Pierrick Simon
@pierricksimon.bsky.social
Philosopher. Working on philosophical exercises, philosophy as a way of life, and political disagreements. Enthusiastic about: #phenomenology, #mindfulness, #hermeneutics and the medical humanities.
https://philosophicalexercises.blogspot.com/
https://philosophicalexercises.blogspot.com/
Pinned
Pierrick Simon
@pierricksimon.bsky.social
· Oct 17
Philosophical Exercises
philosophicalexercises.blogspot.com
"A philosophical exercise every month!" That's what I do & review on my blog philosophicalexercises.blogspot.com . Whether it be Contemplation of death, Jhana meditation, Postural Yoga, Befriending the Ancients, etc. I identify cool philosophical practices, I try them & I tell you about it
#philsky
#philsky
They're asking for a brave new vision of Doctor Who But Good this Time; How do We Do Good Things Already? I agree with the sentiment!
Sounds like they've got a pretty good idea of the brave new vision they want already
September 18, 2026 at 12:07 PM
They're asking for a brave new vision of Doctor Who But Good this Time; How do We Do Good Things Already? I agree with the sentiment!
I'm a big fan of effective altruism. Not a big fan of how it managed to speed-run what happened to Christianity:
- becomes a state religion
- immediately reverses all of its founding values
- no self-consciousness or cognitive dissonance about it whatsoever for the people in power
- becomes a state religion
- immediately reverses all of its founding values
- no self-consciousness or cognitive dissonance about it whatsoever for the people in power
Nick Beckstead, noted longtermist and "effective altruist,” just comes out and says it:
"But it now seems more plausible to me that saving a life in a rich country is substantially more important than saving a life in a poor country, other things being equal."
"But it now seems more plausible to me that saving a life in a rich country is substantially more important than saving a life in a poor country, other things being equal."
September 17, 2026 at 2:24 PM
I'm a big fan of effective altruism. Not a big fan of how it managed to speed-run what happened to Christianity:
- becomes a state religion
- immediately reverses all of its founding values
- no self-consciousness or cognitive dissonance about it whatsoever for the people in power
- becomes a state religion
- immediately reverses all of its founding values
- no self-consciousness or cognitive dissonance about it whatsoever for the people in power
Reposted by Pierrick Simon
Listening to the frogs at our local park also helps
September 17, 2026 at 6:55 AM
Listening to the frogs at our local park also helps
The Philosophy as a Way of Life seminar is back, with four talks already lined up. #philsky
A monthly online lecture-and-discussion series convened by the International Society for Philosophy as a Way of Life (ISPWL), bringing together scholars to explore philosophy as a way to transform oneself.
A monthly online lecture-and-discussion series convened by the International Society for Philosophy as a Way of Life (ISPWL), bringing together scholars to explore philosophy as a way to transform oneself.
September 16, 2026 at 7:17 PM
The Philosophy as a Way of Life seminar is back, with four talks already lined up. #philsky
A monthly online lecture-and-discussion series convened by the International Society for Philosophy as a Way of Life (ISPWL), bringing together scholars to explore philosophy as a way to transform oneself.
A monthly online lecture-and-discussion series convened by the International Society for Philosophy as a Way of Life (ISPWL), bringing together scholars to explore philosophy as a way to transform oneself.
Reposted by Pierrick Simon
The soul is real and can be tied with a rope according to this graphical abstract. The paper is even weirder!
"Quantum evidence of nonlocal consciousness during clinical death" www.cell.com/the-innovati... This is a Cell Press journal...
via @pubpeer.com @forbetterscience.bsky.social
"Quantum evidence of nonlocal consciousness during clinical death" www.cell.com/the-innovati... This is a Cell Press journal...
via @pubpeer.com @forbetterscience.bsky.social
September 16, 2026 at 9:11 AM
The soul is real and can be tied with a rope according to this graphical abstract. The paper is even weirder!
"Quantum evidence of nonlocal consciousness during clinical death" www.cell.com/the-innovati... This is a Cell Press journal...
via @pubpeer.com @forbetterscience.bsky.social
"Quantum evidence of nonlocal consciousness during clinical death" www.cell.com/the-innovati... This is a Cell Press journal...
via @pubpeer.com @forbetterscience.bsky.social
Reposted by Pierrick Simon
The special issue of Philosophical Quarterly on uncertainty is beginning to appear & I’m so pleased with it how it turned out.
