Matthew Sims
@philosobio.bsky.social
Postdoc at University of Macquarie University and affiliate at University of Cambridge (HPS): Philosophy of biology/cognitive science, plasticity, learning, memory, niche construction, evolvability, agency, slime mould, varanids
Pinned
Matthew Sims
@philosobio.bsky.social
· Feb 12
Slime Mould and Philosophy
Cambridge Core - Philosophy: General Interest - Slime Mould and Philosophy
www.cambridge.org
Although I was not given funding to publish this OA, if anyone (or any one that you know) would like a pdf of the book, shoot me a message. I'd be more than happy to send it your way. www.cambridge.org/core/element...
Reposted by Matthew Sims
Reminder 📢 We are advertising a postdoctoral position in #philbio or #philphysics to work on an interdisciplinary project that adopts the lens of self-organization & active matter to explore the boundary between living and nonliving systems👇 www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo... #philjobs #philsci #evosky
January 13, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Reminder 📢 We are advertising a postdoctoral position in #philbio or #philphysics to work on an interdisciplinary project that adopts the lens of self-organization & active matter to explore the boundary between living and nonliving systems👇 www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo... #philjobs #philsci #evosky
Reposted by Matthew Sims
Martin Peterson's creative response to being banned from teaching Plato (shared with his permission).
January 8, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Martin Peterson's creative response to being banned from teaching Plato (shared with his permission).
Reposted by Matthew Sims
Registration is open for this event 16-17 March @royalsociety.org with programme (titles and abstracts) available online: royalsociety.org/science-even.... In person and online.
January 9, 2026 at 5:59 PM
Registration is open for this event 16-17 March @royalsociety.org with programme (titles and abstracts) available online: royalsociety.org/science-even.... In person and online.
Reposted by Matthew Sims
This is mesmerizing stuff. I'd love to know more about the data used to generate it, and what is being assumed and omitted.
aeon.co/videos/groun...
aeon.co/videos/groun...
Groundbreaking visuals capture how our bodies repair damaged DNA | Aeon Videos
A dazzling visualisation of how the body’s specialised proteins repair damaged DNA by using an intact copy as a template
aeon.co
January 9, 2026 at 5:36 PM
This is mesmerizing stuff. I'd love to know more about the data used to generate it, and what is being assumed and omitted.
aeon.co/videos/groun...
aeon.co/videos/groun...
Jellyfish sleep a lot like us—and for the same reasons | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Jellyfish sleep a lot like us—and for the same reasons
Study adds to evidence that sleep likely evolved among ancient animals as a means of repairing neurons
www.science.org
January 9, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Jellyfish sleep a lot like us—and for the same reasons | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Matthew Sims
Apply now!
www.thebsps.org/funding/doct...
www.thebsps.org/funding/doct...
British Society for the Philosophy of Science Doctoral Scholarships
Doctoral scholarships awarded by the BSPS for doctoral work in the philosophy of science undertaken at any UK university
www.thebsps.org
January 6, 2026 at 10:17 PM
Apply now!
www.thebsps.org/funding/doct...
www.thebsps.org/funding/doct...
Overlooked and Under-Studied: A Review of Evidence-Based Enrichment in Varanidae by Darcy Howard and
Marianne Sarah Freeman
This article belongs to the Special Issue Fundamental Knowledge on Forgotten Species: An Exploration of Data from Rarely Studied Captive Animals
doi.org/10.3390/jzbg...
Marianne Sarah Freeman
This article belongs to the Special Issue Fundamental Knowledge on Forgotten Species: An Exploration of Data from Rarely Studied Captive Animals
doi.org/10.3390/jzbg...
www.mdpi.com
January 6, 2026 at 3:01 PM
Overlooked and Under-Studied: A Review of Evidence-Based Enrichment in Varanidae by Darcy Howard and
Marianne Sarah Freeman
This article belongs to the Special Issue Fundamental Knowledge on Forgotten Species: An Exploration of Data from Rarely Studied Captive Animals
doi.org/10.3390/jzbg...
Marianne Sarah Freeman
This article belongs to the Special Issue Fundamental Knowledge on Forgotten Species: An Exploration of Data from Rarely Studied Captive Animals
doi.org/10.3390/jzbg...
