Valhalla monitor's Avatar

Valhalla monitor

@joelpust.bsky.social

Philosopher at @UDelaware. For free expression, academic freedom, a priori philosophy. Posting entirely in a personal capacity. Pessimism of the intellect, Optimism of the will. https://philpeople.org/profiles/joel-pust

465 Followers  |  369 Following  |  452 Posts  |  Joined: 20.11.2024  |  2.1434

Latest posts by joelpust.bsky.social on Bluesky

🌲

09.10.2025 13:41 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

How can it be a net good, if it undercuts attempts to teach serious writing and deep reading? What are the straightforward techniques to avoid this? We can move to all in-class exams but that isn't teaching argumentative essay writing and re-writing.

09.10.2025 13:39 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Understanding whether consciousness depends on computational roles, biological realizers, or both, is crucial for assessing the prospects of consciousness in AI and less complex animals. end/

08.10.2025 13:11 β€” πŸ‘ 19    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

Can Only Meat Machines be Conscious? New paper in Trends in Cognitive Sciences, free download until November 26 with this URL: authors.elsevier.com/a/1luwh4sIRv...

08.10.2025 13:06 β€” πŸ‘ 75    πŸ” 34    πŸ’¬ 6    πŸ“Œ 8
Material Composition | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
08.10.2025 19:45 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Me, after a talk, dismissing without answer a difficult question in Q&A.
"I don't want to have an unhappy experience with you."

08.10.2025 19:34 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Responses to this post are not great.

08.10.2025 15:51 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I just saw someone use the abbreviation β€œAI;DR” and I’ll be laughing for a while.

06.10.2025 22:00 β€” πŸ‘ 6961    πŸ” 2327    πŸ’¬ 26    πŸ“Œ 95
Preview
Violence and the Left | The Point Magazine Is now really the right time to talk about the left’s political violence problem?

a discussion of

06.10.2025 12:03 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Does the left have a problem with political violence? Podcast Episode Β· The Philosopher & The News Β· 10/06/2025 Β· 49m
06.10.2025 12:02 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Blocking foreign students who criticize Israel, affirmative action for conservatives in all departments, "restructuring" or eliminating parts of the university that "belittle" conservative ideas, blocking university employees from speaking about matters of public concern, etc. are not mainstream.

03.10.2025 20:31 β€” πŸ‘ 90    πŸ” 19    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

The question journalists need to be asking is: WHY is the government trying this?

It’s because they want to control universities in unlawful ways that courts will not allow; it’s not working; so they’re trying to get universities to sign up β€œvoluntarily” for unlawful levels of government control.

03.10.2025 20:41 β€” πŸ‘ 441    πŸ” 136    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 5

Had a JC77 thirty-five years ago. I miss it.

04.10.2025 19:16 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Opinion | Who Will Clemson Censor Next? We no longer know what speech will be tolerated or punished. The result: self-censoring and silence.

Kurth and Gregory (Clemson Philosophy) on free expression/academic freedom at Clemson.

03.10.2025 17:01 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Executive Director of Delaware GOP tweets: 🚨 University of Delaware TV Network Thanks β€œCharlie Kirk’s Killer” in Credits β€” Then Covers It Up

@UDelaware
’s STN49, advised by the Comms Department, aired β€œThe 
@BiweeklyShow
 ” with that credit. After students noticed, it was deleted and reuploaded. I’m told the department wanted it to β€œgo away quietly.” 

No accountability just a cover-up.

It was produced under faculty oversight, funded by the university, and greenlit through a sanctioned program. Who approved this and what consequences will follow?

Executive Director of Delaware GOP tweets: 🚨 University of Delaware TV Network Thanks β€œCharlie Kirk’s Killer” in Credits β€” Then Covers It Up @UDelaware ’s STN49, advised by the Comms Department, aired β€œThe @BiweeklyShow ” with that credit. After students noticed, it was deleted and reuploaded. I’m told the department wanted it to β€œgo away quietly.” No accountability just a cover-up. It was produced under faculty oversight, funded by the university, and greenlit through a sanctioned program. Who approved this and what consequences will follow?

Delaware GOP demanding an investigation and "consequences" over a University of Delaware student comedy sketch TV show (akin to SNL) because its closing credits offered "Special Thanks to: Charlie Kirk's Killer" (and also "Cocaine" and "Pollution").

02.10.2025 22:26 β€” πŸ‘ 248    πŸ” 42    πŸ’¬ 22    πŸ“Œ 5
Philosophers defend the multiverse
YouTube video by Phil Halper (aka Skydivephil) Philosophers defend the multiverse

The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbTx...

02.10.2025 16:15 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

have people, and I say this with (some) hesitation, lost their minds?

01.10.2025 19:21 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

looks like the bargaining stage to me.

01.10.2025 16:17 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Nice interview. I've now purchased the book under discussion.

01.10.2025 16:04 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

sorry, but you shouldn't want a politics that can't stand up to analytic inquiry.

01.10.2025 15:22 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
GA Cohen on ideology and ordinary language philosophy.

GA Cohen on ideology and ordinary language philosophy.

30.09.2025 13:26 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

As evinced by the philosopher in your profile picture!

30.09.2025 13:20 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Also,
strong β€œreason alienates us from God” vibes in this β€œanalytic philosophy” is bad for the left” discourse

30.09.2025 11:59 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
The View from Everywhere: Realist Idealism without God Abstract. Few contemporary philosophers take idealism seriously. The View from Everywhere aims to change this, developing a new quasi-Berkeleyan realist id

Great new book defending Berkeleyan idealism without God!
academic.oup.com/book/59683

29.09.2025 13:15 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Me, to the Dean.

29.09.2025 12:24 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
28.09.2025 18:49 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Reframing criticism of Israel as antisemitism fails Jews ... The sense of what defines anti-Jewish bigotry has changed radically since the 70s

β€œThe battle against antisemitism has become as much about policing speech as about protecting Jews.” My β€ͺ@theobserveruk.bsky.social column: observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

28.09.2025 09:53 β€” πŸ‘ 22    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 3
What Makes You Male or Female? | Tomas Bogardus | Ep. 76
YouTube video by Jason Chen What Makes You Male or Female? | Tomas Bogardus | Ep. 76

My interview with @tomasbogardus.bsky.social about the nature of the sexes. According to him, what makes an organism male or female is the type of gamete that they have the function of producing.

#philsky

youtu.be/rRlwkxzPYkc

28.09.2025 12:14 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Texas Tech System restricts classroom teachings about transgender, nonbinary identities Professors at the Texas Tech University System cannot teach students that there are more than two genders, according to a memo chancellor Tedd Mitchell sent...

Texas Tech leadership bans professors at five public universities from discussing gender -- unless they conform to a Trump Executive Order about "gender ideology": www.dallasnews.com/news/educati...

Unabashed censorship.

26.09.2025 21:07 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Joel Pust, Natural Selection Explanation and Origin Essentialism - PhilPapers Does natural selection explain why individual organisms have the traits that they do? According to "the Negative View," natural selection does not explain why any individual organism has the...

relevant to an old debate of which this is a part

26.09.2025 17:57 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

@joelpust is following 20 prominent accounts