It’s book release day! I’m back on social media! I feel slightly awkward about it because part of the book is about how social media transforms your motivations for communication!
But honestly writing a book is lonely, weird basement-work, and now I want to talk to people about this weird jank.
If you are looking for a gift that will really get inside someone’s head and subtly undermine their confidence (and who isn’t?!), might I recommend gifting them a copy of ‘awkwardness’ with zero context or explanation? Now on sale for $17, but hurry— only 9 copies left!
a.co/d/bw2KIaS
Angela Sun argues that consent must always be revocable. Even when someone intends their consent to be binding "no matter what," revocation dissolves the permission. This protects bodily integrity even when we're not in a "sound state of mind."
journals.publishing.umich.edu/phimp/articl...
My one holiday shopping plug for my books. Super cheap now (under $15)
*What to Save and Why* is "a clear, accessible, thought-provoking book" per the NYRB
*Drawing the Line* "feels like a friend talking you through different angles on a problem that's been bothering you for years" per the LARB
Coming soon(ish)
"There is no playbook for reducing exposure when people’s homes are being sprinkled with lead dust from the sky."
A sobering piece from the NYTimes on the dire consequences of the international trade in recycled lead for front-line communities in Africa. #energysky
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
And then there's Eddie Izzard on the "American slang" use of donut with a more positive valence: youtube.com/watch?v=1GaDAjHKYC4&themeRefresh=1
The Routledge Handbook of Nature and Environmental Aesthetics is now out. Lots of great stuff, including a chapter by me on Beauty and Love of Place. Check it out, and ask your library to get a copy! #philsky
AI Overview: "Dental realism"refers to the philosophical debate about whether teeth exist independently of human perception, a concept rooted in metaphysical realism. While realism asserts an objective reality for teeth, idealist philosophies contend that teeth's existence is tied to our consciousness and perception. Philosophers use this idea, for example, to discuss the ethics of tooth extraction, examining whether a procedure impacts a real entity or merely a subjective experience.
When a typo in your Google search leads to new and exciting philosophical positions
If you're ever looking for some other media to supplement this, season 2 of the podcast Bear Brook from New Hampshire Public Radio is all about false confessions. It's harrowing.
My revised and expanded entry on the Ethics of Cultural Heritage is now live in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy! Appropriation, repatriation, monuments, and more, as well as a new section on the nascent aesthetic injustice literature. #philsky
plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethi...
Grateful to Carolyn Korsmeyer for her thoughtful review of What to Save and Why in Mind! #philsky
academic.oup.com/mind/advance...
One of the conclusions of my discussion of cancel culture in Drawing the Line is that it's generally a bad idea to cancel artists and performers (or most anyone, really) for things that they *say* (in contrast with things that they *do*). Sadly seeing more evidence for why this is true. #philsky
This paper from 7 years ago suddenly relevant again in the face of Trump's new "review" of Smithsonian exhibitions. #philsky
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
If anyone on here still wants a copy of What to Save and Why but hasn't gotten one yet, you can grab it on Amazon for $10 and change! www.amazon.com/What-Save-Wh...
At some point in grad school I had to read the Vindiciae contra tyrannos. Been thinking about that a lot lately...
Characteristically great piece by @add-hawk.bsky.social. Makes me wonder how many of us studied creative writing and yet somehow ended up... here.
dailynous.com/2025/07/15/b...
Fantastic to see What to Save and Why reviewed in the New York Review of Books! #philsky
Sobering piece in @nytimes.com compares China's advances in clean energy to the U.S.'s retrenchment in fossil fuels. Hard to read at a moment when the U.S. is giving up on a more affordable, healthier, and more sustainable future.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
🧪🔌💡☀️💨🔋
I keep thinking the price on What to Save and Why can't possible get lower, but it's now down to $13 and change. Good time to grab a copy if you haven't! #philsky
www.amazon.com/What-Save-Wh...
Yes! In this spirit: I taught your and Elisabeth Camp's "Playing with Labels" paper in my Authenticity seminar this semester and it is great! Students were very into it.
Nice to see What to Save and Why in the TLS! @wellesley.edu @oupphilosophy.bsky.social
Check me out in The Saturday Evening Post for Earth Day! #philsky
Who we are is defined in part by the things that we think are worth caring for, and whether we care for these things, in turn, shapes our sense of self.