Papers by Snow Zhang, Kevin Dorst, Pacy Yan, and Finnur Dellsén & Borut Trpin available at link. Papers by Julia Mosquera, Miriam Schoenfield, and Robbie Williams out soon.
Papers by Snow Zhang, Kevin Dorst, Pacy Yan, and Finnur Dellsén & Borut Trpin available at link. Papers by Julia Mosquera, Miriam Schoenfield, and Robbie Williams out soon.
search
academic.oup.com
September 16, 2026 at 7:12 AM
The special issue of Philosophical Quarterly on uncertainty is beginning to appear & I’m so pleased with it how it turned out.
Papers by Snow Zhang, Kevin Dorst, Pacy Yan, and Finnur Dellsén & Borut Trpin available at link. Papers by Julia Mosquera, Miriam Schoenfield, and Robbie Williams out soon.
Papers by Snow Zhang, Kevin Dorst, Pacy Yan, and Finnur Dellsén & Borut Trpin available at link. Papers by Julia Mosquera, Miriam Schoenfield, and Robbie Williams out soon.
My neighbour called me on the intercom because he had forgotten his keys and I was pretty unhelpful & rude about it. My reaction was "not this again!" because the previous tenant called me too many times with the same line
Misanthropy comes from a specific hurt but then extends to the wrong targets
Misanthropy comes from a specific hurt but then extends to the wrong targets
September 15, 2026 at 6:45 PM
My neighbour called me on the intercom because he had forgotten his keys and I was pretty unhelpful & rude about it. My reaction was "not this again!" because the previous tenant called me too many times with the same line
Misanthropy comes from a specific hurt but then extends to the wrong targets
Misanthropy comes from a specific hurt but then extends to the wrong targets
Reposted by Pierrick Simon
Something I missed initially - you can download the book entirely open-access:
Great news in history of women in philosophy--new book by Alison Stone on Julia Wedgwood, whose "law of imperfect antithesis" is a fascinating alternative to mainstream ethical theory. Watch Alison's terrific video summmary here: www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.116... #philsky #womeninphilosophy
www.openbookpublishers.com
September 15, 2026 at 8:25 AM
Something I missed initially - you can download the book entirely open-access:
Reposted by Pierrick Simon
Great news in history of women in philosophy--new book by Alison Stone on Julia Wedgwood, whose "law of imperfect antithesis" is a fascinating alternative to mainstream ethical theory. Watch Alison's terrific video summmary here: www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.116... #philsky #womeninphilosophy
www.openbookpublishers.com
September 14, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Great news in history of women in philosophy--new book by Alison Stone on Julia Wedgwood, whose "law of imperfect antithesis" is a fascinating alternative to mainstream ethical theory. Watch Alison's terrific video summmary here: www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.116... #philsky #womeninphilosophy
A conversation I kept having in my childhood (and after tbh), which epitomizes the way I am doomed to interact with most people:
- Pierrick, what is your favourite colour?
- Black.
- Black is not a colour!
- Yes, it is. Please, think about it.
- No. Anyway, why do you wear black all the time?
- ...
- Pierrick, what is your favourite colour?
- Black.
- Black is not a colour!
- Yes, it is. Please, think about it.
- No. Anyway, why do you wear black all the time?
- ...
September 15, 2026 at 7:05 AM
A conversation I kept having in my childhood (and after tbh), which epitomizes the way I am doomed to interact with most people:
- Pierrick, what is your favourite colour?
- Black.
- Black is not a colour!
- Yes, it is. Please, think about it.
- No. Anyway, why do you wear black all the time?
- ...
- Pierrick, what is your favourite colour?
- Black.
- Black is not a colour!
- Yes, it is. Please, think about it.
- No. Anyway, why do you wear black all the time?
- ...
The "Alarmibragging" of AI companies. Good point and good word. Let's spread that neologism because that's a really useful word for this weird dynamic of "AI will kill us all, give us money". Although personally I would have said it as "Alarm-bragging"
2. Alarmibragging claims from companies should be scrutinized for such things as:
What exactly was the training data & other input to the systems? What was system output?