New article by Grant Ramsey - will read philsci-archive.pitt.edu/27701/
Much ado about ‘n’othing - PhilSci-Archive
philsci-archive.pitt.edu
January 5, 2026 at 11:14 AM
New article by Grant Ramsey - will read philsci-archive.pitt.edu/27701/
Reposted by Matthew Sims
Anyone who is Editor-in-Chief of a major journal for ten years deserves enormous appreciation for their service to the academic community. Thank you Stuart for your great work.
With the end of this year, Stuart Newman will step down from his role as Editor-in-Chief.
We sincerely thank Stuart for his outstanding 10 years of service and dedication to Biological Theory!
Read Stuart's Farewell Editorial: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
We sincerely thank Stuart for his outstanding 10 years of service and dedication to Biological Theory!
Read Stuart's Farewell Editorial: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
December 18, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Anyone who is Editor-in-Chief of a major journal for ten years deserves enormous appreciation for their service to the academic community. Thank you Stuart for your great work.
Reposted by Matthew Sims
With great joy—and a touch of nervousness—I’m thrilled to share that my first academic monograph will be published by @mitpress.bsky.social in May 2026! It examines the organism–environment relationship in biology from an integrated #HPS perspective: mitpress.mit.edu/978026205282... #evosky #philsky
The Organism-Environment Pairing
In this first systematic book-length examination of the organism-environment relationship in the life sciences, Alejandro Fábregas-Tejeda addresses a crucia...
mitpress.mit.edu
August 21, 2025 at 2:20 PM
With great joy—and a touch of nervousness—I’m thrilled to share that my first academic monograph will be published by @mitpress.bsky.social in May 2026! It examines the organism–environment relationship in biology from an integrated #HPS perspective: mitpress.mit.edu/978026205282... #evosky #philsky
Evolutionary Transitions in Individuality by Endogenization of Scaffolded Properties | The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science: Vol 76, No 2 www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10....
Evolutionary Transitions in Individuality by Endogenization of Scaffolded Properties | The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science: Vol 76, No 2
The hierarchy of life is the result of a succession of evolutionary transitions in individuality (ETIs). During an ETI, individuals at a particular level of organization interact in such a way as to p...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
December 15, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Evolutionary Transitions in Individuality by Endogenization of Scaffolded Properties | The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science: Vol 76, No 2 www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10....
I'm looking forward to the Schweitzer Institute conference 'Promoting Responsible Governance of Animal Protection: Policy Reform for an Ethical Future’ this Friday schweitzer.institute/conference-1 I'll be presenting a biocentric framework for extending moral standing to life beyond animals.
THE SCHWEITZER INSTITUTE
schweitzer.institute
November 19, 2025 at 10:34 PM
I'm looking forward to the Schweitzer Institute conference 'Promoting Responsible Governance of Animal Protection: Policy Reform for an Ethical Future’ this Friday schweitzer.institute/conference-1 I'll be presenting a biocentric framework for extending moral standing to life beyond animals.
Microbe with bizarrely tiny genome may be evolving into a virus | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Microbe with bizarrely tiny genome may be evolving into a virus
With DNA focused almost entirely on replication, newly discovered organism blurs the line between cells and viruses
www.science.org
October 12, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Microbe with bizarrely tiny genome may be evolving into a virus | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Matthew Sims
My little book on Schrödinger's famous classic 'What Is Life?' is out! Offering the most comprehensive analysis ever undertaken of the book's origins, reception, impact, and legacy, it uncovers Schrödinger's motivations in writing it, and shows how it has shaped our current understanding of the cell
<i>What Is Life?</i> Revisited
Cambridge Core - Philosophy: General Interest - <i>What Is Life?</i> Revisited
www.cambridge.org
October 10, 2025 at 1:52 PM
My little book on Schrödinger's famous classic 'What Is Life?' is out! Offering the most comprehensive analysis ever undertaken of the book's origins, reception, impact, and legacy, it uncovers Schrödinger's motivations in writing it, and shows how it has shaped our current understanding of the cell
Reposted by Matthew Sims
“Traits” are central units of biological analysis—but how should they be individuated, and relative to which ontogenetic frame of reference? In my new paper, I argue that answering this isn’t easy—and matters more than it seems. 📃👇 link.springer.com/article/10.1... #philsci #HPBio #evosky #evodevo
July 18, 2025 at 6:33 PM
“Traits” are central units of biological analysis—but how should they be individuated, and relative to which ontogenetic frame of reference? In my new paper, I argue that answering this isn’t easy—and matters more than it seems. 📃👇 link.springer.com/article/10.1... #philsci #HPBio #evosky #evodevo
Reposted by Matthew Sims
New semester, new lecture series 🎉Starting next month, we welcome amazing scholars to give online talks in the history and philosophy of life sciences. Find all dates and registration links here: rotorub.wordpress.com/roto-lecture...
