My job is insane

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, special, rather than anything perjorative. 

This semester has been relentless.

Paradox in Washington

 I’m travelling to this on Sunday http://www.paradoxoftheorganism.com/

Looking forward to it!

Philosophy for physicists

I teamed up with some colleagues last week to produce a short video promoting philosophy of science to physics undergraduates. All credit to Ben Hanson and Tim Moorsom for the smooth editing!

Facepalm moment for suggesting Descrates was a Medieval Philosopher though. This is why I don't do hps...........

Decree absolute

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.

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. 

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.

Day 359 .............it's in!!!!!

Let me know if you're willing to comment on the draft for me!

Here's the outline:

Day 307: Looking on the bright side

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.

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.

Conference season!

 Last week I had a blast at How the Light Gets in, a Philosophy festival in Hay, where I spoke on a panel about scientific expertise and whether we should defer to authorities. 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.

This week I'm off to give a talk about the evolution of morality at a conference about science-engaged theology Then at Leeds we've got Frenchfest and in July it's the annual meeting of the British Society for the Philosophy of Science in Exeter.

I'll have to find some gaps to squeeze in some writing somewhere. But damn it's good to be travelling again!!

New ink

I read this beautiful article 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.

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.

The image I chose was inspired by Ernst Haeckel's line drawings of siphonophores, especially his Porpita prunella.

The blue button 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.

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.

Day 223: Time to get real

So another 65 days passed. And did I 'slay the beast' that I was 'hellbent' on slaying, AKA chapter 3? I did not. 

Reader, I'm ashamed.

Tribal social instincts in Edinburgh

For anyone interested, I'm giving a talk to the Philosophy, Psychology and Informatics Group at the University of Edinburgh tomorrow. 

My title is 'The Evolution of Human Morality'

Abstract:

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.  

It will take place Wed. 9 March, 17:10 – 18:30 and you can join remotely using the following zoom link:

Join Zoom Meeting

https://ed-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/88438665889

 

Meeting ID: 884 3866 5889

Passcode: BNVahZN5