Kenneth Novis
@saditious.bsky.social
3rd year Philosophy DPhil @ox.ac.uk | Researching Spinoza, Bayle, and Atheism in the French Enlightenment | also French and Italian Marxism (Weil, Althusser, Deleuze and Operaismo) | Ultraleftist Metalhead | 26 | he/him
https://linktr.ee/saditious
https://linktr.ee/saditious
Pinned
For some reason I tend to get lots of emails from people applying to Oxford around this time of year, and well 1. I'm just a doctoral candidate, I can't supervise your work, 2. Nobody here works on African or Chinese philosophy, or any Continental philosopher after existentialism
I'm coming to suspect that Spinoza's distinction between the 'common order of Nature' and the 'order of the intellect' is the key to his moral philosophy. The trouble is that there is very little on this distinction in English.
January 9, 2026 at 12:30 PM
I'm coming to suspect that Spinoza's distinction between the 'common order of Nature' and the 'order of the intellect' is the key to his moral philosophy. The trouble is that there is very little on this distinction in English.
Reposted by Kenneth Novis
I would really caution anyone against implying that paywalling this feature is a legitimate response to public outcry. The paywall is an endorsement, not a restriction. Musk is saying "this thing you're all talking about is valuable. Pay me for it." The actual material effect is just monetization.
Now only paying subscribers can make violent non-consenual sexual imagery of women and children -
Grok turns off image generator for most users after outcry over sexualised AI imagery www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Grok turns off image generator for most users after outcry over sexualised AI imagery www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Grok turns off image generator for most users after outcry over sexualised AI imagery
X to limit editing function to paying subscribers after platform threatened with fines and regulatory action
www.theguardian.com
January 9, 2026 at 8:17 AM
I would really caution anyone against implying that paywalling this feature is a legitimate response to public outcry. The paywall is an endorsement, not a restriction. Musk is saying "this thing you're all talking about is valuable. Pay me for it." The actual material effect is just monetization.
Reposted by Kenneth Novis
🎉 New for 2026: Oxford University Voltaire (OV) from the Voltaire Foundation.
Gain access to the leading scholarly edition of Voltaire's complete works in one digital resource, designed for researchers and built for libraries.
Find out more ➡️ bit.ly/LUP-OV
@voltaire.ox.ac.uk
Gain access to the leading scholarly edition of Voltaire's complete works in one digital resource, designed for researchers and built for libraries.
Find out more ➡️ bit.ly/LUP-OV
@voltaire.ox.ac.uk
January 7, 2026 at 3:18 PM
I’ve been avoiding reading Feuerbach for fear that his writing would be, like Hegel’s, quite a labour to work through. But he’s a much better writer! Whimsical, poetic, rhetorical - not as systematic as his predecessor, but more engaging, certainly.
January 7, 2026 at 11:20 PM
I’ve been avoiding reading Feuerbach for fear that his writing would be, like Hegel’s, quite a labour to work through. But he’s a much better writer! Whimsical, poetic, rhetorical - not as systematic as his predecessor, but more engaging, certainly.
I should be on board with all of what Laurent Bove is saying here, since he also reads Spinoza as an irreligious, anti-mystical thinker. But it's hard to see why he thinks this about Spinoza.
January 7, 2026 at 5:53 PM
I should be on board with all of what Laurent Bove is saying here, since he also reads Spinoza as an irreligious, anti-mystical thinker. But it's hard to see why he thinks this about Spinoza.
Reposted by Kenneth Novis
"I’m going to pause here just to review: an institution that purports to be a university has told a philosophy professor he is forbidden from teaching Plato."
surreal times
dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...
surreal times
dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...
Texas A&M Bans Plato - Daily Nous
Drop the race and gender material from your course and the Plato readings, or teach a different course. You have a day to decide. That's a paraphrase of what Martin Peterson, professor of philosophy a...
dailynous.com
January 7, 2026 at 10:36 AM
"I’m going to pause here just to review: an institution that purports to be a university has told a philosophy professor he is forbidden from teaching Plato."
surreal times
dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...
surreal times
dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...
