Kate Nave
@kathrynnave.bsky.social
° Leverhulme Trust research fellow at EdinburghUni
° Book: A Drive to Survive http://bit.ly/3CQP9EZ
° Biological purposiveness & the meaning of life.
° CogSci, Philosophy, and Theoretical Biology
° Former science & technology journalist
° Book: A Drive to Survive http://bit.ly/3CQP9EZ
° Biological purposiveness & the meaning of life.
° CogSci, Philosophy, and Theoretical Biology
° Former science & technology journalist
Pinned
Kate Nave
@kathrynnave.bsky.social
· Jun 9
“A game-changer for cognitive science." — @evanthompson.bsky.social
In "A Drive to Survive," @kathrynnave.bsky.social offers an extended critical analysis of the strengths and limitations of the free energy principle. Available #openaccess: mitpress.mit.edu/978026255132...
In "A Drive to Survive," @kathrynnave.bsky.social offers an extended critical analysis of the strengths and limitations of the free energy principle. Available #openaccess: mitpress.mit.edu/978026255132...
📌
Reposted by Kate Nave
Abstract deadline tomorrow if anyone is interested in joining us in Exeter in February to talk all things Social AI!
✨CFA✨
I’m hosting a workshop on Social AI at the Uni of Exeter, generously funded by the Society of Applied Philosophy (10&11 Feb). If you fancy joining us to present your work, please submit an abstract!
Confirmed speakers: Rob Clowes, Pii Telakivi, Joel Krueger, Tom Roberts, & me. #philsky
I’m hosting a workshop on Social AI at the Uni of Exeter, generously funded by the Society of Applied Philosophy (10&11 Feb). If you fancy joining us to present your work, please submit an abstract!
Confirmed speakers: Rob Clowes, Pii Telakivi, Joel Krueger, Tom Roberts, & me. #philsky
November 27, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Abstract deadline tomorrow if anyone is interested in joining us in Exeter in February to talk all things Social AI!
Reposted by Kate Nave
Reposted by Kate Nave
I am super happy to co-organize this workshop with @singhal.bsky.social, @kathrynnave.bsky.social, @annaeiserbeck.bsky.social, @robertchisciure.bsky.social, and @quantummoxie.bsky.social!
Here is a picture of the location 🤗
Join us! The Application Deadline is 20 December!
#ConSci
👇👇
Here is a picture of the location 🤗
Join us! The Application Deadline is 20 December!
#ConSci
👇👇
November 23, 2025 at 12:12 PM
I am super happy to co-organize this workshop with @singhal.bsky.social, @kathrynnave.bsky.social, @annaeiserbeck.bsky.social, @robertchisciure.bsky.social, and @quantummoxie.bsky.social!
Here is a picture of the location 🤗
Join us! The Application Deadline is 20 December!
#ConSci
👇👇
Here is a picture of the location 🤗
Join us! The Application Deadline is 20 December!
#ConSci
👇👇
Reposted by Kate Nave
We're very happy to announce another consciousness workshop in the famed snowy mountain cabin of the Austrian Alps! ❄️🦇
This year's theme is computational neurophenomenology (broadly defined)
Applications are now open!
www.uni-bamberg.de/en/bamxi/res...
This year's theme is computational neurophenomenology (broadly defined)
Applications are now open!
www.uni-bamberg.de/en/bamxi/res...
Computational Neurophenomenology Cabin Workshop - Bamberg Mathematical Consciousness Science Initiative (BAMΞ)
www.uni-bamberg.de
November 23, 2025 at 11:31 AM
We're very happy to announce another consciousness workshop in the famed snowy mountain cabin of the Austrian Alps! ❄️🦇
This year's theme is computational neurophenomenology (broadly defined)
Applications are now open!
www.uni-bamberg.de/en/bamxi/res...
This year's theme is computational neurophenomenology (broadly defined)
Applications are now open!
www.uni-bamberg.de/en/bamxi/res...
Reposted by Kate Nave
New on the BJPS Review of Books:
A Drive to Survive
– Kathryn Nave
Reviewed by Matteo Colombo
#philsci #philsky
www.thebsps.org/reviewofbook...
