setting the stage<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Key puzzles: </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: red;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><i>Should we
assume that metaphysical assumptions about ontology are authoritative over
biological ontology? (How) can we lean on general criteria for evaluating the
naturalness of kind categories in general, to evaluate the category of the
biological individual?</i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Summary: We can arbitrate the competing definitions, by
comparing the breadth of their value – the range of purposes that they are able
to serve well – and by prioritising concepts that idealise property clusters in
ways that support empirical success. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u>Part 2: Model concepts<o:p></o:p></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chp 3: Evolutionary individuality<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Key puzzles: What features does a concept need in order
to act as the bearer of fitness in evolutionary theory? What is the relation
between that concept and the objects participating in the evolutionary process?<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Summary: We can define evolutionary individuals in terms of
their capacity for participating in evolution by natural selection, thanks to
the action of various individuating mechanisms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I also explained how particular idealisations at work in generating this
concept enable it to play crucial supporting roles in evolutionary theory.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chp 4: Individuals in the making (Afra)<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Key puzzles:</i> <i>How do new, higher-level individuals
come into existence? How can we address the apparent paradox between defining
evolutionary individuality as a theoretical kind category, on the one hand, and
declaring it a property that varies continuously, on the other?<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Summary: Goldilocks organisms are the culmination of Evolutionary
Transitions in Individuality, via the gradual accumulation of a property we can
call ‘evolutionary potential’, thanks to the evolution of increasingly
effective policing mechanisms. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chp 5: Other kinds of biological individual (Maureen)<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Key puzzles: Why have we developed so many different ways of
thinking about living things? Are they all useful? What are they useful for?
How do they relate to one another?<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Summary: </span>Distinct sorts of biological individuality perform
quite different functions, some of which are more context-limited than others.<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u>Part 3: Learning lessons<o:p></o:p></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chp 6: Identity and other metaphysical problems (Samir)<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Key puzzles: Do (any of) the previously surveyed kinds of
biological individual imply identity conditions, as expected by metaphysicians?
Can biological individuality ground personal identity? Can it help with puzzles
about origins, counterfactuals and persistence?<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Summary: The evolutionary account can provide certain sorts
of identity criteria – especially concerning the birth conditions of new
individuals. But that, just as with individuality in general, the answers
provided can be deemed successful or not only in the context of a given aim.
This is a more pragmatic, conventional view of identity than is usually
expected by metaphysicians, and it undercuts the project of appealing to biological
theory to settle metaphysical puzzles about identity. It also takes some of the
worry out of maintaining multiple different accounts of individuality that
imply different identity conditions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chp 7: Omissions, problems and non-problems <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Key puzzle: Can the foregoing chapters help us to make sense of
the status of all candidate organisms, or are we left with some serious
problems?<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chp 8: Broader implications (Celia)<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Summary: Work on biological individuality, and especially
evolutionary individuality, could be applied to much broader problems
concerning people and the societies that they live in, in so far as it captures
