Federica Rocky Bocchi

I look forward to attending your talk!

I will be celebrating World Philosophy Day this week by giving a talk in Copenhagen on the profound influence of Kierkegaard’s philosophy on Niels Bohr’s view on the nature of physical reality and the ideal of an open world in his 1950 letter to the UN. Part of this conference openworld.ku.dk/ow25/

Always a pleasure to be back @alisabokulich.bsky.social

This is happening tomorrow, Sunday October 19th!

Are We in a Sixth Mass Extinction? The Challenges of Answering and Value of Asking Federica Bocchi, Alisa Bokulich, Leticia Castillo Brache, Gloria Grand-Pierre, and Aja Watkins PDF PDF PLUS Abstract Full Text Abstract In both scientific and popular circles, it is often said that we are in the midst of a sixth mass extinction. Although the urgency of our present environmental crises is not in doubt, such claims of a present mass extinction are highly controversial scientifically. Our aims are, first, to get to the bottom of this scientific debate by shedding philosophical light on the many conceptual and methodological challenges involved in answering this scientific question and, second, to offer new philosophical perspectives on what the value of asking this question has been—and whether that value persists today. We show that the conceptual challenges in defining ‘mass extinction’, uncertainties in past and present diversity assessments, and data incommensurabilities undermine a straightforward answer to the question of whether we are in, or entering, a sixth mass extinction today. More broadly, we argue that an excessive focus on the mass extinction framing can be misleading for present conservation efforts and may lead us to miss out on the many other valuable insights that Earth’s deep time can offer in guiding our future.

Zoom screenshot of 6 women smiling: Federica, Leticia, Alisa, Aja, Gloria, Matilde

Sections Abstract 1. Introduction 2. A Brief History of the Sixth Mass Extinction Debate 3. What Is a Mass Extinction? 4. Challenges from Palaeodiversity Data 5. Challenges from Biodiversity Data 6. Incommensurabilities of Past and Current Extinctions 7. Making the Comparisons More Compatible 8. Conclusion: Rethinking the Value of Asking Notes References

Excited our paper "Are We in a 6th Mass Extinction?" accepted in 2022 is now out @ BJPS! It began as UROP project w/ undergrad Gloria, expanded to a COVID lockdown project w/ Phi-Geo group, Sect 5 became kernel Federica's dissert & Sect 7 Aja's dissertation. Read ⬇️
doi.org/10.1086/722107
#HPS ⚒️

New paper alert!
My paper "Turning Biodiversity Data into Evidence" has been accepted in BioSocieties, as part of a collection on the making and shaping of #data_communities.

PREPRINT: philsci-archive.pitt.edu/26871/

Second HPS of Biodiversity Meeting Use this form to submit your abstract

Call for Abstracts
#HPS of Biodiversity
April 30 — May 2, 2026
Copenhagen, Denmark
Abstracts of 200-500 words should be submitted through: tinyurl.com/hpsbio. The deadline for submissions is Friday, November 7, 2025. Co-organized by @federicabocchi.bsky.social

What to Do About Data Distance? Responsible Alternatives to Data Sharing

My article “What to do about data distance? Responsible alternatives to data sharing” now in Harvard Data Science Review as commentary on Groth & Borgman’s feature conceptualising data distance - a stimulating debate which I am grateful to be part of hdsr.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/c4t7vqmm... #philsci

Il lato umano della scienza: la ricerca come attività sociale | Il Bo Live UniPD La scienza è neutrale? I dati sono solo una rappresentazione dei fatti? A queste questioni si dedica la ricerca di Sabina Leonelli, filosofa della scienza, a cui abbiamo posto alcune domande sulla nat...

Italian readers: articolo intervista sul “lato umano della scienza” e la relazione tra #scienza e #filosofia, messo insieme da Sofia Belardinelli a Padova: ilbolive.unipd.it/it/news/scie... #philsci 🧪

Leticia smiling in front of a museum didplay

STS LUNCH SEMINAR Spring 2025, Fridays 12-1:15pm EST Science, Technology, and Society - Lunch Seminar Spring 2025 Schedule

This Friday Phi-Geo grad @leticiacastillo.bsky.social will be giving an invited lecture at Tufts University on "Hidden Narratives in Paleontology: Toward Ethical & Inclusive Practices". #philsci #STS #PhiGeo #philsky ⚒️

Thanks, @frabellazzi.bsky.social, for co-organizing a great multidisciplinary workshop on Scale and Measurement at the Center for Philosophy and the Sciences at the University of Oslo. Here's a picture from @beccajackson.bsky.social 's talk on the Apgar Score and "Construct Realization".

In these uncertain times, this is something to look forward to.

