Ali Boyle
@aliboyle.bsky.social
Philosopher of science. Thinking about nonhuman minds, memory, living things. Cat person.
Reposted by Ali Boyle
I know BlueSky has problems with humour so just to be clear: I, like everyone else, am aware that postdocs aren't real. I'm not spreading misinformation when I refer to them as if they exist, they're jokes and everyone knows that. Chill, ok?
November 8, 2025 at 3:20 PM
I know BlueSky has problems with humour so just to be clear: I, like everyone else, am aware that postdocs aren't real. I'm not spreading misinformation when I refer to them as if they exist, they're jokes and everyone knows that. Chill, ok?
Reposted by Ali Boyle
Good news everyone: #Duke Summer Seminars in Neuroscience and Philosophy (SSNAP) are back!! We are now accepting applications for SSNAP 2026, which will take place from May 26 to June 6, 2026. #neuroscience #philosophy #brain Please spread the word! ssnap.submittable.com/submit
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November 7, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Good news everyone: #Duke Summer Seminars in Neuroscience and Philosophy (SSNAP) are back!! We are now accepting applications for SSNAP 2026, which will take place from May 26 to June 6, 2026. #neuroscience #philosophy #brain Please spread the word! ssnap.submittable.com/submit
Reposted by Ali Boyle
PhD project on the evolution of animal memory now available in my research group, through the TREES DLA: www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/evo.... Come and join us if you're interested in the evolution of animal minds and you want to do some cool experimental evolution!
Evolutionary ecology of animal memory | TREES DLA
This project seeks to explore how memory evolves in response to the ecological tasks that animals face in their natural environment. Associative memory exists in some form in almost all animal species...
www.trees-dla.ac.uk
November 6, 2025 at 3:23 PM
PhD project on the evolution of animal memory now available in my research group, through the TREES DLA: www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/evo.... Come and join us if you're interested in the evolution of animal minds and you want to do some cool experimental evolution!
Reposted by Ali Boyle
The rumours are true: Leeds is hosting BSPS 2026! Make sure you put the date in your calendars (21-23 July) and, while you're at it, consider submitting a symposium proposal (CFS closes on 14th January 2026)! www.thebsps.org/news/bsps-an...
Annual Conference | 2025
The BSPS Annual Conference takes place on 15-17 July 2025 at the University of Glasgow
www.thebsps.org
November 6, 2025 at 1:31 PM
The rumours are true: Leeds is hosting BSPS 2026! Make sure you put the date in your calendars (21-23 July) and, while you're at it, consider submitting a symposium proposal (CFS closes on 14th January 2026)! www.thebsps.org/news/bsps-an...
Reposted by Ali Boyle
Received a very fancy email from a predatory publisher this morning. This one’s a doozy. 🧵
November 4, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Received a very fancy email from a predatory publisher this morning. This one’s a doozy. 🧵
Reposted by Ali Boyle
Happy World Jellyfish Day! 🪼
November 3, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Happy World Jellyfish Day! 🪼
Reposted by Ali Boyle
Come for the title, stay for the learning
More than five years in the making, my paper about the metaphysics of pregnancy is out today, open-access in PPR 🧵1/7
doi.org/10.1111/phpr...
doi.org/10.1111/phpr...
Lady Parts and Baby Parts: What Is a Fetus?
A common-sense view of mammalian pregnancy treats the fetus as (a) an organism and (b) co-extensive with the approximately baby-shaped entity developing in the uterus. In this paper, I draw on metabo...
doi.org
October 30, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Come for the title, stay for the learning
Reposted by Ali Boyle
My new paper has just been published online in @journalphp.bsky.social!
Popperian animals and instrumental reasoning: Philosophical Psychology: Vol 0, No 0 - Get Access www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
Popperian animals and instrumental reasoning: Philosophical Psychology: Vol 0, No 0 - Get Access www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
Popperian animals and instrumental reasoning: Philosophical Psychology: Vol 0, No 0 - Get Access
Browse all journals
www.tandfonline.com
October 30, 2025 at 12:46 PM
My new paper has just been published online in @journalphp.bsky.social!
Popperian animals and instrumental reasoning: Philosophical Psychology: Vol 0, No 0 - Get Access www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
Popperian animals and instrumental reasoning: Philosophical Psychology: Vol 0, No 0 - Get Access www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
More than five years in the making, my paper about the metaphysics of pregnancy is out today, open-access in PPR 🧵1/7
doi.org/10.1111/phpr...
doi.org/10.1111/phpr...
Lady Parts and Baby Parts: What Is a Fetus?