different ways of solving cooperation problems.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p></p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-8508567632350108712022-07-16T22:03:00.008+01:002023-09-13T11:19:53.206+01:00Day 307: Looking on the bright side<p>It occurred to me recently that in this 'How to finish a book' series I've tended to write mostly when I'm feeling negative about the work - to berate myself, or create excuses about other stuff I've been busy with, or just defiantly state how far my output has subceeded my plans. I consciously intended to do a bit of that, at the outset. I like the recent trend of academics talking about all the rejections and failed experiments they've endured, to balance out the normal misleading bias towards only talking about successes. Plus, I think it's important for parents especially to be real about just what they're up against when they try to do more than just wipe stuff up and dispense snacks.</p><p>On the other hand, I might have gone too far and given the impression that my book is way behind schedule, that I never get anything done. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a>Obviously, the times when I'm getting tons of writing done are unlikely to be times when I'm blogging a lot. And when I'm getting plenty done I don't feel the *need* to blog so much.<p></p><p></p><p>So in the interests of balance, on day 307 *YIKES* here is a little progress update. </p><p>I am deeply terrified about the fact that there is only one week left before the school holidays start. But I'm trying to keep it in proportion because I do have some childcare booked in. Nonetheless, I would feel like a horrible mother if I worked all the way through, so there will be camping trips and a family vacation in France (if airline still exist at that point) and in general I am committed to being properly present and having some fun times with the kids. So it will be a squeeze.</p><p>But the publisher recently checked in with me whether I was still on target for submission at the end of the summer. ***AND I SAID YES*** and then woke up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night wondering why I'd said yes and hating myself. But then I figured nobody provided a written definition of 'summer' in that exchange, so maybe summer includes september, right?</p><p>Anyways, the time left on the clock is now a matter of weeks rather than months and the heat is on. 'Literally', as my kids constantly and totally inappropriately say (and yes I am that cool mum that demands they explain the concept of metaphor to me before using that word again. Weird it hasn't made any difference).</p><p>But reader, listen to this - I'm actually not freaking out that much. I mean, when you just came out of a pandemic and the economy is nosediving and the weather is set to 'lava' it's hard to freak out much about a little old manuscript. But actually, I think I'm basically on track.</p><p>Chapters 1 through 3 are in respectable first-draft shape. Chapters 5-8 are in first-draft-minus-one shape. Chapter 4 is the main challenge in my path at present and I'm deep into it right now. I know the outline of the argument, and I think I found a structure I'm happy with. Obviously there is lots to do. I haven't paid much attention to references thus far. And I don't think major changes to the style are out of the question, between now and publication - I want to see how my first readers react to the tone. </p><p>But I kinda found my voice, I think. And one of my biggest worries at the outset of the project - about how much of it would be new, fresh, original - that isn't really a worry any more. I think I found a way to review my old stuff without getting mired in it, and enough new angles and new ideas came to me along the way that I'm fairly hopeful I can avoid the biggest, most damning criticism any reviewer might have of a work of philosophy - that it's not taking enough risks.</p><p>Of course, not everyone would view that as the biggest problem. Some would prefer their argument to be safe, careful, polished. I'll never be that kind of writer! And I remind myself regularly that you can't please everyone. Someone somewhere will no doubt insist that everything I've written is obvious (in fact I can even predict <i>who,</i> someone else will complain it's crazy and all wrong. Actually maybe the biggest reassurance you can have is to get both those reactions, because then you know you got the balance about right.</p><p>Anyway, some people are perfectionists who will work away at something for years before it is pulled from their anxious grip by necessity. Others are last-minuters who lack motivation until a deadline looms close, and then work themselves into a feverish frenzy to get it done. I feel quite lucky I'm neither of these. I've worked fairly steadily on this project over the last year. I'm not agonising over every line that goes into the first draft. I'm not (yet) so hideously disgusted by the whole thing that I can't bear to think about it either. I think it contains some worthwhile ideas, and that because I've been thinking about the topic for so long I can offer genuinely insightful summaries of the literature. It definitely won't be the last word, but I won't be ashamed of it. Some people will judge it poorly, of course, but I think some others will like it. And that's a position I feel okay to be in.