For some reason I tend to get lots of emails from people applying to Oxford around this time of year, and well 1. I'm just a doctoral candidate, I can't supervise your work, 2. Nobody here works on African or Chinese philosophy, or any Continental philosopher after existentialism
January 6, 2026 at 11:25 AM
For some reason I tend to get lots of emails from people applying to Oxford around this time of year, and well 1. I'm just a doctoral candidate, I can't supervise your work, 2. Nobody here works on African or Chinese philosophy, or any Continental philosopher after existentialism
Reposted by Kenneth Novis
Call for Reviewers!
We're looking for 2,000-2,500 words of thoughtful analysis that highlights the significance of a book from the list below.
Send thephilosopher.print@gmail.com your choice, a short bio, and links to previous publications.
#Philosophy
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
We're looking for 2,000-2,500 words of thoughtful analysis that highlights the significance of a book from the list below.
Send thephilosopher.print@gmail.com your choice, a short bio, and links to previous publications.
#Philosophy
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Book Reviews - Public Catalogue - The Philosopher
docs.google.com
January 5, 2026 at 3:10 PM
Call for Reviewers!
We're looking for 2,000-2,500 words of thoughtful analysis that highlights the significance of a book from the list below.
Send thephilosopher.print@gmail.com your choice, a short bio, and links to previous publications.
#Philosophy
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
We're looking for 2,000-2,500 words of thoughtful analysis that highlights the significance of a book from the list below.
Send thephilosopher.print@gmail.com your choice, a short bio, and links to previous publications.
#Philosophy
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
The last few years have been a powerful reminder that (like Deleuze and Guattari say) “politics is the continuation of war by other means.” The work of politics is only the surface, working to maintain just enough consensus to keep the wars and the bitter expropriation going.
January 3, 2026 at 7:23 PM
The last few years have been a powerful reminder that (like Deleuze and Guattari say) “politics is the continuation of war by other means.” The work of politics is only the surface, working to maintain just enough consensus to keep the wars and the bitter expropriation going.
Reposted by Kenneth Novis
The Imperialists will not stop until they're stopped. There is no norm or law which can tame total impunity. Impunity has no conscience. It has no need of one. The only way to stop them is ultimately for the apparatuses of impunity to be broken and their commanders' power nullified.
January 3, 2026 at 9:53 AM
The Imperialists will not stop until they're stopped. There is no norm or law which can tame total impunity. Impunity has no conscience. It has no need of one. The only way to stop them is ultimately for the apparatuses of impunity to be broken and their commanders' power nullified.
Reposted by Kenneth Novis
America has said it was going to do this, they have said that they have been and will always be doing this, and they will continue doing this until they are no longer able to do so. open.spotify.com/episode/4reu...
Down Below the Borderline: The Monroe Doctrine
open.spotify.com
January 3, 2026 at 12:53 PM
America has said it was going to do this, they have said that they have been and will always be doing this, and they will continue doing this until they are no longer able to do so. open.spotify.com/episode/4reu...
Reposted by Kenneth Novis
Lots of Americans are probably still asleep right now, but: what are *you* going to do about this? It’s your government, and at this point, I don’t think that anybody else is able to stand up to you. You’re the only people who can stop, or even mitigate, this insanity.
January 3, 2026 at 11:56 AM
Lots of Americans are probably still asleep right now, but: what are *you* going to do about this? It’s your government, and at this point, I don’t think that anybody else is able to stand up to you. You’re the only people who can stop, or even mitigate, this insanity.
Reposted by Kenneth Novis
#OtD 2 Jan 1873 Dutch Marxist astronomer, Anton Pannekoek, was born. His writing on workers' councils and their ability to overcome the limits of unions and parties made him a key theorist of council communism. We've made his work available in this book: shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/...