A Drive to Survive
– Kathryn Nave
Reviewed by Matteo Colombo
#philsci #philsky
www.thebsps.org/reviewofbook...
Kathryn Nave, A Drive to Survive | BJPS Review of Books
Matteo Colombo reviews A Drive to Survive, by Kathryn Nave
www.thebsps.org
November 18, 2025 at 11:09 AM
New on the BJPS Review of Books:
A Drive to Survive
– Kathryn Nave
Reviewed by Matteo Colombo
#philsci #philsky
www.thebsps.org/reviewofbook...
A Drive to Survive
– Kathryn Nave
Reviewed by Matteo Colombo
#philsci #philsky
www.thebsps.org/reviewofbook...
Reposted by Kate Nave
This from @davidbatherwoods.bsky.social's biography of Schopenhauer is sending me
November 17, 2025 at 9:15 PM
This from @davidbatherwoods.bsky.social's biography of Schopenhauer is sending me
Really looking forward to this!
My book "The Brain, in Theory" on the publisher's website (out in April 2026):
press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...
press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...
The Brain, In Theory
Why engineering and computational analogies are poorly suited to the study of biological cognition
press.princeton.edu
November 18, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Really looking forward to this!
Reposted by Kate Nave
Foraging as an ethological framework for neuroscience
From the amazing @lauragrima.bsky.social and colleagues - definitely looking forward to reading this!
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #cognition
From the amazing @lauragrima.bsky.social and colleagues - definitely looking forward to reading this!
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #cognition
Foraging as an ethological framework for neuroscience
The study of foraging is central to a renewed interest in naturalistic behavior in neuroscience. Applying a foraging framework grounded in behavioral …
www.sciencedirect.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Foraging as an ethological framework for neuroscience
From the amazing @lauragrima.bsky.social and colleagues - definitely looking forward to reading this!
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #cognition
From the amazing @lauragrima.bsky.social and colleagues - definitely looking forward to reading this!
#neuroskyence #psychscisky #cognition
Reposted by Kate Nave
I have contributed to the debate!!
Academic Philosophers and “Writing Clearly”
open.substack.com/pub/axdougla...
Academic Philosophers and “Writing Clearly”
open.substack.com/pub/axdougla...
Academic Philosophers and “Writing Clearly”
Cold, limp, lifeless prose is not clear
open.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:31 AM
I have contributed to the debate!!
Academic Philosophers and “Writing Clearly”
open.substack.com/pub/axdougla...
Academic Philosophers and “Writing Clearly”
open.substack.com/pub/axdougla...
Reposted by Kate Nave
📖 NEW PUBLICATION: The mind-brain is a computer, but what is (neural) computation? By @coreymaley.net & Oron Shagrir
Out now in: Neurocognitive Foundations of Mind 🧠
Find it here: www.routledge.com/Neurocogniti...
Out now in: Neurocognitive Foundations of Mind 🧠
Find it here: www.routledge.com/Neurocogniti...
November 9, 2025 at 9:30 PM
📖 NEW PUBLICATION: The mind-brain is a computer, but what is (neural) computation? By @coreymaley.net & Oron Shagrir
Out now in: Neurocognitive Foundations of Mind 🧠
Find it here: www.routledge.com/Neurocogniti...
Out now in: Neurocognitive Foundations of Mind 🧠
Find it here: www.routledge.com/Neurocogniti...
Reposted by Kate Nave
The online journal Philosophy and the Mind Sciences is doing a symposium on my book, Deflating Mental Representation, based on my Jean Nicod lectures. See the Call for Papers here:
philosophymindscience.org/index.php/ph...
and a précis of the book here:
philpapers.org/rec/EGAPOD
philosophymindscience.org/index.php/ph...
and a précis of the book here:
philpapers.org/rec/EGAPOD
Call for Papers: Book Symposium on "Deflating Mental Representation" by Frances Egan
| 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
November 10, 2025 at 2:25 PM
The online journal Philosophy and the Mind Sciences is doing a symposium on my book, Deflating Mental Representation, based on my Jean Nicod lectures. See the Call for Papers here:
philosophymindscience.org/index.php/ph...
and a précis of the book here:
philpapers.org/rec/EGAPOD
philosophymindscience.org/index.php/ph...
and a précis of the book here:
philpapers.org/rec/EGAPOD
Reposted by Kate Nave
Are you a scientist?