</p><p>Now I just need a pinch of luck, a break in the kids' minor illnesses, regular exercise, and no hangovers (or major admin tasks I'd totally forgotten about), and I could just make it over the line.........</p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-28911970854126285062022-06-08T14:33:00.003+01:002023-09-13T11:20:02.006+01:00Conference season!<p> Last week I had a blast at <a href="https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/hay">How the Light Gets in</a>, a Philosophy festival in Hay, where I spoke on a panel about scientific expertise and whether we should <a href="https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/hay/the-big-ideas/debates/the-ignorance-of-experts">defer to authorities</a>. I argued that, because of the underdetermination of theory by evidence, the folk do have reason to be skeptical of scientific claims when they can see that the people generating those claims fail to represent them or their values.</p><p>This week I'm off to give a talk about the evolution of morality at a conference about <a href="https://www.eventsforce.net/standrews/frontend/reg/thome.csp?pageID=132512&eventID=154&traceRedir=2">science-engaged theology</a> Then at Leeds we've got <a href="https://hpsleeds.wordpress.com/2022/04/15/coming-up-frenchfest/">Frenchfest</a> and in July it's the annual meeting of the B<a href="https://www.thebsps.org/news/bsps-2022-annual-conference-6-8-july/">ritish Society for the Philosophy of Science</a> in Exeter.</p><p>I'll have to find some gaps to squeeze in some writing somewhere. But damn it's good to be travelling again!!</p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-77000082333104347972022-05-20T15:32:00.000+01:002023-09-13T11:20:11.249+01:00New ink<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Ft8Z7OUOQBA6Ojc3Eo5AREzngCZ4rLt99Wr57Hr1myWHKLpy67KFVvslX441lnZ_6sM2AlrTmZC0dsZPn5zRM0IVUAxCEo68gosBRjKu-LfE-NEoNV00mE_s35e5BLOFiTbSsmqUZi1Jj5LvTB_AI8fAHWh-v_DDZYTgoUGQonYhUWfQoTJ4TimwLQ/s1024/new%20ink.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1006" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Ft8Z7OUOQBA6Ojc3Eo5AREzngCZ4rLt99Wr57Hr1myWHKLpy67KFVvslX441lnZ_6sM2AlrTmZC0dsZPn5zRM0IVUAxCEo68gosBRjKu-LfE-NEoNV00mE_s35e5BLOFiTbSsmqUZi1Jj5LvTB_AI8fAHWh-v_DDZYTgoUGQonYhUWfQoTJ4TimwLQ/s320/new%20ink.jpeg" width="314" /></a></div><br /><p>I read this <a href="https://aeon.co/essays/what-can-an-embodied-history-of-trees-teach-us-about-life">beautiful article</a> recently about how a tree's form tells the story of its individual past. Drought years baked in as narrow growth rings. Nuclear tests recorded as radiocarbon spikes. Or cramped growing conditions recorded in straight growth and a narrow canopy. History becomes embedded in tree flesh.</p><p>Human bodies pick up signs of life too, of course - the creases around the eyes that tell of tiredness and age, scars and stretch marks that bear witness to some of the changes and injuries we might undergo. I've been taken by the idea that tattoos give humans a way to take partial control of this narrative, to choose some of the stories that become imprinted on them.</p><p>The image I chose was inspired by Ernst Haeckel's line drawings of siphonophores, especially his <i>Porpita prunella</i>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMir7WxRJTiTBCmElHAvbhuN5ILlcvteBAwkUfDCt0nslL86jvO-asJbls9gNkziMTIE6vS-yYG7el61L0bXBmEwHtYm-uRddsirCmIF6ZghBp_eQSz2hSNxcdh2tFcfSdjHr3fwhcGI3trCJmWJ1LWIOgiZFTCiuP02noDYSRMbiKPMMksK9Dd7D6nw/s947/haeckel%20crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="907" data-original-width="947" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMir7WxRJTiTBCmElHAvbhuN5ILlcvteBAwkUfDCt0nslL86jvO-asJbls9gNkziMTIE6vS-yYG7el61L0bXBmEwHtYm-uRddsirCmIF6ZghBp_eQSz2hSNxcdh2tFcfSdjHr3fwhcGI3trCJmWJ1LWIOgiZFTCiuP02noDYSRMbiKPMMksK9Dd7D6nw/w222-h212/haeckel%20crop.jpg" width="222" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porpita_porpita">blue button</a> resembles a jellyfish, but is actually a chondrophore - a cooperative colony of individual hydroids, each of which have specialised for different functions. For my symbolic purposes, the most important thing about them is their astonishing regenerative capacity. Like all cnidaria, they can survive just about any physical trauma, because if they lose a part, they can just grow it back. They can regrow from small pieces or even collections of separated cells.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've had to bounce back from some difficult times too recently, and I take great comfort from the thought of these beautiful little creatures, floating delicately along warm ocean currents, ready to regenerate from whatever life throws at them, again and again if need be.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-38081023053480127742022-04-23T17:29:00.002+01:002023-09-13T11:20:19.918+01:00Day 223: Time to get realSo another 65 days passed. And did I 'slay the beast' that I was 'hellbent' on slaying, AKA chapter 3? I did not. <div><br /></div><div>Reader, I'm ashamed.