January 2, 2026 at 4:40 PM
#OtD 2 Jan 1873 Dutch Marxist astronomer, Anton Pannekoek, was born. His writing on workers' councils and their ability to overcome the limits of unions and parties made him a key theorist of council communism. We've made his work available in this book: shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/...
Reposted by Kenneth Novis
Scholars Fired/Suspended for Opposing Genocide in Palestine Featuring: Eric Cheyfitz (suspended, Cornell), Jodi Dean (reinstated, Hobart & William Smith), Maura Finkelstein (formerly, Muhlenberg), Sang Hea Kil (formerly, San Jose State), Ramsi Woodcock (suspended, U Kentucky)
zoom.us/webinar/regi...
zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: The End of Academia. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
A Roundtable of Scholars Fired or Suspended by
their Universities for Opposing Genocide and
Colonialism in Palestine
zoom.us
January 2, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Scholars Fired/Suspended for Opposing Genocide in Palestine Featuring: Eric Cheyfitz (suspended, Cornell), Jodi Dean (reinstated, Hobart & William Smith), Maura Finkelstein (formerly, Muhlenberg), Sang Hea Kil (formerly, San Jose State), Ramsi Woodcock (suspended, U Kentucky)
zoom.us/webinar/regi...
zoom.us/webinar/regi...
A comrade reminded me last night of this great little essay by Gramsci on the topic of New Year’s Day viewpointmag.com/2015/01/01/i...
January 1, 2026 at 12:01 PM
A comrade reminded me last night of this great little essay by Gramsci on the topic of New Year’s Day viewpointmag.com/2015/01/01/i...
Once more around the sun we go again youtu.be/wnrvWXvN78Y?...
Once More 'Round the Sun
YouTube video by Mastodon - Topic
youtu.be
January 1, 2026 at 12:15 AM
Once more around the sun we go again youtu.be/wnrvWXvN78Y?...
I’ve uploaded a preprint of my forthcoming paper on Simone Weil and Operaismo to my academia.edu profile: academia.edu/resource/wor...
Simone Weil, Workers Inquiry, Operaismo (Pre Print)
Karl Marx’s militant methodology of workers’ inquiry is enjoying a moment of renewed interest. This methodology serves a twofold purpose. First, it acknowledges the epistemically privileged position o...
academia.edu
December 31, 2025 at 4:28 PM
I’ve uploaded a preprint of my forthcoming paper on Simone Weil and Operaismo to my academia.edu profile: academia.edu/resource/wor...
I've noticed that people from the US/Canada assume that all other countries run PhDs just like they do (coursework years, then dissertation years). So to them, saying "I've been doing a PhD on this topic for 3 years" can mean "I'm just in my first year of writing on this topic."
December 31, 2025 at 12:23 PM
I've noticed that people from the US/Canada assume that all other countries run PhDs just like they do (coursework years, then dissertation years). So to them, saying "I've been doing a PhD on this topic for 3 years" can mean "I'm just in my first year of writing on this topic."
This is one of the more interesting criticisms of Spinoza, and one that I might actually agree with. Why think that understanding the mechanicity of nature would lead us to an attitude of love, rather than hatred? Feuer's criticism has just the pessimistic audacity that I appreciate Adorno for.
December 30, 2025 at 11:29 AM
This is one of the more interesting criticisms of Spinoza, and one that I might actually agree with. Why think that understanding the mechanicity of nature would lead us to an attitude of love, rather than hatred? Feuer's criticism has just the pessimistic audacity that I appreciate Adorno for.
Reposted by Kenneth Novis
December 29, 2025 at 8:34 AM
I got this nice coat for Christmas
December 28, 2025 at 5:05 PM
I got this nice coat for Christmas
If this exposition of Duns Scotus is right, then for him Lucifer was effectively condemned for being a utilitarian
December 26, 2025 at 11:48 PM
If this exposition of Duns Scotus is right, then for him Lucifer was effectively condemned for being a utilitarian
I was surprised to find that one of my old suits still fits me
December 25, 2025 at 3:43 PM
I was surprised to find that one of my old suits still fits me