Is your research cool?
Do people not adequately appreciate how cool your research is?
I'm looking for researchers to feature in Q&A-style interviews on my blog and would love to hear from (or about — embarrass your friends!) scientists interested in sharing their work. 🧪
Is your research cool?
Do people not adequately appreciate how cool your research is?
I'm looking for researchers to feature in Q&A-style interviews on my blog and would love to hear from (or about — embarrass your friends!) scientists interested in sharing their work. 🧪
November 10, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Are you a scientist?
Is your research cool?
Do people not adequately appreciate how cool your research is?
I'm looking for researchers to feature in Q&A-style interviews on my blog and would love to hear from (or about — embarrass your friends!) scientists interested in sharing their work. 🧪
Is your research cool?
Do people not adequately appreciate how cool your research is?
I'm looking for researchers to feature in Q&A-style interviews on my blog and would love to hear from (or about — embarrass your friends!) scientists interested in sharing their work. 🧪
Reposted by Kate Nave
The hitchhiker’s guide to cross-species DNA delivery
@cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social Spotlight by Kotaro Kiga and Rodrigo Ibarra-Chávez
www.cell.com/trends/micro...
@cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social Spotlight by Kotaro Kiga and Rodrigo Ibarra-Chávez
www.cell.com/trends/micro...
The hitchhiker’s guide to cross-species DNA delivery
Microbial hitchhikers are rewriting the rules of horizontal gene transfer. He, Patkowski,
et al. reveal how phage satellites assemble chimeric infective particles that deliver
DNA across species bound...
www.cell.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:39 AM
The hitchhiker’s guide to cross-species DNA delivery
@cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social Spotlight by Kotaro Kiga and Rodrigo Ibarra-Chávez
www.cell.com/trends/micro...
@cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social Spotlight by Kotaro Kiga and Rodrigo Ibarra-Chávez
www.cell.com/trends/micro...
Reposted by Kate Nave
My little book on Schrödinger's famous classic 'What Is Life?' is out! Offering the most comprehensive analysis ever undertaken of the book's origins, reception, impact, and legacy, it uncovers Schrödinger's motivations in writing it, and shows how it has shaped our current understanding of the cell
<i>What Is Life?</i> Revisited
Cambridge Core - Philosophy: General Interest - <i>What Is Life?</i> Revisited
www.cambridge.org
October 10, 2025 at 1:52 PM
My little book on Schrödinger's famous classic 'What Is Life?' is out! Offering the most comprehensive analysis ever undertaken of the book's origins, reception, impact, and legacy, it uncovers Schrödinger's motivations in writing it, and shows how it has shaped our current understanding of the cell
Reposted by Kate Nave
Very nice upcoming workshop at the Center for Philosophical Psychology (University of Antwerp) on how radical embodiment unfolds in complex, “wild” real-world environments.
www.dialecticalsystems.eu/events/works...
www.dialecticalsystems.eu/events/works...
November 7, 2025 at 9:16 AM
Very nice upcoming workshop at the Center for Philosophical Psychology (University of Antwerp) on how radical embodiment unfolds in complex, “wild” real-world environments.
www.dialecticalsystems.eu/events/works...
www.dialecticalsystems.eu/events/works...