<span><a name='more'></a></span> Not so much because I haven't achieved anything. I've done a ton of good thinking and reading recently, inspired by great chats with friends and colleagues, that have really helped me solve problems, and bring certain ideas into clearer focus. The content is actually going really well, I'm starting to think that I can not only finish the damn thing, but that at least some of it might be fairly decent.</div><div><br /></div><div>What I'm ashamed about, instead, is the way that, with the benefit of hindsight, my plans and proclamations about how long things are going to take are nothing short of delusional. 65 days ago I wrote that I was going to finish chapter three by the end of the week! What the fuck is wrong with me?!</div><div><br /></div><div>I know at least part of it is that I deliberately set myself ambitious deadlines, out of the conviction that I'll get more done that way. I keep telling myself I should change this, because you set yourself up for a constant feeling of failure that way. And I don't have a firm enough line between implausible ambitions for myself and commitments I make to other people, so I'm constantly stressed, over-promising and letting people down. I always think I can fit more in than I can.</div><div><br /></div><div>And actually on top of working on the book and doing my supervisions and my admin work and keeping up with my various projects, I've also kept up with mumming and taking the kids to do cool stuff during their holidays. I've even managed some running and some fun and felt like, at times, I had a reasonably balanced life and wasn't spending every waking hour on work. I even went skiing, can you believe it?!</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't want to feel guilty, because there have been times in my life when over-work has cost me dear, and its a triumph if I can meet my obligations whilst also carving out enough time to do things that make me laugh, dance, play now and again. But it's hard, especially when you know of so many talented people who are slogging away in precarious roles. But it won't help them, nor the people who are paying my salary or who funded my research leave, if I push myself to exhaustion. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the early months of my lectureship at Leeds, when I was still being woken multiple times in the night by my six month old, and trying to be available for my three year old who was feeling really unsettled in the wake of our move, and holding everything together while my Husband went away on work trips, at the same time as putting my first lecture courses together while teaching them........there wasn't any time for running. or sleeping. or laughing or dancing. At times I resorted to drinking Huel for lunch while pumping milk in my office and answering emails about the lectures I was giving on Feminist accounts of how work and marriage are stacked against women.</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't know how I did it. In some ways I look back and wish I hadn't soldiered through it, wish I'd dropped all the balls and run off to join the circus instead. So its looking back and remembering how much that sucked that reminds me to take a walk in the park to look at the blossom. To drink that extra glass of wine when there is so much world to put to rights with your friend that the words don't stop and you have to cross your legs because its all far too important to pause for the loo. To put things off, and take my time, because the kids are growing up so fast and if I have to fail somewhere I wish it could be in my work.</div><div><br /></div><div>And besides, I've got a manuscript that's now 86,000 words long, 86,000 good words. I've <i>almost</i> finished chapter three, the content is all there, I've just changed my mind about the structure of it a few times, and that's fine. I'm tinkering already with the conclusions and the preface and the references and whatnot. I've got one last chapter that's till a blank page, and I've got till August to get it done.</div><div><br /></div><div>What I need, instead of guilt, is to learn to set better goals, more realistic goals that don't set me up for failure, that don't assume I have a 168 hour work week, zero obligations, zero <i>needs</i>. I need a work schedule that factors in set-backs, hangovers, sick days, admin, hesitation, self-care, the unexpected, and <i>fun.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_BISwHYE_61omo3X7HcHe72PgboEd2FWomcBgmP4edVF_ZXvnl9TzfVmATwu8hUxpqcY_Tm6YzErWGcGlosowawDt5cdUkUfKgVBpE3vj9vcty7dBIn_sQ-dnbxIGBzGg3xesNlXVdOI1htpSMGdkJXv-VRBo28NtGc9cDCepHNHQXRuoIAbhQ1V_iA/s1024/skiing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_BISwHYE_61omo3X7HcHe72PgboEd2FWomcBgmP4edVF_ZXvnl9TzfVmATwu8hUxpqcY_Tm6YzErWGcGlosowawDt5cdUkUfKgVBpE3vj9vcty7dBIn_sQ-dnbxIGBzGg3xesNlXVdOI1htpSMGdkJXv-VRBo28NtGc9cDCepHNHQXRuoIAbhQ1V_iA/w640-h480/skiing.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i></div>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-59766299215284929722022-03-08T14:01:00.006+00:002023-09-13T11:20:30.485+01:00Tribal social instincts in Edinburgh<p>For anyone interested, I'm giving a talk to the Philosophy, Psychology and Informatics Group at the University of Edinburgh tomorrow. </p><p>My title is '<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Evolution of Human Morality'</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Abstract:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I will describe the ‘received view’ of how human morality evolved,
