Samuel Paul Douglas, PhD

It’s Life (Sciences), Jim, But Not As We Know It Shulgin, beam me up!

Issue #9 of The Ethical Trip is out! In it:

- Is Atai undervalued?
- Should we use shrooms to live forever?
- How can I make a decision without missing something?

For all this, plus recent research, morally flexible product placement, read on!

theethicaltrip.beehiiv.com/p/it-s-life-...

Candidates must have expertise and research interests in an area of philosophy and a demonstrable ability to conduct research that has a substantial connection to Artificial Intelligence (AI). We interpret a substantial connection to AI broadly to include, for example, the intersection of AI and philosophy of science, AI and logic/formal methods, AI and moral and political philosophy, and/or AI and philosophy of law. Candidates must be willing and able to make a substantial research-led contribution to the Department’s core teaching provision. (More information about our courses can be found here.)

Candidates must have expertise and research interests in an area of philosophy that has a substantial research connection to sustainability. Candidates must be able to develop a new course in philosophy and sustainability, and be able to make a substantial, research-led contribution to the Department’s core teaching provision. (More information about our courses can be found here.) This role is fully based in the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, but involves extensive collaboration with LSE’s new Global School of Sustainability (GSoS). Candidates are expected to be committed to this collaboration and willing to contribute to GSoS activities. We therefore particularly welcome candidates whose work bears on GSoS’s five research themes.

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.

Got my topic for next week’s ethics & psychedelics essay locked in. (As it happens, a former colleague did some research on the ethics of radical life extension, so I’ve got a head start.)

"But my audience is there."

"Sir, your audience is not real."

"How dare you?"

It’s wild that face scanning for age verification is not only a common practice but it’s basically legally required for platforms to comply.

The danger of applying this universally is ☠️, seeing the Tea breach doxxing everybody who verified with ID & face scans further eroding access to anonymity.

I’m sure there’s an ‘opinions are like arseholes’ joke here somewhere.

A zinc garden bucket on a wooden table with out of focus greenery in the background.

A Compass Pathways exec walks into an ayahuasca ceremony.

They patent the bucket as a ‘portable purge receptacle’ and begin legal action against Bunnings.

I have a lot of connections there with people who are interested in psychedelics. This unfortunately means a lot of people in my broader 2nd-degree network are at the fringes of mainstream pharmaceuticals and/or are the most appalling tech-bros imaginable. It's not a great mix.

I’d noticed that their enforcement of certain rules was lacklustre at times, so I guess they’re just making it official. Guess I’ll have to raise my block game there too.

60,000 Gazans have been killed. 18,500 were children. These are their names. Palestinian children have been killed at a rate of more than one per hour since the war began.

"60,000 Gazans have been killed. 18,500 were children. These are their names."

Will Algae Cooking Oil be the next “seed oil?”

This sh*t infuriates me. Missionaries are responsible for the destruction of so many cultures.

Will it turn out we gave up that beef concession for nothing? I think we all know the answer to that?

He seems very punchable

I’m former UoN, and I know lots of people there will likely sign if they’re aware of the letter. (I’m out of the loop now, so unsure how many people have discussed it.)

More than 10 hours without news from the Handala crew, kidnapped by Israel.

Call on the authorities to demand their immediate release, the end of the illegal blockade of Gaza, and the end of the genocide.
#FreedomFlotilla

There will be no centre to pitch to on a dead planet.

Two Australians on board boat intercepted by Israel while trying to transport aid to Gaza, Dfat confirms Journalist Tania Safi and human rights activist Robert Martin on board Freedom Flotilla Coalition vessel the Handala, group says

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Poster on a black background with a white illustration of a bird holding a flower with a heart and white headline: SPEAK UP NOW. Under it in red writing: GAZA IS BRING STARVED. There is a border made up of the following hashtag repeated: #LETAIDIN

They can’t fire everyone. Speak up now.

LET AID IN. FREE PALESTINE.

Machine Elves Infringe My Patents Intellectual Property for the Psychedelic Majority

What is a Markush claim and is it wrong to patent millions of molecules? Are you building for the psychedelic majority? What is Serotonin Toxicity?
For all this, plus research, an unsettling sponsorship deal, and my worst joke yet, read on!

theethicaltrip.beehiiv.com/p/machine-el...

Someone pin this for when we have our first case of BSE. Not that there's much chance of that, but this still looks like pandering to me. I don't eat a lot of beef, but if I do, I'll definitely be checking it's provenance.

Labor lifts ban on US beef, saying new measures ‘effectively’ manage biosecurity risks Move expected to help Australia’s negotiations with Trump administration for lower trade tariffs on exports

I hope it will be labelled - i would never buy it for multiple reasons and never eat beef when in the US www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

“Taking away the frog’s thermometer reflects the government’s view that its water is exactly the right temperature.”

Could have studied the blade. Did a PhD in philosophy instead. (Should have done both, like @damonyoung.com.au)

Is this the Trump letter to Epstein?

Food, Water & Hope for a Mum in Gaza Hi, I’m Jessica Walton. I’m a writer, teacher and mum from Naarm, Australia. My dear friend Nour is a writer, teacher and mum, living in Gaza.

Food, Water & Hope for a Mum in Gaza chuffed.org/project/1396...

Truer words have never been spoken.

Because of course they are

I sat and thought about it a bit

www.instagram.com/reel/DMTpjPK...