I will present a brand new project, "When Adequacy is Inadequate: a Pragmatist Approach to Accurate Measurement Democratization," with Carlos Santana. »https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/event/pragmatism-and-measurement-2/

I received some copies of my forthcoming book in the mail!
The official release date is March 11
#hps #philsci #psychology #metascience #sts

ScaM workshop: on scale and measurement in the sciences - Centre for Philosophy and the Sciences (CPS) Read this story on the University of Oslo's website.

I am honored to have been invited to present “Quantifying the Biodiversity Crisis: measurement and scaling issues” at the ScaM workshop on scale and measurement at the University of Oslo. Drawing from a collaboration with @alisabokulich.bsky.social

Check it out: www.hf.uio.no/english/rese...

I am excited to give a talk, "Democratizing Measurements for Environmental Justice," at the AAAS Meeting in Boston on Feb. 15th. I argue that "Science Shaping Tomorrow" must be participatory and democratic starting from the foundation: measurement.
Details:
aaas.confex.com/aaas/2025/me...

AAAS ANNUAL MEETING "Democratizing Measurements for Environmental Justice" Federica Bocchi, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark, Denmark Abstract Saturday, February 15, 2025

Another #HPS talk of interest at the upcoming AAAS meeting in Boston on Saturday, February 15, 2025 is "Democratizing Measurements for Environmental Justice" by
Federica Bocchi @federicabocchi.bsky.social , University of Copenhagen
#philsci #philsky

Thanks to all those who joined my talk at #PSA2024! Special thanks to my coauthor, Carlos Santana, and the other symposium presenters: Tina Heger, Melissa Charenko, Aja Watkins, and Karen Kovaka.

Publication alert! My paper, "Biodiversity Skepticism and Measurement Practices," is now available in Biology & Philosophy open access. It's my first attempt to link measurement theory and conceptual engineering to the practices of measuring biodiversity.
Link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Don't forget to check out the Underrepresented Philosophy of Sciences Scholars (UPSS) Session highlighting PSA's UPSS Mentoring Initiative this weekend at #PSA24 in NOLA #philsci

New Stanford Encyclopedia article out today, written by myself and Katharine Jenkins: Feminist Metaphysics plato.stanford.edu/entries/femi...
#philsky

See you in NOLA!

Good morning, #phisky, #philsci, #conservation, #envhum and 🌎
@federicabocchi.bsky.social has an upcoming paper in Philosophy and Biology, arguing that we are not doomed to skepticism regarding biodiversity despite its multiple/conflicting measures. Preprint: philsci-archive.pitt.edu/24138/

Photo of a man & two women all holding certificates smiling: Pnina Geraldine Abir-Am (L), Kevin Elliott (C), & Kristine Harper (R) at 150th AAAS Fellows Gala in DC on Saturday Sept 21st, 2024.

Congratulations to new #HPS AAAS Fellows, incl
Kevin Elliott, Michigan State Univ
Pnina Geraldine Abir-Am, Brandeis Uni
Kristine Harper, University of Copenhagen (pic)
who were inducted at 150th AAAS Fellows Gala in DC on Saturday Sept 21st.
Read more about AAAS Fellows:
www.aaas.org/fellows/2023...

Day 2 of #SPSP2024, the day of our symposium "Demanding Evidence and Addressing Justice at the Intersection of Health and Environmental Sciences"!
Co-organised with @federicabocchi.bsky.social, with great talks by Federica, Ariane Hanemaayer, and Helena Alves Pinto.

Thanks, any comments is more than welcome!

My paper "Metrics in biodiversity conservation and the value-free ideal" is now available OA in Synthese.
Here's the link: rdcu.be/dF0sC

Excited that my former PhDs @federicabocchi.bsky.social & Aja Watkins also had their #PSA24 symposium session "From Data & Evidence to Policy & Action in the Environmental Sciences" accepted, with great talks by them, Karen Kovaca, Tina Heger & @melissacharenko.bsky.social, & Carlos Santana #philsci

A great survey intro to philosophy of geosciences by my recent PhD Aja Watkins & @miguelohn.bsky.social is now out ⤵️ #philsci ⚒️

Thanks to Charles Pence and Max Bautista Perpinyà for organizing a workshop on Integrating the History and Philosophy of Biodiversity at the Brussels' Natural Science Museum, last week.
I had a great time presenting my work in progress on a "theory of evidence" for evidence-based conservation!

A golden horseshoe crab scuttling along a muddy sea floor at night with three golden travellie fish following along.

AND HERE IT IS!!

This year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year has been awarded to this *gorgeous* picture of a tri-spine horseshoe crab taken by Laurent Ballesta!

Absolutely obsessed with how much it looks like some sort of alien spaceship 🎉🌿🧪
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...