and especially the influential ‘tribal social instincts hypothesis’. This idea,
propounded in 2001 by cultural evolutionists Peter Richerson and Rob Boyd,
posits that human morality evolved as an adaptive response to intense conflict
between different human social groups. I review the evidence and articulate
several criticisms of the hypothesis, as well as discussing possible
rivals. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><br /></p><p>It will take place <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Wed. 9 March, 17:10 – 18:30 and you can join remotely using the following zoom link:</span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Join Zoom Meeting<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://ed-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/88438665889">https://ed-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/88438665889</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Meeting ID: 884 3866 5889<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Passcode: BNVahZN5<o:p></o:p></span></p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><p></p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-19744258695580141232022-02-17T16:30:00.004+00:002023-09-13T11:20:37.952+01:00Day 158 Feeling the burn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQ-Z2Tfv2nfJq7hAgC43wpWK3YJGO96t6TFahX3ZUmc3rQKCnADUWRyfD6rJYymSaz8usp0Eq2tqOVAud6tGi5Gd7DjB6jNQMgVGhU55kB-I8ixEfbvkKBp34oQImsGDq7uEl1dn3KC_OVVN26q2BNJ8hEZp4bM0oychNUuiEt9J293I4KXYiETCHvFQ=s371" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="230" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQ-Z2Tfv2nfJq7hAgC43wpWK3YJGO96t6TFahX3ZUmc3rQKCnADUWRyfD6rJYymSaz8usp0Eq2tqOVAud6tGi5Gd7DjB6jNQMgVGhU55kB-I8ixEfbvkKBp34oQImsGDq7uEl1dn3KC_OVVN26q2BNJ8hEZp4bM0oychNUuiEt9J293I4KXYiETCHvFQ=s320" width="198" /></a></div><br /><p>It's wednesday. I'm having one of those grey, lack-lustre weeks where the sky is full of sleet, my cats have become incontinent, and I'm fighting-off the kind of first-world but endless problems that make you want to crawl under a duvet, with a pint of gin. And I got some disappointing news that means I'm stuck in the first circle-of-hell, domestically speaking, for at least another month.</p><p>*But* today I crossed the final 't' of the first half of the chapter I'm working on - the chapter that refuses to die. And I'm hell-bent with gritted teeth on slaying the rest of the beast by the end of next week.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span></span><p></p><p>Sometimes writing is a joy. The ideas fly, the words pour out, I feel inspired and curious and everything works. Other times I get stuck, but I can unstick myself by picking up a book, doing some reading, finding something out. The issue with this chapter is neither of those. I have all the necessary ideas and knowledge in my head. Perhaps too much. The issue is I can't settle on a way to put them on the page. It's as if the sheer volume of thought is stuck at a bottleneck. I keep writing and then re-writing and then opening a new document and starting again, but I'm never happy with how it sounds.</p><p>I've been seeking help (procrastination?) in general how-to-write guides, like Paul Silvia's <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Write-Lot-Practical-Productive/dp/1591477433" target="_blank">How to write a lot.</a> I find a lot of such advice pretty useless. There is a lot of emphasis on doing tons of planning which has never worked for me - although shhh, don't tell my students I said that, because I still give that advice out a lot. Another thing they always bang on about is getting into a regular writing habit, and getting words written even when you only have small chunks of time. It sounds so sensible! and I'll admit, since <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Helen-Beebee">Helen Beebee</a> forced me to concede this recently, that I've never conducted a sound empirical test of that advice, personally.