Brian Weatherson
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bweatherson.bsky.social
Brian Weatherson
@bweatherson.bsky.social
Philosopher at University of Michigan. https://brian.weatherson.org/
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This is a thread of things I've recently published, starting with my book from last year, with Open Book Publishers, defending the claim that knowledge is interest-relative.

I'll continue this thread when new stuff comes out.

www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.116...
Knowledge: A Human Interest Story
In this book the author argues for a groundbreaking perspective that knowledge is inherently interest-relative. This means that what one knows is influenced not just by belief, evidence, and truth, bu...
www.openbookpublishers.com
Reposted by Brian Weatherson
Looking forward to be participating at a workshop entitled “Forecasting Rare and Severe Events: Behaviour, Verification, and Judgment” at St Andrews organised by Ian Durbach from the Stats Department—wildly interdisciplinary event. This will be fun
November 10, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Reposted by Brian Weatherson
The online journal Philosophy and the Mind Sciences is doing a symposium on my book, Deflating Mental Representation, based on my Jean Nicod lectures. See the Call for Papers here:
philosophymindscience.org/index.php/ph...
and a précis of the book here:
philpapers.org/rec/EGAPOD
Call for Papers: Book Symposium on "Deflating Mental Representation" by Frances Egan | Philosophy and the Mind Sciences
Philosophy and the Mind Sciences (PhiMiSci) focuses on the interface between philosophy of mind, psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. PhiMiSci is a peer-reviewed, not-for-profit open-access journal...
philosophymindscience.org
November 10, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by Brian Weatherson
Katherine Hawley is indeed sorely missed here in Philosophy and St Andrews, and it’s good to see her clear and wise reflections on trust and trustworthiness gain a fresh audience.

https://mastodon.social/@kjhealy/115525767271021313
Kieran Healy (@kjhealy@mastodon.social)
A little more about trustworthy data visualization and the work of the philosopher Katherine Hawley. https://kieranhealy.org/blog/archives/2025/11/10/trustworthy-data-visualization/
mastodon.social
November 10, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Reposted by Brian Weatherson
I know several people who worked on this rollout. They were really proud of it.
The I.R.S. is shutting down its free online system for filing tax returns, a program that the Biden administration introduced last year and that users gave high marks.

via @tarasiegelbernard.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/b...
I.R.S. Halts Free Online Offering for Filing Taxes Directly
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:38 PM
November 8, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Reposted by Brian Weatherson
Are there philosophy classes on the ethics on insurance underwriting and pricing ? Seems like you could get a solid semester out of it.
November 8, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Reposted by Brian Weatherson
FWIW my textbook of choice has been for all x Calgary paired with Carnap.io.

I’m super appreciative of the work that the Open Logic Project people have been doing! openlogicproject.org
Welcome To Carnap!
Carnap.io
November 8, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Reposted by Brian Weatherson
Boooo
BREAKING: Cornell caved.

Here is the settlement agreement, signed today by the university's president, Michael Kotlikoff: statements.cornell.edu/2025/documen...
November 7, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Reposted by Brian Weatherson
The timeline in so many of these cases tracks the gpt4o rollout www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/t...
Lawsuits Blame ChatGPT for Suicides and Harmful Delusions
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Reposted by Brian Weatherson
Why is the Associated Press letting a White House official speak anonymously about why Trump pardoned a corrupt Tennessee Republican politician? And for 3 whole paragraphs, providing the defense that he only got $5,000 from his illegal scheme, which makes it OK In Trumpworld.
November 7, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Reposted by Brian Weatherson
I’m not going to delete mine. I like the web page they made for me too much.
November 6, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Reposted by Brian Weatherson
This week's @unbreaking.org update on immigration is *also* an update on data security because the administration is using immigration enforcement as a way to trial and operationalize a full-on surveillance state.
November 6, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Reposted by Brian Weatherson
I expand on a rant about the unseriousness of serious politics backofmind.substack.com/p/the-genera...
the generalised problem factory
taking opps research seriously
backofmind.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Reposted by Brian Weatherson
AltNPS's post is full of the same lurid details and breathless dramatization as their previous attempt at ICE raid erotica from a few weeks ago.

Things that AltNPS could not possibly have witnessed, and which aren't reported anywhere else.
November 6, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Reposted by Brian Weatherson
There’s growing evidence that something was going seriously wrong in the classic early work on cognitive dissonance

Latest revelation: The story in When Prophecy Fails seems to have been fabricated in the most egregious way

But this is not the only one…

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Debunking “When Prophecy Fails”
In 1954, Dorothy Martin predicted an apocalyptic flood and promised her followers rescue by flying saucers. When neither arrived, she recanted, her group dissolved, and efforts to proselytize ceased....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Is the goat meat stands a promise?!
November 5, 2025 at 6:34 PM
I didn't realise @leaypi.bsky.social is doing the Tanner lecture at Michigan this year.

lsa.umich.edu/philosophy/n...
All Events | U-M LSA Philosophy
lsa.umich.edu
November 5, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Even ignoring what's right and wrong, I think this is just bad electoral strategy. There have got to be parts of America where the winning strategy is to be like the Australian teals.

That is, run as the most moderate candidate ever on every issue except environment, where you're radical.
What Democrats need to do is neither embrace the ideas of the Bernie / AOC / Mamdani faction nor obsessively freeze Bernie / AOC / Mamdani out.

What they have to do is be tougher on crime and illegal immigration and prioritize broad-based prosperity over emissions reductions and identity politics.
November 5, 2025 at 2:08 PM
If you're a Melbournian, the most important feature of Zohran is that he plays cricket.
Who is Zohran Mamdani, the cricket-playing former rapper that just became New York’s next mayor?
When he announced his run for mayor, Zohran Mamdani was unknown to most New Yorkers. Now the democratic socialist has pulled off a stunning political win. Who is he?
www.theage.com.au
November 5, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Do I have something ready to go in 10 weeks?
Please note! To work through a backlog of accepted papers and reduce time to publication, JPhil will suspend new submissions starting Friday, January 16, 2026. We expect to reopen submissions on Monday, August 17, 2026. New submissions will not be processed or considered during this time.
November 4, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Reposted by Brian Weatherson
Next talk from the #NaturalPhilosophy Symposium is Jennifer Nagel on The Natural Structure of Common Knowledge, with commentary by Steven Gross.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEiQ...
November 3, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Reposted by Brian Weatherson
Took this a few nights ago on my phone
November 1, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Reposted by Brian Weatherson
I've given my new Senator a lot of shit on here. But I don't think anyone with power has laid out the stakes of what we're facing as clearly as she does right here.

And if she's saying this, it's because she feels she must.
November 1, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Reposted by Brian Weatherson
THIS is why who holds power in state legislatures matters. The MI Senate has introduced a policy to invest $71M to ensure Michiganders can put food on the table when SNAP benefits end tomorrow. Now, it's up for a vote in the rightwing-controlled House. www.mlive.com/politics/202...
Michigan Senate approves $71M for food aid ahead of SNAP benefits pause
The Michigan proposal would allocate $50 million for EBT cards and $20 million for food banks and farm programs to help Michigan residents during the federal SNAP pause.
www.mlive.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:50 PM