Jonathan Wolff | Lightnews

Jo Wolff

@jowolff.bsky.social

26K followers 3.5K following 17K posts

Jonathan Wolff,
Political Philosopher.
Fellow British Academy
Emeritus Professor Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford
Wolfson College
President The Royal Institute of Philosophy
THFC supporter in 'early season false hope’ mode.

#academic .. more

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Jonathan Wolff is a British philosopher. He is a Senior Research Fellow in Philosophy and Public Policy and Governing Body Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford. He was formerly the Alfred Landecker Professor of Values and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford. Prior to his joining the Blavatnik School in 2016, Wolff's academic career had been spent at University College London (UCL), where he was, latterly, Professor of Philosophy and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. .. more

Political science 51%

Philosophy 14%

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Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · Nov 21

I’ve changed my header photo to this one. It shows my father Herbert and his sister Lotte with their parents Fritz and Marta in their Frankfurt apartment before Herbert and Lotte were sent to England on the Kindertransport, and later Fritz and Marta transported to Lodz Ghetto, final fate unknown.

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 7h

Quite! Many thanks for watching

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 10h

At the moment we have an independent judicial appointments committee I think. But anything could be changed I suppose.

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 10h

I’ve had good and bad jury experiences. On one - a blackmail case - people took it very seriously in the main. In another several jurors were convinced the defendant had admitted to the offence - but of course he hadn’t. Though their instincts that he was a serial offender turned out spot on.

Reposted by Jonathan Wolff, James Goodwin

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 10h

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro begins serving 27-year prison sentence.

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 10h

John Stuart Mill thought they were a good training for citizenship. He may well have been wrong of course.

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 10h

Thanks Thomas! I don’t think it will be broadcast. Might be recorded. There are a few of my lectures on YouTube. This one has the highest production values!

Alfred Landecker Memorial Lecture
www.youtube.com/watch?v=06hC...

The Alfred Landecker Memorial Lecture: Political ideology in the 1930s: lessons for the 2020s

YouTube video by Blavatnik School of Government

www.youtube.com

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 13h

The two phases of innovation:

First, marketing products by announcing they include the novelty (asbestos, plastic, hydrogenated fat, AI).

Second, marketing premium products that avoid the novelty.

Davey Alba @davey.bsky.social · 15h

NEW: AI “recipe slop” is overrunning search and social. Food creators say Google’s AI Overviews and glossy fake food pics are drowning out real, tested recipes — collapsing traffic and setting home cooks up for disaster, especially this Thanksgiving.

Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

AI Slop Recipes Are Taking Over the Internet -- And Thanksgiving Dinner

Food bloggers see traffic dip as home cooks turn to AI, inspired by impossible pictures

www.bloomberg.com

Reposted by Jonathan Wolff

Dr. Karen Carr @quatrus.bsky.social · 13h

The Decolonial Atlas: "One of the many ironies of the anti-immigrant sentiment in Europe today is that it fails to acknowledge Europe’s own history of emigration. ... Europeans are the world’s largest diaspora, with an estimated population of over 480 million people."

world map showing places Europeans have migrated to in blue, with large numbers in the Americas, Australia, South Africa, and throughout northern Asia.

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 14h

Where your emails will find me tomorrow at 5.00 pm.

My talk is entitled 'Posterity and the "Me Generation"'

www.kcl.ac.uk/events/keyno...

Keynote lecture by Professor Jonathan Wolff for the PPE Graduate Conference | King's College London

We welcome Professor Jonathan Wolff (University of Oxford) as the keynote lecturer for the inaugural PPE graduate conference.

www.kcl.ac.uk

Reposted by Patrick Dunleavy, Jonathan Wolff

The Progress Network @progressntwrk.bsky.social · 14h

📉London has recorded the lowest number of murders in 2025 since monthly records began!

😮That number represents a fall of almost 60% compared to 2003.

Reposted by Shannon Vallor, Elizabeth Saunders, Rebecca Solnit , and 4 more Shannon Vallor, Elizabeth Saunders, Rebecca Solnit, Jonathan Wolff, Alan Richardson, Kate Starbird, Woodrow Hartzog

Davey Alba @davey.bsky.social · 15h

AI Slop Recipes Are Taking Over the Internet -- And Thanksgiving Dinner

Food bloggers see traffic dip as home cooks turn to AI, inspired by impossible pictures

www.bloomberg.com

Reposted by John Hogan

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 20h

Dating everything now to BAI and AAI - before AI and after AI - to warn how reliable any information source is likely to be.