</p><p>The thing is, I don't have any issue with *writing*, per se. That is, if we're talking about the actual production of sets of coherent sentences on a page, I can gush those things out like microplastics in a Hama beads factory. Niche metaphor, sorry. The problem is not so much quality, but repetition. If I force myself to write on a topic for 30 mins every day, I often end up rewriting the same kind of thing over and over. I can only <i>build on </i>what I've already written if I have a longer window of time, because to build on something I need to start out by reading what I've already written and concentrating enough to actually develop it.</p><p>And for a large piece of work, like a whole journal article or paper, the task of reading over and taking it what I've already done, so that I can improve on, takes a long time - like a day or two. I think of it like cognitive juggling. Doing philosophical work requires me to get several conceptual balls into the air at the same time, for long enough to see how they fit together. And the work of getting them into the air is often slow and exhausting. The more balls there are the longer it takes. And if I get interrupted, because I've got to meet a student or pick my kids up or something, then all the balls crash to the floor and i have to tiredly start over.</p><p>I don't know how other people get around this? Maybe it takes them less effort to get their balls into the air? I like that sentence. </p><p>Anyhow, I feel like I need decent uninterrupted stretches of time to write in, especially towards the end stage of a chapter or paper, but this month I have that. I have two 3-day child-free periods where only my own lack of will power and desire for crisps need interrupt me. </p><p>I've taken on some advice from <a href="https://katelynknox.com/writing-first-humanities-book/7-stages-publishing-first-academic-book/" target="_blank">Katelyn Knox</a>, who says to overcome log-jams you need top stop writing *in* your book, and start writing *on* your book. What she means is that you're probably lost in the trees - the details of your sentences - and you need to back out and look for the woods. She says you should take some time to look at your book (or chapter) as one object - at its overall shape and narrative arc. I like her phrase "without this work, your book might continue to resemble an amoeba."</p><p>Probably an amoeba is a more apt metaphor than the angry, slippery sea monster I have in mind when I talk about slaying my chapter. Although I can't imagine eviscerating an amoeba is all that satisfying. Mind you, I'm vegetarian so perhaps I ought to figure out why this chapter is making me feel so blood thirsty!</p><p>What I'm saying, reader, is that this hurts right now, like a half-marathon runner at the 10th mile, I'm feeling the burn, the endorphins are waning, but I'm gonna keep slapping that pavement. Or tossing these balls. Or something.</p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-38944316099524077722022-01-31T11:45:00.000+00:002023-09-13T11:20:50.164+01:00Day 141 Update: pre-birth jitters<p> It's been too long since my last progress report. The schedule went a bit off-piste thanks to Christmas, dry January, my standard cognitive chaos. But I haven't been idle, honest guvnor. I've pretty much vanquished chapter 8. </p><p>Which leaves me only two chapters still undrafted. They're the two chapters that I thought would be the easiest, because they rely the most on existing material. Somehow that's made them the hardest instead. I'm not sure if this is because I find it more fun to write newer stuff, or perhaps because the remaining chapters deal with the issues that are most at the heart of all my work so the bar is higher, or what. But i can't avoid them any longer.</p><p>What I've started doing is reviewing the overall shape of the beast though. I've got around 73,000 words drafted which feels good. I promised the publisher between 80 and 100 thousand, so it feels like I'm right on track. Of course, as well as the two remaining chapters, I've got the intro and conclusions still to do, as well as editing and redrafting, references, pictures and index to sort out. There is still plenty to do! </p><p>But I'm close enough to the end now that a new sort of fear is beginning to set in. Not so much, 'Will i get it written?' as 'Will it be any good?' And there is something else too. Reviewing the macroscopic structure of the arguments, its dawned on me that it's turning out slightly, well, different from how I expected. Which is terrifying.</p><p>I've often joked that I don't feel entirely in charge when I'm writing. It's a bit like getting possessed by a idea and i don't always know where it will lead. I'm often surprised by the ending.</p><p>Is this normal? I have no idea. Many women have compared finishing a book to having a baby - long gestation period, painful birth, celebratory announcement period etc. But of course it doesn't stop there - the child keeps growing and developing (if you're lucky). and parenthood is all about cultivating something autonomous, rather than sculpting clay. </p><p>It's like my work has a life of its own too. And I'm not the only author, because the end product reflects all sorts of things that happened, like things I read, other people's work, as well.