Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science (CLPS)

Screenshot of an article header titled "Computer generation keeps on writing" by Sylvia Wenmackers. Description: "Even the philosopher Leibniz, who dreamt of an automaton that could settle disputes in court or in science, could never have imagined that we would one day be able to pose questions to a calculator phrased in natural language, and certainly not that it would answer us in full sentences. While the inner workings of text generators continue to fascinate her, Sylvia Wenmackers has firm reservations about many aspects of generative artificial intelligence."

Whither academic writing in the age of #AI? Sylvia Wenmackers reminds us that essays are trials in the search for better texts—their existence is a victory over the temptation not to try. Instead of giving in with LLMs, let's keep trying! www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi... #philsky #AcademicSky

The surprising crab-trap–pulling behavior is described in this article: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

We recently published a paper on how animal tool use is conceptualized, offering a framework to make sense of its different forms 👇📃 www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #evosky #philsci

For upcoming seminars and events at the CLPS, check out this website: hiw.kuleuven.be/clps/events/...

Screenshot of a KU Leuven Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science event page titled ‘CLPS Seminar: Luc Lauwers, Great expectations.’ The page lists the date (November 28, 2025, 2–4 PM), location (HIW1 01.20, room N), and organizer (Jan Heylen). It includes information about the speaker, Luc Lauwers (Faculty of Economics and Business, KU Leuven), and an abstract describing a talk on two-stage lotteries, backward expectation, and the evaluation of multi-stage lotteries

If you are familiar with decision theory and microeconomics, you have probably heard of 'two-stage lotteries'—lotteries whose prizes are themselves one-stage lotteries. But how should their value be assessed? Come tomorrow to the next CLPS seminar to hear Luc Lauwers’s answer! #philsky #econsky

Screenshot of the header of a journal article from History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences (2025), volume 47, article 43. The paper is titled “Marine constraints as philosophical opportunities: the Krogh principle and the benefits of philosophical engagement with the sea.” The authors listed are Elis Jones and Vincent Cuypers.

In their new 📃, @elisj.bsky.social & Vincent Cuypers argue that the marine sciences, with their extreme environmental constraints, offer revealing cases for #philsci that can sharpen our understanding of scientific generalization & the role of values 🌊🪸👇 link.springer.com/article/10.1... #HPBio #HPS

New on the Archive:

Prieto, Guido I. and Fábregas-Tejeda, Alejandro (2025) Modeling versatility as the hallmark of model organisms. [Preprint]

https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/27297/

🥳 Niew boek is uit, reeds in twee druk

💥 over AI, de toekomst, risico's en geopolitiek

🙏 boekhandel limerick in Gent voor de boekpresentatie vorige donderdag

Screenshot of the header of a journal article from History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences (2025), volume 47, article 43. The paper is titled “Marine constraints as philosophical opportunities: the Krogh principle and the benefits of philosophical engagement with the sea.” The authors listed are Elis Jones and Vincent Cuypers.

In their new 📃, @elisj.bsky.social & Vincent Cuypers argue that the marine sciences, with their extreme environmental constraints, offer revealing cases for #philsci that can sharpen our understanding of scientific generalization & the role of values 🌊🪸👇 link.springer.com/article/10.1... #HPBio #HPS

Promotional image of an article from the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, Volume 76, Issue 3. The title reads “Time-Reversal Invariance and Ontology” by Ward Struyve. Below the title is a block of text with the abstract of the article. Abstract Albert and Callender have challenged the received view that theories like classical electrodynamics and non-relativistic quantum mechanics are time-reversal invariant. They claim that time reversal should correspond to the mere reversal of the temporal order of the instantaneous states without any accompanying change of the instantaneous state itself, as in the standard view. Given this, they claim that these theories are not time-reversal invariant. The view of Albert and Callender has been much criticized, with many philosophers arguing that time reversal may correspond to more than the reversal of the temporal order. This article will not so much engage with that aspect of the debate, but rather deflate the disagreement by exploiting the ontological underdetermination. Namely, it will be argued that with a suitable choice of ontology, these theories are in fact time-reversal invariant in the sense of Albert and Callender, in agreement with the standard view.