>>
What exactly was the training data & other input to the systems? What was system output?
>>
September 14, 2026 at 3:28 PM
The "Alarmibragging" of AI companies. Good point and good word. Let's spread that neologism because that's a really useful word for this weird dynamic of "AI will kill us all, give us money". Although personally I would have said it as "Alarm-bragging"
Reposted by Pierrick Simon
it’s rather shocking the extent to which psychologists & philosophers will fail to take *the priors and epistemic situations of the people they’re talking about* into account when ascribing irrationality
September 13, 2026 at 12:25 AM
it’s rather shocking the extent to which psychologists & philosophers will fail to take *the priors and epistemic situations of the people they’re talking about* into account when ascribing irrationality
Reposted by Pierrick Simon
Nothing to add I haven't said elsewhere except the examples you cite need to die. When prophecy fails, people tend to say "well, guess I was wrong," and the Kahan gun control study doesn't replicate.
September 12, 2026 at 11:56 PM
Nothing to add I haven't said elsewhere except the examples you cite need to die. When prophecy fails, people tend to say "well, guess I was wrong," and the Kahan gun control study doesn't replicate.
Reposted by Pierrick Simon
here's one sort of example of why i'm not drawn to the 'not really beliefs' views. a common argument (it's been made for religious and political 'beliefs', and it's certainly available for philosophical 'beliefs' too) is that beliefs are, necessarily, evidence-sensitive. if a state is impervious
this kind of 'things that look like beliefs aren't *really* beliefs' move has been sorta popular recently (people have been making it for religious 'beliefs', political 'beliefs', etc.). i more or less never buy it, and i'm not buying it here. proposed alternative explanation: people's views are...
Anderson's idea is:
Maybe philosophers' positions on these issues are unrelated to their personality traits because *they aren't really beliefs*
Taking a position isn't really believing that something is true – it's more like a making a certain kind of move in the practice of being a philosopher
Maybe philosophers' positions on these issues are unrelated to their personality traits because *they aren't really beliefs*
Taking a position isn't really believing that something is true – it's more like a making a certain kind of move in the practice of being a philosopher
September 12, 2026 at 11:34 PM
here's one sort of example of why i'm not drawn to the 'not really beliefs' views. a common argument (it's been made for religious and political 'beliefs', and it's certainly available for philosophical 'beliefs' too) is that beliefs are, necessarily, evidence-sensitive. if a state is impervious
Reposted by Pierrick Simon
this is something people find intuitive but if you do some introspective phenomenology it’s pretty obviously false? when you’re experiencing pure joy you don’t discern it by comparing it with pain — pain is the furthest thing from your mind!
September 13, 2026 at 3:00 AM
this is something people find intuitive but if you do some introspective phenomenology it’s pretty obviously false? when you’re experiencing pure joy you don’t discern it by comparing it with pain — pain is the furthest thing from your mind!
Reposted by Pierrick Simon
We know that Academic Philosophy has a diversity problem. Wondering how to go about diversifying your syllabus ahead of the new academic year? Check out this post for 4 models of syllabi diversification👀
Head to our website for more tips!
Happy reading! 🧡
#philsky #backtoschool #philosophy #DRL
Head to our website for more tips!
Happy reading! 🧡
#philsky #backtoschool #philosophy #DRL
September 10, 2026 at 2:00 PM
We know that Academic Philosophy has a diversity problem. Wondering how to go about diversifying your syllabus ahead of the new academic year? Check out this post for 4 models of syllabi diversification👀
Head to our website for more tips!
Happy reading! 🧡
#philsky #backtoschool #philosophy #DRL
Head to our website for more tips!
Happy reading! 🧡
#philsky #backtoschool #philosophy #DRL
Just got blocked by ResearchGate because, and I quote, I "surf the web at super-human speed" 🕶️
September 10, 2026 at 12:24 PM
Just got blocked by ResearchGate because, and I quote, I "surf the web at super-human speed" 🕶️
Very clear from the last movie that Peter Parker and Frank Castle are "let's-not-talk-about-politics-it-would-make-everyone-upset" kind of friends. Shame. Frank needs to stop killing bikers. Peter should know about the horrors of war. It's called "reaching across the aisle".