</p><p>One of the surprises, so far, is that its a lot more philosophical than I thought it would be. This is partly because I set out to respond to philosophical work on my earlier writings but mostly, I'm sure, about people who have influenced me - like my former grad students, Will Morgan and Arthur Carlyle, who inspired me to think loads about really metaphysical issues like personal identity.</p><p>It's scary because it feels a bit out of my lane - I'm not a metaphysician! and because I feel much safer talking about real things, describing actual creatures, than in evaluating possible worlds and so on. I guess I'm also worried the abstract stuff gets too dry and will alienate people who'd rather be hearing about colourful and engaging animal life histories. </p><p>Maybe I'll change the balance again in the end - I've been working more at the abstract end of things, but the two remaining chapters will hopefully bring it back to earth. I'll have to consult the muse, next time it's with me. I guess I'm also slightly freaked out because I've ended up writing much more new material than I originally intended to - not just new ways of putting things, but getting into entirely new problems and literatures that I'd never thought about before. Which has made it more fun for me, of course. But now that I'm remembering that my baby is going to have to go out into the world one day, it suddenly feels risky. </p><p>It's not <i>me</i> to be an over-protective parent though. I'm more the type who bungs them into roller-skates and laughs when they fall over. Tells 'em to wipe their muddy hands on their knees and crack on. But then, I've always known, deep inexplicably in my core, that my kids are awesome and will do just fine. My book, on the other hand.......I need to work out what the equivalent is of helicopter authoring. I guess instead of disallowing boyfriends I'd be refusing to let anyone read it.</p><p>What I really need, to help with these jitters, is a) to work really hard editing and polishing it up but also b) to find some well-trusted, but also totally qualified people to read bits and beg them not to hold back on criticism, for my own good.</p><p>They say it takes a village to raise a child. It's time to reach out to my academic village.......</p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-9814070797894832902021-12-18T13:31:00.004+00:002023-09-13T11:21:01.127+01:00Day 97: 'Twas the week before christmas.........<p>and inside Ellen's house, </p><p>was an orgy of late-night writing,</p><p>amidst mess, noodle pots, and empty bottles of famous grouse.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>Well, I never said I was a poet. But, if I squint a bit, and overlook various small omissions such as citations, formatting, oh and occasionally whole paragraphs and even conclusions.....okay if I squint *a lot* I have now finished writing chapters one, two, five, six and seven of my eight-chapter book. Which feels good!</p><p>And actually I'm lying about the pot noodles and whisky. I prefer gin. But in truth it hasn't been ridiculously painful. I have inevitably fallen behind in various non-book areas of my life. My email inbox is in such a serious state of neglect that I'm tempted to call social services and see if I can get it taken into care. And I'm totally late refereeing a paper.......a million-times sorry to that author.</p><p>But otherwise I've managed to make reasonable, if admittedly disorderly and unpredictable, progress on this project, and without totally abandoning my own needs or falling sick with stress or having to call in favours about child care and so on. I've kept up occasional running, done most of my Christmas shopping, and kept a reasonable eye on all of my supervisees. I even made it to my daughter's nativity.</p><p>I totally have days where i feel less optimistic than this, where it feels like i'm failing at everything, and everyone is ill and life is totally out of my control.</p><p>But, even if I'm a total <a href="http://philosomama.blogspot.com/2016/12/on-being-grinch.html">grinch about christmas</a> (heteronormative-commercialist-religious-yuck!) it's nice to end the year on a fairly positive note, quit beating myself up for once, and let my thoughts turn away from biology and towards all the many ways in which I'm lucky. Hopefully I'll get to see my loved-ones soon and even if Boris or Omicron prevent that, I've got a week of uninterrupted time with my children to look forward to. Let there be kitchen discos a-plenty!</p><p>Happy holidays all!