We look forward to seeing you there 🤗
#PhilSci #HistSci #HPBio
We look forward to seeing you there 🤗
#PhilSci #HistSci #HPBio
September 10, 2025 at 3:21 PM
New semester, new lecture series 🎉Starting next month, we welcome amazing scholars to give online talks in the history and philosophy of life sciences. Find all dates and registration links here: rotorub.wordpress.com/roto-lecture...
We look forward to seeing you there 🤗
#PhilSci #HistSci #HPBio
We look forward to seeing you there 🤗
#PhilSci #HistSci #HPBio
A few photo moments from the Shanghai and Beijing SAPoLSN 'Cognition Across the Tree of Life' graduate summer school and workshop. Highlights: engaging with extremely sharp students; getting to know some of the other instructors; seeing old friends; Chinese culture; and Shanghainese food!
September 1, 2025 at 10:07 PM
A few photo moments from the Shanghai and Beijing SAPoLSN 'Cognition Across the Tree of Life' graduate summer school and workshop. Highlights: engaging with extremely sharp students; getting to know some of the other instructors; seeing old friends; Chinese culture; and Shanghainese food!
Reposted by Matthew Sims
September 1, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Reposted by Matthew Sims
"Elisabeth S. Vrba, the “Three Musketeers,” and the Expansion of Macroevolutionary Theory"
Elisabeth S. Vrba, the “Three Musketeers,” and the Expansion of Macroevolutionary Theory - Journal of the History of Biology
Elisabeth S. Vrba (1942–2025) was an important figure in paleobiology and evolutionary theory, leaving an indelible mark on macroevolutionary research. Vrba’s collaboration with Stephen Jay Gould led ...
link.springer.com
August 28, 2025 at 7:43 PM
"Elisabeth S. Vrba, the “Three Musketeers,” and the Expansion of Macroevolutionary Theory"
Reposted by Matthew Sims
A wonderful article on work (both old and new) pushing the frontier of memory research.
If you’ve ever tried to cram for an exam, you know that it’s easier to memorize something if you learn the information in shorter, spaced-out sessions. These dynamics are as relevant to each individual cell’s existence as they are to ours. Claire Evans reports: www.quantamagazine.org/what-can-a-c...
What Can a Cell Remember? | Quanta Magazine
A small but enthusiastic group of neuroscientists is exhuming overlooked experiments and performing new ones to explore whether cells record past experiences — fundamentally challenging what memory is...
www.quantamagazine.org
July 30, 2025 at 3:05 PM
A wonderful article on work (both old and new) pushing the frontier of memory research.
Here's your chance to download not only my book 'Slime Mould and Philosophy' , but download ALL the books in Cambridge Elements Philosophy of Biology series from the 20th to the 25th of July for FREE! I highly recommend Jan Baedke's (2025) book 'The Organism'.
cup.org/4kEgivL
#ISHPSSB #philosophy
cup.org/4kEgivL
#ISHPSSB #philosophy
Philosophy of Biology
Welcome to Cambridge Core
cup.org
July 21, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Here's your chance to download not only my book 'Slime Mould and Philosophy' , but download ALL the books in Cambridge Elements Philosophy of Biology series from the 20th to the 25th of July for FREE! I highly recommend Jan Baedke's (2025) book 'The Organism'.
cup.org/4kEgivL
#ISHPSSB #philosophy
cup.org/4kEgivL
#ISHPSSB #philosophy
This year's BSPS at the University of Glasgow was grand. I had a wonderful time with Jordan Theriault; @davidcolaco.bsky.social; @phaueis.bsky.social; and Patrick McGivern at our symposium (serious Phil of sci pic). @martahalina.bsky.social was missed by all. Up next - the ISH in Porto.
July 19, 2025 at 4:40 PM
This year's BSPS at the University of Glasgow was grand. I had a wonderful time with Jordan Theriault; @davidcolaco.bsky.social; @phaueis.bsky.social; and Patrick McGivern at our symposium (serious Phil of sci pic). @martahalina.bsky.social was missed by all. Up next - the ISH in Porto.