Are theories such as classical electrodynamics & non-relativistic #quantummechanics time-reversal invariant? In a recent @thebjps.bsky.social article, Ward Struyve argues that—with a suitable choice of ontology—they are! Read the 📃 here 👇 www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/... #philsci #philsky

If you are interested, you can learn more about Torben's PhD project here 👇 research.kuleuven.be/portal/en/pr... For upcoming seminars and events at the CLPS, check out this website: hiw.kuleuven.be/clps/events

A webpage from KU Leuven’s Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science (CLPS) announcing a seminar by Torben Swoboda titled “The AI Alignment Problem in the Context of Frontier AI Labs.” The event is scheduled for November 21, 2025, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM (Europe/Brussels time) in room HIWI-01.20, organized by Jan Heylen. Abstract In recent years worries about Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) posing existential risks to humanity have reached the mainstream. The primary concern is that humans loose control over the AGI that pursues unintended goals incompatible with ours. This would set up an antagonistic relationship between the machine and humans. As a consequence of this conflict, the AGI would seek to disempower and even cause our extinction to achieve its goals. The solution to this problem lies in aligning AGI with human values, so that it pursues our goals. However, this alignment problem remains unsolved. Moreover, several actors are racing towards AGI, incentivizing fast development over safety, which increases the odds that the alignment problem is not properly solved. Hence, the dominant strategy to ensure that AGI is beneficial for humanity relies on (1) solving the alignment problem and (2) managing the race-to-the-bottom dynamics. In my talk I criticize this strategy as insufficient to ensure beneficial outcomes. I introduce the 'AGI Developer Control Problem', which states that even a perfectly aligned AGI could lead to catastrophic outcomes if its developers align it with their own goals, which may diverge from those of broader humanity. Unlike the classic AGI control problem, the developer control problem arises from successful technical alignment, not a failure of it. Its default harm is not extinction, but the establishment of an "unrecoverable dystopia," where the AGI-enabled developer perpetually enforces their preferred outcomes.

Solving the #alignment problem is often seen as a panacea amid fears of reaching #AGI. But in tomorrow’s seminar, Torben Swoboda will argue that alignment can itself be problematic if the values involved reflect only developers’ goals rather than broader human interests. Come around! #philsky #HPS

New on the Archive:

Struyve, Ward (2025) On the action principle as a guide to substantive general covariance. [Preprint]

https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/27252/

Book cover featuring a close-up photograph of a smooth, wood-toned anatomical sculpture of a human head and neck in profile. The sculpture has exaggerated features, including a prominent nose and lips. Across the lower portion of the cover runs a wide red band with the title “DENKEN OVER DENKEN” and the subtitle “Wijsbegeerte voor psychologen,” both in white serif type. Below them appears the author’s name, “Pieter R. Adriaens.” A round badge on the right reads “Herwerkte uitgave.” The publisher’s name, “Pelckmans,” is printed at the bottom.

Are you a Dutch-speaking psychologist looking for an accessible introduction to #philosophy — one that also addresses topics such as the mind-body problem, #evolution & #psychopathology? Then look no further: Pieter Adriaens’s book is for you! 👇 www.pelckmansuitgevers.be/denken-over-... #HPS #cogsci

Promotional image of an article from the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, Volume 76, Issue 3. The title reads “Time-Reversal Invariance and Ontology” by Ward Struyve. Below the title is a block of text with the abstract of the article. Abstract Albert and Callender have challenged the received view that theories like classical electrodynamics and non-relativistic quantum mechanics are time-reversal invariant. They claim that time reversal should correspond to the mere reversal of the temporal order of the instantaneous states without any accompanying change of the instantaneous state itself, as in the standard view. Given this, they claim that these theories are not time-reversal invariant. The view of Albert and Callender has been much criticized, with many philosophers arguing that time reversal may correspond to more than the reversal of the temporal order. This article will not so much engage with that aspect of the debate, but rather deflate the disagreement by exploiting the ontological underdetermination. Namely, it will be argued that with a suitable choice of ontology, these theories are in fact time-reversal invariant in the sense of Albert and Callender, in agreement with the standard view.