A common-sense view of mammalian pregnancy treats the fetus as (a) an organism and (b) co-extensive with the approximately baby-shaped entity developing in the uterus. In this paper, I draw on metabo...
doi.org
October 30, 2025 at 12:30 PM
More than five years in the making, my paper about the metaphysics of pregnancy is out today, open-access in PPR 🧵1/7
doi.org/10.1111/phpr...
doi.org/10.1111/phpr...
Reposted by Ali Boyle
Thanks very much to The Royal Institute of Philosophy for awarding me the Nayef Al-Rodhan Book Prize 2025. Thanks as well to the ERC who funded it, Peter Momtchiloff who commissioned it for OUP, all my LSE team members past and present, and everyone who made the book possible!
October 30, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Thanks very much to The Royal Institute of Philosophy for awarding me the Nayef Al-Rodhan Book Prize 2025. Thanks as well to the ERC who funded it, Peter Momtchiloff who commissioned it for OUP, all my LSE team members past and present, and everyone who made the book possible!
Reposted by Ali Boyle
Do you have a memory so vivid you can relive it?
@campsydept.bsky.social and @durham.ac.uk are exploring how vivid human memories work across our lives – and how ideas about them have evolved over time.
Your experiences could help us understand memory better.
Take our survey: bit.ly/3J1FQ8y
@campsydept.bsky.social and @durham.ac.uk are exploring how vivid human memories work across our lives – and how ideas about them have evolved over time.
Your experiences could help us understand memory better.
Take our survey: bit.ly/3J1FQ8y
October 24, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Do you have a memory so vivid you can relive it?
@campsydept.bsky.social and @durham.ac.uk are exploring how vivid human memories work across our lives – and how ideas about them have evolved over time.
Your experiences could help us understand memory better.
Take our survey: bit.ly/3J1FQ8y
@campsydept.bsky.social and @durham.ac.uk are exploring how vivid human memories work across our lives – and how ideas about them have evolved over time.
Your experiences could help us understand memory better.
Take our survey: bit.ly/3J1FQ8y
Reposted by Ali Boyle
Forthcoming in SHPS 'A pink lie in French medicine' where I tell you the story of Spasfon/phloroglucinol - a pink shiny pill created in France in the 1960s - and one of the most prescribed pharmaceutical drugs in France, especially to women philpapers.org/rec/FERAPL-3
Juliette Ferry-Danini, A pink lie in French medicine - PhilPapers
This paper sets to explain how one of the most prescribed and sold pharmaceutical drugs in France – Spasfon (phloroglucinol), introduced on the French market in the 1960s, became and remained so succe...
philpapers.org
August 21, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Forthcoming in SHPS 'A pink lie in French medicine' where I tell you the story of Spasfon/phloroglucinol - a pink shiny pill created in France in the 1960s - and one of the most prescribed pharmaceutical drugs in France, especially to women philpapers.org/rec/FERAPL-3
Reposted by Ali Boyle
"PhD-level experts in your back pocket" is a completely nonsensical description of AI but a pretty good description of social media if you follow the right people
August 9, 2025 at 11:07 PM
"PhD-level experts in your back pocket" is a completely nonsensical description of AI but a pretty good description of social media if you follow the right people
Reposted by Ali Boyle
Two job ads for people in philosophy in my dept (www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOD999/a... and www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOD995/a...). Ever heard of this thing called AI? You probably haven't it's pretty niche. But if you have maybe apply? Also this even more niche thing (sustainability) so that too.
August 4, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Two job ads for people in philosophy in my dept (www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOD999/a... and www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOD995/a...). Ever heard of this thing called AI? You probably haven't it's pretty niche. But if you have maybe apply? Also this even more niche thing (sustainability) so that too.
Reposted by Ali Boyle
an annoying thing about my profession is, psychologically speaking, i need to be told i'm a very clever boy every three weeks, but my professional activities result in being told i'm a very clever boy only every six weeks
August 7, 2025 at 4:15 AM
an annoying thing about my profession is, psychologically speaking, i need to be told i'm a very clever boy every three weeks, but my professional activities result in being told i'm a very clever boy only every six weeks
Reposted by Ali Boyle
Claire Mac Cumhaill and Rachel Wiseman’s characterization of this move as “aggressive incomprehension” was really clarifying for me.
Philosophers stop saying 'I don't know what that means' about things they definitely understand challenge (impossible)
July 30, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Claire Mac Cumhaill and Rachel Wiseman’s characterization of this move as “aggressive incomprehension” was really clarifying for me.