September 10, 2026 at 11:33 AM
Very clear from the last movie that Peter Parker and Frank Castle are "let's-not-talk-about-politics-it-would-make-everyone-upset" kind of friends. Shame. Frank needs to stop killing bikers. Peter should know about the horrors of war. It's called "reaching across the aisle".
I loved the little allegory in this post by @axdouglas.bsky.social Philosophical *arguments* are akin to safety inspections on a building. But coming up with new philosophical ideas is like creating the building in the first place. And the ability to recognize novelty should not be taken for granted
Arguments: Everybody Chill Out
In a flood of demonstrata, I was only trying to plead for the demonstrandum
axdouglas.substack.com
September 10, 2026 at 11:19 AM
I loved the little allegory in this post by @axdouglas.bsky.social Philosophical *arguments* are akin to safety inspections on a building. But coming up with new philosophical ideas is like creating the building in the first place. And the ability to recognize novelty should not be taken for granted
I'm just popping to the shop, does anyone need some Symbolic Logic?
September 10, 2026 at 9:52 AM
I'm just popping to the shop, does anyone need some Symbolic Logic?
Dear Mary Midgley, Philosophical Plumbing sure sounds like a lot of work! When you said "When the concepts we are living by function badly, they do not usually drip audibly through the ceiling or swamp the kitchen floor" we heard you loud and clear! Our steel pipes are different & you get 50% off!
Philosophers, putting on our metaphorical hard hats: "We do conceptual engineering" 👯♂️
Industrial spammers, in my email inbox: "We specialize in the exact type of high-precision hydraulic cylinders that power such demanding applications"
Industrial spammers, in my email inbox: "We specialize in the exact type of high-precision hydraulic cylinders that power such demanding applications"
September 9, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Dear Mary Midgley, Philosophical Plumbing sure sounds like a lot of work! When you said "When the concepts we are living by function badly, they do not usually drip audibly through the ceiling or swamp the kitchen floor" we heard you loud and clear! Our steel pipes are different & you get 50% off!
My nesting partner just now: "Can I explain tax exemption to you?"
September 8, 2026 at 9:02 AM
My nesting partner just now: "Can I explain tax exemption to you?"
A little reminder. You can hire me as a freelance philosopher.
I provide guidance and editing services, from brainstorming together to proofreading, etc. And French-English translation as well.
Last but not least: I am very nice and curious about all kinds of projects, so you are in good hands.
I provide guidance and editing services, from brainstorming together to proofreading, etc. And French-English translation as well.
Last but not least: I am very nice and curious about all kinds of projects, so you are in good hands.
Discover the freelancer profile for Pierrick Simon, Philosopher, Translator, Proofreader, Writer
Discover Pierrick Simon's profile and reach out immediately to discuss your project
www.malt.com
September 7, 2026 at 1:52 PM
A little reminder. You can hire me as a freelance philosopher.
I provide guidance and editing services, from brainstorming together to proofreading, etc. And French-English translation as well.
Last but not least: I am very nice and curious about all kinds of projects, so you are in good hands.
I provide guidance and editing services, from brainstorming together to proofreading, etc. And French-English translation as well.
Last but not least: I am very nice and curious about all kinds of projects, so you are in good hands.
My instagram algorithm has been atrocious for months & nothing works to fix it. It keeps sending me wave after wave of content that seems designed to try to get me to join communities of grievances that are so far from my life experience that it genuinely feels like they confused me w/ someone else
September 5, 2026 at 7:27 PM
My instagram algorithm has been atrocious for months & nothing works to fix it. It keeps sending me wave after wave of content that seems designed to try to get me to join communities of grievances that are so far from my life experience that it genuinely feels like they confused me w/ someone else
Reposted by Pierrick Simon
Don't joke like this. I just learned what "Crypto-fascism" actually meant and I'm ashamed
September 5, 2026 at 6:38 PM
Don't joke like this. I just learned what "Crypto-fascism" actually meant and I'm ashamed