Are theories such as classical electrodynamics & non-relativistic #quantummechanics time-reversal invariant? In a recent @thebjps.bsky.social article, Ward Struyve argues that—with a suitable choice of ontology—they are! Read the 📃 here 👇 www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/... #philsci #philsky

Book cover featuring a close-up photograph of a smooth, wood-toned anatomical sculpture of a human head and neck in profile. The sculpture has exaggerated features, including a prominent nose and lips. Across the lower portion of the cover runs a wide red band with the title “DENKEN OVER DENKEN” and the subtitle “Wijsbegeerte voor psychologen,” both in white serif type. Below them appears the author’s name, “Pieter R. Adriaens.” A round badge on the right reads “Herwerkte uitgave.” The publisher’s name, “Pelckmans,” is printed at the bottom.

Are you a Dutch-speaking psychologist looking for an accessible introduction to #philosophy — one that also addresses topics such as the mind-body problem, #evolution & #psychopathology? Then look no further: Pieter Adriaens’s book is for you! 👇 www.pelckmansuitgevers.be/denken-over-... #HPS #cogsci

A webpage from KU Leuven’s Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science (CLPS) announcing a seminar by Karolina Krzyzanowska titled “Conditionals and Message Framing.” The event is scheduled for November 14, 2025, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM (Europe/Brussels time) in room HIWI-01.20, organized by Jan Heylen. Abstract Positively and negatively framed messages used in health campaigns typically take the form of indicative conditionals, schematically: (1) “If you do A, you will enjoy the benefit B” and (2) “If you do not do A, you will not enjoy the benefit B”. A large literature on so-called message framing assumes that (1) and (2) are equivalent (!), yet their persuasiveness should vary, for instance, depending on the type of recommended behaviour (Rothman & Salovey 1997). Since no existing hypothesis received conclusive empirical support (e.g. Rothman, et al, 2020), we argue for a novel theoretical approach based on insights from philosophical logic and psychology of conditional reasoning. (Joint work with Peter J. Collins and Ulrike Hahn).

Join us on Friday for the next CLPS seminar! Karolina Krzyzanowska (University of Amsterdam) will examine how framed messages in #health campaigns affect persuasion, drawing on philosophical #logic & the psychology of conditional reasoning 👇 hiw.kuleuven.be/clps/events/... #philsky #cogsci #philsci

Book cover of "Student Notes from Latin Europe (1400–1750): A Research Companion," edited by Xander Feys, Maxime Maleux, Andy Peetermans, and Raf Van Rooy. Published by Leuven University Press. The cover features a partial diagram of concentric celestial spheres and an anatomical drawing of a human head labeled with Latin terms for sensory faculties. The design is minimalist in beige and gray tones. There is also an open access logo and the logo of Lueven University Press in the bottom left corner.

In the new #openaccess companion on student notes from Latin Europe (@leuvenup.bsky.social), our own Lorenz Demey, together with collaborators, contributes a chapter arguing that student notes hold great promise as sources for intellectual #history 👇 lup.be/book/student... #HPS #earlymodern #philsky

Screenshot of the first page of a Philosophy of Science journal article titled “Tool Use Beyond Humans” by Gianmaria Dani and Grant Ramsey, published by the Philosophy of Science Association. The authors are affiliated with the Center for Logic and Philosophy of Science at KU Leuven, Belgium. Abstract: The definition of tool use has long been debated, especially when applied beyond humans. Recent work argues that the phenomena included within tool use are so broad and varied that there is little hope of using the category for scientific generalizations, explanations, and predictions about the evolution, ecology, and psychology of tool users. One response to this argument has been the development of tooling as a replacement for tool use. In this article, we analyze the tool use and tooling frameworks. Identifying advantages and limitations in each, we offer a synthetic approach that suggests promising avenues for future research.