Reposted by Ali Boyle
I don’t know what this—
Philosophers stop saying 'I don't know what that means' about things they definitely understand challenge (impossible)
July 30, 2025 at 10:57 AM
I don’t know what this—
Philosophers stop saying 'I don't know what that means' about things they definitely understand challenge (impossible)
July 30, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Philosophers stop saying 'I don't know what that means' about things they definitely understand challenge (impossible)
Reposted by Ali Boyle
🚨 Calling all dog behavior & cognition researchers - ManyDogs Project is launching ManyDogs 2!
🔍🐕🦺We're studying overimitation: Do dogs copy irrelevant actions just b/c their favorite human does them?
Email manydogsproject2@gmail.com to collaborate globally and contribute to reproducible science!
🔍🐕🦺We're studying overimitation: Do dogs copy irrelevant actions just b/c their favorite human does them?
Email manydogsproject2@gmail.com to collaborate globally and contribute to reproducible science!
July 22, 2025 at 2:19 AM
🚨 Calling all dog behavior & cognition researchers - ManyDogs Project is launching ManyDogs 2!
🔍🐕🦺We're studying overimitation: Do dogs copy irrelevant actions just b/c their favorite human does them?
Email manydogsproject2@gmail.com to collaborate globally and contribute to reproducible science!
🔍🐕🦺We're studying overimitation: Do dogs copy irrelevant actions just b/c their favorite human does them?
Email manydogsproject2@gmail.com to collaborate globally and contribute to reproducible science!
Reposted by Ali Boyle
Ftr I think everyone should have to take philosophy please my students need jobs
not everyone in society needs to have taken philosophy 101, but imo our dogshit discourse around AI suggests that it probably should have been mandatory for the elite classes
July 21, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Ftr I think everyone should have to take philosophy please my students need jobs
Reposted by Ali Boyle
Many congratulations to @davidpapineau.bsky.social and Hasok Chang on their election as Fellows of the British Academy. Major recognition for philosophy of science!
July 18, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Many congratulations to @davidpapineau.bsky.social and Hasok Chang on their election as Fellows of the British Academy. Major recognition for philosophy of science!
Reposted by Ali Boyle
Two permanent Lecturer posts at Birkbeck (equivalent of Assistant Professor). Area of specialisation is open but with teaching needs in ethics & phil of AI, ethics and poli phil, ancient, gender, continental, engaged. Closing date August 28th, start in Jan 2026 'a significant advantage' #philsky
Lecturer in Philosophy (2216) - Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck
cis7.bbk.ac.uk
July 17, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Two permanent Lecturer posts at Birkbeck (equivalent of Assistant Professor). Area of specialisation is open but with teaching needs in ethics & phil of AI, ethics and poli phil, ancient, gender, continental, engaged. Closing date August 28th, start in Jan 2026 'a significant advantage' #philsky
Reposted by Ali Boyle
This is slightly old news, but now that I have access to Bluesky again, I'm going to take the opportunity to flag my most recent publication 'Longtermism and Aggregation' at PPR. I first drafted this paper years ago, so it's great to finally see it out!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Longtermism and aggregation
Advocates of longtermism point out that interventions which focus on improving the prospects of people in the very far future will, in expectation, bring about an astronomical amount of good (or agen....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
June 28, 2025 at 10:42 AM
This is slightly old news, but now that I have access to Bluesky again, I'm going to take the opportunity to flag my most recent publication 'Longtermism and Aggregation' at PPR. I first drafted this paper years ago, so it's great to finally see it out!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Ali Boyle
📽️ The recording of the Sir Karl Popper Memorial Lecture 2025 by @petergs.bsky.social on freedom and tolerance is now available online!
Watch it here: www.youtube.com/live/1TWy0xa...
Watch it here: www.youtube.com/live/1TWy0xa...
June 3, 2025 at 4:09 PM
📽️ The recording of the Sir Karl Popper Memorial Lecture 2025 by @petergs.bsky.social on freedom and tolerance is now available online!
Watch it here: www.youtube.com/live/1TWy0xa...
Watch it here: www.youtube.com/live/1TWy0xa...
'I have not adopted a counterpart theoretical understanding of modal statements... The reason I have not done this is that, when you come right down to it, I simply do not like counterpart theory.' (van inwagen).
This is so honest. I love it.
This is so honest. I love it.
May 30, 2025 at 6:13 PM
'I have not adopted a counterpart theoretical understanding of modal statements... The reason I have not done this is that, when you come right down to it, I simply do not like counterpart theory.' (van inwagen).
This is so honest. I love it.
This is so honest. I love it.