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Evan Westra

@evanwestra.bsky.social

2.3K followers 1.4K following 340 posts

Philosopher writing about theory of mind, moral psychology, character judgment, social norms. I bore undergraduates for a living. All opinions are my own. #philosophy #philsky he/him https://sites.google.com/site/ewestraphilosophy/

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Evan Westra @evanwestra.bsky.social · Jul 24

I've had a thread of office whiteboard philosopher portraits going for a while on the other site. Figure I'll start a fresh one here. This is Susan Hurley.

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🐭 Danielle Williams 🐹 @okaydaniellle.bsky.social · 1d

the key to a good talk photo is capturing the #philosophyhands

CAIC @ Purdue @caic-at-purdue.bsky.social · 1d

Highlights from this morning's brown bag with Taylor Davis!

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Eliana Hadjiandreou @elianahadtime.bsky.social · 3d

Why do we derogate effective altruists, activists, & other radically prosocial individuals? In new work, we discuss how doing good that deviates from social norms gets stigmatized. New preprint w/ @dcameron.bsky.social @tlau.bsky.social @desmond-ong.bsky.social: osf.io/preprints/ps...

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Your Old Pal, Jerry Fodor @oldjerryfodor.bsky.social · 2d

Reactivating my account for the worst reason (to publicize a new paper of mine)

On what human-centered AI might be and how it might help/hinder the development of our practical capacities, using empathy as a case study. You probs won't like it, but hey at least it's short

philpapers.org/rec/KARPCE

Brett Karlan, Practical capacities, empathy, and human-centered artificial intelligence - PhilPapers

This chapter explores some conceptual connections between human-centered artificial intelligence (HCAI) research and empathic AI. First, I argue that HCAI is best understood as a framework that center...

philpapers.org

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Nora Newcombe @noranewcombe.bsky.social · 4d

Thrilled to see this paper out! It's the culmination of a project begun in the depths of the pandemic with Sabrina Karjack and @zoengo.bsky.social . We continue our exploration of how children generalize when their episodic memory is not yet mature.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The dependence of children’s generalization on episodic memory varies with age and level of abstraction - Nature Communications

Children’s ability to generalize from episodic memories varies by both age and the level of abstraction. Here, the authors show that lower level generalization increasingly depends on episodic memory with age, whereas higher level generalization shows no such relationship.

www.nature.com

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Ersatz Doctor @ersatzdoctor.bsky.social · 7d

A version of the "They Don't Know" meme. A poorly drawn image of people at a party. Others are dancing but in the corner is a person standing alone. It has an image of Socrates' head pasted over it. The caption reads "They don't know that they don't know anything."

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CAIC @ Purdue @caic-at-purdue.bsky.social · 8d

Highlights from Samantha Ooley's talk: Experience, Community, and Moral Development: Games-based Pedagogy as a Deweyian Model 🎲

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Kristin Andrews 🇨🇦🇺🇸 @kristinandrews.bsky.social · 8d

I don’t remember when I first heard of Jane Goodall. She was there before I knew anything, showing me that you can do science without following the old rules. Thank you Jane, for creating a path through the forest.

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Daniel Kelly @dryan149.bsky.social · 9d

Chicagoland Friends! Two weeks from today I'll be in town at The Seminary Coop to talk about social change and my new book. It would be great to see you! It's from 4-5pm Thursday 10/16, and I will probably be thirsty afterwards.

www.semcoop.com/event/daniel...

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Evan Westra @evanwestra.bsky.social · 9d

Very cool new RL-based approach to modeling the emergence of social norms
www.researchgate.net/publication/...

How Social Norms Emerge: The Interindividual Actor–Critic

Download Citation | How Social Norms Emerge: The Interindividual Actor–Critic | Social norms shape a vast range of human behaviors, from everyday interactions to major life choices. Yet, existing theo...

www.researchgate.net

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Daniel Kelly @dryan149.bsky.social · 10d

In their recent book, Brownstein, Madva, and Kelly argue that people don’t necessarily join causes because they think they’re going to win in the short term … yet their decision to participate during a seemingly hopeless period creates the conditions for ultimate victory

www.vox.com/politics/463...

The Democrats’ shutdown strategy is terrible. Here’s a better one.

Talk less about health care, more about authoritarianism.

www.vox.com

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Evan Westra @evanwestra.bsky.social · 14d

"evolution"?

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Evan Westra @evanwestra.bsky.social · 14d

Lol wtf

Evan Westra @evanwestra.bsky.social · 14d

T txt v z E4
"

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ana gantman @anagantman.bsky.social · 16d

We propose that the everyday psychology of rules and 3rd party punishment is at the core of authoritarianism

Our view posits no new constructs, is ideology-agnostic, & considers relevant only interactions w the state

See our new working paper "Authoritarianism in Action" osf.io/preprints/ps...

OSF

osf.io

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 18d

"Common decency stigmatizes people that do not participate in it—removes them from voluntary association. We indeed have to live with one another, but terms and conditions apply."

me on why Ezra Klein should be ashamed / why shame is Good Actually

www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...

How Can We Live Together? - Boston Review

Ezra Klein is wrong: shame is essential.

www.bostonreview.net

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Kevin Zollman @kevinzollman.com · 18d

The scientific method: verify statements

Check mate

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Evan Westra @evanwestra.bsky.social · 19d

I'm happy to write a letter of recommendation testifying to your jackedness

Evan Westra @evanwestra.bsky.social · 19d

One nice thing about returning home from a conference trip is all the help I get while unpacking my suitcase

A cat sitting in an open suitcase on a bed

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CAIC @ Purdue @caic-at-purdue.bsky.social · 25d

New Publication! Maria Waggoner's paper 'Moral illusions' is forthcoming in @journalphp.bsky.social 🥳 Maria argues that we should rethink our conception of the ideal virtuous person and suggests alternative moral resources which a virtuous person could use to navigate cases of moral illusions. 📄👇

A graphic with a photo of maria waggoner, assistant professor of philosophy at Purdue university

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Evan Washington @eewash.bsky.social · 22d

lmao no I would never get hoisted like that, I mean it's my own freaking petard

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Philosophy and the Mind Sciences @phimisci.bsky.social · 23d

Call for papers: #PhiMiSci is inviting submissions for a Special Issue on Social Perception, understood as the perception of socially relevant properties in others. It is edited by Géraldine Carranante and Joulia Smortchkova.
Estimated publication date: 2nd quarter of 2027
Deadline: July 1st, 2026.

Call for Papers: Social Perception | Philosophy and the Mind Sciences

Philosophy and the Mind Sciences (PhiMiSci) focuses on the interface between philosophy of mind, psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. PhiMiSci is a peer-reviewed, not-for-profit open-access journal...

philosophymindscience.org

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Noor Azrieh @noorazrieh.bsky.social · 25d

I've been wanting to have this kind of conversation about immigration for a long time...one that leans into the tension rather than avoids it.

My interview with Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner: www.canadaland.com?post_type=ep...

#148 Michelle Rempel Garner on What Conservatives Want to Do To Immigration

Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner sits down with host Noor Azrieh

www.canadaland.com

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Evan Westra @evanwestra.bsky.social · 22d

Great episode, excellent interview.

Evan Westra @evanwestra.bsky.social · 23d

Ahem:

Ezra Klein has a weird beard.

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Evan Westra @evanwestra.bsky.social · 24d

Or have some experience of universities other than a decades-old BA with a dash of academics dunking on you on social media