Defining non-human #ToolUse remains contested, complicating scientific generalization & inspiring the concept of “tooling.” Our new 📄 @philscijournal.bsky.social proposes a synthetic framework to advance research on 🔧 use & tooling 👇 www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #philsci #cogsci #evosky #HPbio

Book cover of "Student Notes from Latin Europe (1400–1750): A Research Companion," edited by Xander Feys, Maxime Maleux, Andy Peetermans, and Raf Van Rooy. Published by Leuven University Press. The cover features a partial diagram of concentric celestial spheres and an anatomical drawing of a human head labeled with Latin terms for sensory faculties. The design is minimalist in beige and gray tones. There is also an open access logo and the logo of Lueven University Press in the bottom left corner.

In the new #openaccess companion on student notes from Latin Europe (@leuvenup.bsky.social), our own Lorenz Demey, together with collaborators, contributes a chapter arguing that student notes hold great promise as sources for intellectual #history 👇 lup.be/book/student... #HPS #earlymodern #philsky

Much of the empirical & theoretical landscape on #behaviouralmodernity has changed, and many think it’s high time we ditched the concept altogether. Here’s a minority voice in the choir: I’m skeptical that eliminativism is the panacea it’s often made out to be. 🔜 in Biol Theory

#philsky #evosky🧪🏺

Boaz Faraday Schuman

You can learn more about Bo’s work on his website: www.boazschuman.com

Webpage from KU Leuven’s Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science (CLPS) announcing the next CLPS seminar by Boaz Schuman titled "Al-Farabi on Reductio and Paradox." The event is scheduled for November 7, 2025, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM (CET) in room HIW1-01.20. Abstract: Zeno’s paradoxes are not paradoxes. Or anyway, Zeno didn't mean them to be. Instead, he presents them as arguments by reductio, with the aim of showing that things like multiplicity and motion are impossible. More recently, and in a similar vein, McTaggart's paradox is not a paradox either: it is an argument, again by reductio, for the unreality of time as we commonly think of it. But what’s going on here? Why do such arguments by reductio get rebranded as paradoxes? And why specifically these ones, and not others? Why for example don’t we speak of the “Pythagorean incommensurability paradox”, or the “Paradox of infinite primes”? Is there a principle at play here? And if so, what is it? To answer these questions, I examine the taxonomy of reductio in the logical works of Abū Naṣr al-Fārābī (ca. 870–950). This points to a framework for understanding what al-Fārābī calles a paradoxical or “innovative” opinion (رَأْي بَدِيع, ra’y badī’). I'll show how this framework sheds light on—and justifies—the practice of rebranding some conclusions reached by reductio as paradoxes.

Some of philosophy’s most famous paradoxes are arguments by reductio—though not every reductio earns the title of “paradox.” Drawing on the writings of al-Fārābī, Boaz Schuman will offer an answer to why that is in today's CLPS seminar! 👇 hiw.kuleuven.be/clps/events/... #philsky #histphil #logic

Screenshot of a PNAS article titled “The costs of competition in distributing scarce research funds,” authored by Gerald Schweiger, Adrian Barnett, Peter van den Besselaar, Lutz Bornmann, Andreas De Block, John P. A. Ioannidis, Ulf Sandström, and Stijn Conix. Edited by Neil Shubin. Published December 2, 2024, in volume 121, issue 50, article e2407644121.

Research funds are scarce & competition is fierce. A recent paper by @andreasdeblock.bsky.social & colleagues explores how this competition shapes science—its practices, risks & ethics—and proposes ways to make funding fairer & more effective👇 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... #AcademicSky #HPS #scipol 🧪

Verbied ontwikkelingen van AI die kan liegen.
@lodelauwaert.bsky.social in de Volkskrant.