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 20h

Certain themes emerged which I sampled …

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 23h

1,000 comments, almost 1,000 quote posts. This little post has generated enough content to be the subject of a PhD. Well, maybe a MA thesis.

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 2d

Twitter accounts are based in Russia. BlueSky accounts are based in homes with, frankly, too many books, plants, obsolete cables, and pieces of rustic pottery, that could do with a bit of a tidying up, to be honest.

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 1d

Land of the what, home of the who?

The Intercept @theintercept.com · 1d

So. How many of you are in trouble? interc.pt/3KhNsEp

A photo of a detailed view of the badge worn by Matthew Elliston during an ICE hiring event on Aug. 26, 2025, in Arlington, Texas, overlaid with the headline, "The Feds Want to Make It Illegal to Even Possess an Anarchist Zine," and the DEK, "Daniel Sanchez is facing federal charges for what free speech advocates say is a clear attack on the First Amendment."

Reposted by Shannon Vallor, Jonathan Wolff, Huw Price , and 6 more Shannon Vallor, Jonathan Wolff, Huw Price, Fabián Muniesa, Lisa Bortolotti, Michela Massimi, Alan Richardson, Silvia Secchi, Jeroen Van Bouwel

Eran Tal @erantal.bsky.social · 1d

🚨We're hiring! A tenure track position at McGill University in the area of #bioethics and / or philosophy of science, with a special focus on the ethics of medical technologies. Please share widely. #philsky #ethics #philsci philjobs.org/job/show/30402

Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), Department of Equity, Ethics, and Policy and Department of Philosophy, McGill University - PhilJobs:JFP Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), Department of Equity...

An international database of jobs for philosophers

philjobs.org

Reposted by Jonathan Wolff

Andrea Junker @strandjunker.com · 1d

The criminal cases against both James Comey and Letitia James are dismissed. A total humiliation for Donald Trump and Pam Bondi. — And it’s only Monday.

Reposted by Jonathan Wolff

The Intercept @theintercept.com · 1d

So. How many of you are in trouble? interc.pt/3KhNsEp

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 1d

How’s your Monday morning going?

Photo of filthy, bedraggled soft top, smoking a cigarette, hanging from Road sweeper’s yellow cart.

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 2d

Very similar to the tactics Saul Alinsky recommended in Rules for Radicals (1972). Best book I know of on the tactics of civil protest.

Luca Migo ❌👑 @victinibcn.bsky.social · 2d

In Monrovia, California, protesters are purchasing 17¢ ICE scrapers from Home Depot and immediately returning them to create long lines and slow down the entire store. Their aim is to disrupt sales and convey a message opposing ICE raids occurring in their neighborhood.

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 2d

But I'm sure Zelensky must have said, quite accurately, 'Thanks for nothing!'

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3...

Ukraine war: Trump says Ukraine ungrateful as officials meet to convince Kyiv to accept peace proposals

Ukraine's allies have expressed concern that the plan favours Russia, but Zelensky says Kyiv's interests could be included.

www.bbc.co.uk

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 2d

Haha! Fair though not all actual human interaction is of high quality.

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Nandita Sharma, Steve Peers , and 11 more Kim L. Scheppele, Nandita Sharma, Steve Peers, Jonathan Wolff, Fabián Muniesa, Alan Richardson, Aaron Sojourner, W. Andy Knight, Scott A. Imberman, Jason Lyall, Ann Bartow, Alexandra Cirone, Peter Bergman, David Darmofal

Luca Migo ❌👑 @victinibcn.bsky.social · 2d

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 2d

Understood. Though the pay is no longer conditional on doing anything.

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 2d

Tell you what. My teenage years would have been much more peaceful if family members could have used WhatsApp to communicate at home rather than shouting at each other up and down the stairs in our tall, narrow, house.

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 2d

I know everything is terrible but i am immensely grateful and also on reflection astonished that I was paid to study, teach and write philosophy for 45 years. (Ok there was also quite a lot of management and admin there too, but still.)

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 3d

Left school and went to work in an office for three years. Decided to go to university and through a series of happy accidents ended on a (fully funded) Philosophy degree at UCL. Decided to carry on in Philosophy for as long as they paid me. Still going though pay stopped on retirement this summer.

Recurse Center @recursecenter.bsky.social · 14d

What’s the lore behind choosing your career path ?

Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 2d

What is Christianity in my mind? Serving each other tea and cake, getting both earnest and embarrassed when talk turns to God, and being pretty good at dealing with death and funerals.

Dave Andress @davidandress.bsky.social · 2d

“Religion” here in the sense that Anders Breivik understood it…

Why does the media have to pretend to be surprised by bigotry, when it’s always the same nonsense?

www.bbc.com/news/article...