William Gildea

Just looks like he's doing very well for himself

PhD Scholarship

My Centre is a unique place to do a PhD in Philosophy, because you can be in constant contact with experts in veterinary medicine, psychology, zoology and policy and be part of a team united by a shared interest in animal minds. We now have our 1st ever PhD scholarship: www.lse.ac.uk/sentience/phd

My latest episode! Such a stimulating conversation with Rachel Fredericks and Jeremy Fischer. Their paper is quite something.

New episode! What should parents feed their kids? Meat or plant-based?
We use ethics, science and psychology to tackle this big one, and put 2 philosophers' arguments to the test with parents

The very real trials and tribulations of living in Canada as a Brit.

I'm beginning not to trust anyone who ever says "no one has ever done more for X than me"

Amazing

"Our milk"? Really? Surely it's either the cow's milk or the calf's milk? Especially as removing the calf is the first step in taking and selling the #milk...

Research Fellow in Emotions and Grievance Politics at University of Southampton Discover Research Fellow in Emotions and Grievance Politics jobs and more in higher education on jobs.ac.uk. Apply for further details on the top job board.

This seemingly really cool project has a postdoc on emotions and grievance politics: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQD118/r... #academia

The #newyearsresolutions episode of my podcast discusses how focusing on process over outcome can be more fulfilling and whether resolutions are a good idea in a culture of hyper-productivity. Let me know what you think! linktr.ee/surprisinget...

Why not sterilise?

New episode: the philosophy of new year's resolutions! On how we can set better #newyearsresolutions by focusing on process not achievements. And on Bertrand Russell's call to focus on leisure and escape our ideology of overwork. linktr.ee/surprisinget...

Not at all suss: "Dear William Gildea, Greetings from the office of International Journal of Philosophy
Your crucial role in the progression of knowledge is evident
By joining the editorial team, you will access: Gratitude [list cont]
Not interested in the daily reports? Unsubscribe"

Trump: #Greenland is essential to our national security. I'd imagine Greenland finds Greenland pretty much essential for their national security too.

“Surprising Ethics”: Interview with William Gildea — THE PAMPHLET “Surprising Ethics” aims to be an accessible philosophy podcast. Can you tell us more about your mission and why you think philosophy should be made more understandable? Do you think podcasts are part...

The Pamphlet has just published this feature of my podcast! www.the-pamphlet.com/articles/sur...

Essay cheating at universities an 'open secret' despite new law An essay mill owner says he's made millions, while an ex-lecturer says he quit due to rife cheating.

Back to pens and paper in the exam hall? (For most students). Universities must grip cheating and defend education: their founding purpose.

Surely we cannot allow university degrees to be undermined by corporate interests, whether AI-based or otherwise www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Isn't it more effective to provide arguments and supportive motivation? If we want to maximise the number of vegans?

Trump plan for World Cup tourists to reveal social media activity described as ‘chilling’ A plan to require fans travelling to the US for the World Cup to disclose information about their social media accounts has been described as ‘chilling’

The land of the free www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Rubio directs diplomats to return to using Times New Roman, undoing Biden-era switch to Calibri | CNN Politics US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has directed the State Department to go back to using Times New Roman typeface as the standard for official papers, a spokesperson told CNN, in a reversal of the prev...

I stopped using Times New Roman *precisely* because it doesn't look professional - not in this century...
www.cnn.com/2025/12/10/p...

The EU's public consultation on animal welfare closes on Friday. Non-EU citizens can submit too. Here's a pre filled but editable form which makes it super quick. #animalrights act.animainternational.org?fbclid=IwY2x...

Looks good! Looking forward to reading

Just not that into ewes: ‘gay sheep’ escape slaughter and take over a New York catwalk Designer Michael Schmidt’s 36-piece collection was made from the wool of rams who have shown same-sex attraction

This is heartwarming, but underlines the core truth: virtually no animal ever escapes slaughter. We decide their fate. We force them into the slaughterhouse doors. We decide the reasons, the timing, the method, the conditions. They have no power, and then no life

www.theguardian.com/fashion/2025...

I can't believe that stat is accurate

NEW episode: why envy can be *good*, according to @saraprotasi.bsky.social. Our conversation covers envy's role in self-improvement, self-esteem, self-acceptance, love, friendship, inequality and racism. Listen here:

linktr.ee/surprisinget...

If #vegan milk/meat is 'fake', something fakes are better than the real thing.
Fake, computer-game murders are better than the real deal. Being hit by fake bullets tends to be better, etc

Prevsly I couldn't possibly go on Bluesky as I hadnt finished the #Traitors. All great apart from the end, and this....

Will AIs have rights and become conscious? My podcast has a new episode!
Hear from both sides of the debate on digital consciousness, as we ask whether we should stop AI development right now to prevent vulnerable AIs coming to be. linktr.ee/surprisinget...

Wow, semi-silent fireworks, great for dogs, cats, birds and all animals (and many humans...).

Excerpt:

"In the wild, pigs live in small family units. Typically, two to four sows who bear a family relation live together with their piglets. These groups, known as ‘sounders’, generally avoid one another to reduce conflict. "

A screenshot of an article in the Ecologist, entitled: "Waitrose relies on animal welfare myths", with a picture of a pig who won a prize at a county show.

I wrote this, asking: is this big UK supermarket producing the 'happy, natural, ethically raised' pigs it now claims it is? theecologist.org/2025/oct/31/...