Screenshot of a PNAS article titled “The costs of competition in distributing scarce research funds,” authored by Gerald Schweiger, Adrian Barnett, Peter van den Besselaar, Lutz Bornmann, Andreas De Block, John P. A. Ioannidis, Ulf Sandström, and Stijn Conix. Edited by Neil Shubin. Published December 2, 2024, in volume 121, issue 50, article e2407644121.

Research funds are scarce & competition is fierce. A recent paper by @andreasdeblock.bsky.social & colleagues explores how this competition shapes science—its practices, risks & ethics—and proposes ways to make funding fairer & more effective👇 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... #AcademicSky #HPS #scipol 🧪

Francesco d'Errico, Ivan Colage', and I wrote a paper on the evolution of #collectiveintelligence, epistemic #nicheconstruction, and the material traces of #hominin alterations to informational landscapes.

Forthcoming in PTRS B!

Preprint 🔗👇

osf.io/preprints/so...

🧪🏺 #philsky #paleosky #evosky

Cover of Forum Philosophie International 73: The Challenges of Populism (edited by the Association Internationale des Professeurs de Philosophie; publisher: LIT Zürich). The title appears in three languages—English, German, and French. Below the title is a cartoon showing two political scenes: on the left, a politician (next to a bodyguard) asks “Do you want clientele politics…” while addressing a small, serious audience; on the right, the same politician continues, “…or populism for everyone?” while cheerfully engaging with an enthusiastic crowd. Cartoon by Jan Tomaschoff.

In the context of our present global juncture, philosophers are examining the rise of populist movements & their threats to democratic values. Griet Galle & colleagues have edited a trilingual collective volume addressing these issues. Check it out! 📙👇 lit-verlag.de/isbn/978-3-6... #philsky #polphil

Book cover of "The Riddle of Organismal Agency: New Historical and Philosophical Reflections" (Routledge, 2025). The book belongs to the "History and Philosophy of Biology" series. The editors are Alejandro Fábregas-Tejeda, Jan Baedke, Guido I. Prieto, and Gregory Radick. The design features a geometric pattern of interlocking, multicolored triangles and rectangular prisms in shades of red, yellow, teal, white, and pink. The Routledge logo appears in the lower right corner.

Each generation seems to rediscover the riddle of organismal agency: are organisms agents that pursue intrinsic goals—and how could we know? Our 📕 gathers historians, philosophers & scientists to explore this debate—now available in paperback!👇 www.routledge.com/The-Riddle-o... #philsky #HPS #evobio

Cover of Forum Philosophie International 73: The Challenges of Populism (edited by the Association Internationale des Professeurs de Philosophie; publisher: LIT Zürich). The title appears in three languages—English, German, and French. Below the title is a cartoon showing two political scenes: on the left, a politician (next to a bodyguard) asks “Do you want clientele politics…” while addressing a small, serious audience; on the right, the same politician continues, “…or populism for everyone?” while cheerfully engaging with an enthusiastic crowd. Cartoon by Jan Tomaschoff.

In the context of our present global juncture, philosophers are examining the rise of populist movements & their threats to democratic values. Griet Galle & colleagues have edited a trilingual collective volume addressing these issues. Check it out! 📙👇 lit-verlag.de/isbn/978-3-6... #philsky #polphil

Screenshot of the first page of a Philosophy of Science article titled “How the Structure of Scientific Communities Could Affect the Public Uptake of Uncertain Science.” Authors: Sacha Ferrari, Wouter Lammers, and Sylvia Wenmackers. Affiliations: Center for Logic and Philosophy of Science and Public Governance Institute, KU Leuven, Belgium. The page includes journal branding from the Philosophy of Science Association and publication details (2025, DOI: 10.1017/psa.2025.11).

New paper in @philscijournal.bsky.social! Sacha Ferrari, Wouter Lammers & Sylvia Wenmackers built an agent-based model to explore how the structure of scientific #networks shapes the public uptake of science—especially under uncertainty & affinity bias👇 doi.org/10.1017/psa.... #philsci #philsky #HPS