</p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814994353835004156.post-76798962793137376522021-11-23T10:55:00.006+00:002023-09-13T11:21:12.776+01:00Day 72: Nanny McPh*$%<p>72 days......that's 2.4 months. How much is a respectable amount to have written in 2.4 months? How much was I planning to have written in 2.4 months? You know the expression, 'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade'? Well the fact is that making any kind of juice is a lot like writing.........you get through a whole pile of raw material, put in a load of work, and get a tiny dribble of juice plus a ton of waste for your efforts. It's not clear its even worth it, especially when juice in a carton is so cheap! </p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>The truth is writing takes enormous amounts of will power, to keep going even though my brain works hard to get me to do just about anything else......fold laundry, read news, drink gin, lie face down on the floor. Yesterday I actually had a great writing day - nailed 3,000 words, good ones too. I built up to it with a disciplined regime of regular note-making over the weekend, to make sure my thoughts didn't get too stale and scattered while i was distracted with weekend stuff. I did loads of chores the day before so i wouldn't have any urgent stuff to distract me first thing. I got an early night, with zero booze and some exercise so my had would be in peak-racehorse condition. Then I got up, did the porridge, collected the socks, ended the arguments and herded the children/guitars/gym kits to school. And I came home and started writing. It felt easy. I even scored the phrase 'it's just not cricket' at the end of a paragraph, which was inordinately pleasing.</p><p>By pick-up time at 3.15 I was feeling kinda burnt-out and vacant, but I gave myself an easy time by stopping off at Maccy Ds on the way to gymnastics, and then having a but more screen time than usual. Then I did it all over again, got the kids settled and went in for an early night. Tuesdays they do after-school club, so I get a longer work day and wanted to make the most of it.</p><p>But my head was too busy to get to sleep right away. Then the little one started up coughing. So today began bleary eyed. I got one kid packed off to school only. The little one is sufficiently sick to stay home, but not sick enough to give me an easy ride. Turns out it's going to be a snack-bitch, glitter-force, arguing-over-everything kind of day. and somehow I've got to wrestle a covid-test up her nose. She's halfway through Nanny McPhee at a hard-negotiated volume of 10, and I'm revising my day's writing goals from 2000 words down to one blog post and try not to commit fillicide.</p><p>If I'm honest though it's not all her fault. I mean, the keeping me awake all night didn't help, but experience tells me that even without the coughing, my brain would have been reluctant to play ball today. I can work myself up to a big effort like yesterday, but it uses up will power, and there just isn't an infinite supply of the stuff. It takes time to replenish it. Unless the deadline is close enough that you just power through, in the same way one's body might start digesting its own muscles towards the end of a marathon. But you can't do that too often. Sometime I think its worse if you try to spread it out across regular bite-sized sessions, because every time you do one, you condition your body further. Each essay marked makes the next essay *more* difficult, just as each time a rat gets shocked when it stands in one place its resolve to avoid standing in that place strengthens. </p><p>And a good chunk of the effort is about just getting going each time. I think of it as like juggling. Before I can get going, I've got to get my thoughts in order, which is like tossing balls up one by one, and getting into a comfortable rhythm with each one before I add the next. Any time I get interrupted, take a break, the balls all fall to the floor, and I gotta start over. So I much prefer to work in long chunks when I can, so I know that the effort of getting the balls into the air will be worth it. You can waste many many hours/days/weeks just tossing balls up into the air without ever getting to the next part.</p><p>Well this bitchin' brain-dump has to end sometime, so why don't I try to finish up positive. Since the last post, three weeks ago, I've examined a PhD, given a talk, examined a set of dissertations, drafted some funding application ideas, attended a bunch of talks, done a bunch of supervision, written a bunch of references, ran a bunch of miles and I dunno, probably a ton of other stuff I've forgotten about. Oh and I applied for promotion! That was pretty time-consuming, but if I get it I'll finally catch up with the salary I was on 5 years ago : o</p><p>And......the book is coming along. I didn't finish chapter 5 yet. Or chapter 8. But I made progress on both. I'm taking part in a debate run by our undergraduate philosophy society tonight, so I'd better think about that for a bit today. I also need to read some transfer documents before thursday. And if i can fob the girl off with sweets for a bit I want to start organising my ideas about holobionts, for chapter 8. But first, I'm going to go lie face down on the floor for a few minutes to gather enough energy to get a stick up my daughter's nose. If anyone calls, tell them I'm busy writing.</p>Ellen Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16849531733597762341noreply@blogger.com0