Reposted by Kate Nave
Good news everyone: #Duke Summer Seminars in Neuroscience and Philosophy (SSNAP) are back!! We are now accepting applications for SSNAP 2026, which will take place from May 26 to June 6, 2026. #neuroscience #philosophy #brain Please spread the word! ssnap.submittable.com/submit
SSNAP Applications Manager
SSNAP Applications Manager Powered By Submittable - Accept and Curate Digital Content
ssnap.submittable.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Good news everyone: #Duke Summer Seminars in Neuroscience and Philosophy (SSNAP) are back!! We are now accepting applications for SSNAP 2026, which will take place from May 26 to June 6, 2026. #neuroscience #philosophy #brain Please spread the word! ssnap.submittable.com/submit
Reposted by Kate Nave
A draft syllabus for philosophy of cognitive science. Thoughts, comments, and suggestions appreciated! (The redacted one is a banger paper that I refereed that's not out yet but is accepted and should be out by next spring)
![1/13 Daniel Dennett, Three kinds of Intentional Psychology
1/15 Mohammed Abouelleil Rashed, More things in heaven and earth
1/20 Amanda Corris, Defining the Environment in Organism–Environment Systems
1/22 Anna Corwin & Cordelia Erickson-Davis, Experiencing presence An interactive model of perception
1/27 Hazel Rose Markus & Shinobu Kitayama, Cultures and Selves: A Cycle of Mutual Constitution
1/29 Qi Wang et al, Culture, Memory, and Narrative Self-Making
2/3 Felipe de Brigard, Memory and Remembering
2/5 Felipe de Brigard, Memory and Remembering
2/10 Felipe de Brigard, Memory and Remembering
2/12 Nicky Clatyton et al., Can animals recall the past and plan for the future?
2/19 Kristin Andrews, How to study animal minds
2/24 Kristin Andrews, How to study animal minds
2/26 Kristin Andrews, How to study animal minds
3/10 G. A. Bradshaw & Allan N. Schore, How Elephants are Opening Doors:Developmental Neuroethology
3/12 [Redacted]
3/17 Frédérique de Vignemont, Affective Bodily Awareness
3/19 Frédérique de Vignemont, Affective Bodily Awareness
3/24 Frédérique de Vignemont, Affective Bodily Awareness
3/26 Anil Seth & Manos Tsakiris, Being a beast machine
3/31 Jennifer Windt, Predictive brains, dreaming selves, sleeping bodies
4/7 Carolina Arruda & Danny Povenelli, Chimpanzees as secret agents
4/9 Elizabeth Pacherie, The Sense of Control and the Sense of Agency
4/14 Chandra Sripada, The atoms of self control
4/16 Asynchronous Activity
4/21 Nick Brancazio, Gender and the senses of agency
4/23 Rebecca Todd & Evan Thompson, The Third Entity
4/28 Hanne De Jaegher, Loving and Knowing](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4pdvvuhwkkt7tmhcz2ycl3gw/bafkreibf4jezi5ffiwa6vhi7yi25s3p732vj3on7ffldadu36z4fzbc3f4@jpeg)
November 4, 2025 at 4:20 PM
A draft syllabus for philosophy of cognitive science. Thoughts, comments, and suggestions appreciated! (The redacted one is a banger paper that I refereed that's not out yet but is accepted and should be out by next spring)
Reposted by Kate Nave
PhD scholarship in Moral Philosophy at Edinburgh registryservices.ed.ac.uk/scholarships...
James Forrester PhD Scholarship in Moral Philosophy | Scholarships and Student Funding | Student Administration
This scholarship has been created through the generous bequest of James Forrester to the Philosophy Department of the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences. The scholarship aims to nu...
registryservices.ed.ac.uk
October 23, 2025 at 4:57 PM
PhD scholarship in Moral Philosophy at Edinburgh registryservices.ed.ac.uk/scholarships...
Reposted by Kate Nave
New paper by @hadeelnaeem.bsky.social on the complexity of pain experiences, and how this makes the use of AI pain-detection technologies liable to generate epistemic injustice. Pain experiences/reports is definitely one of the things I'd like to look at more closely, post-book.
AI and the Complexity of Pain - Philosophy & Technology
Pain is a complex, multidimensional phenomenon. Pain research documents cases where our disregard of diverse pain experiences leads to epistemic injustices against those who suffer from pain. Automate...
link.springer.com
October 19, 2025 at 1:23 PM
New paper by @hadeelnaeem.bsky.social on the complexity of pain experiences, and how this makes the use of AI pain-detection technologies liable to generate epistemic injustice. Pain experiences/reports is definitely one of the things I'd like to look at more closely, post-book.
Reposted by Kate Nave
I've now posted an episode on the causal faithfulness condition. Faithfulness says much more than just that causal paths don't cancel, and raises foundational questions about causation, probability, and underdetermination.
youtu.be/k8p0OS-8u2Q
youtu.be/k8p0OS-8u2Q
October 17, 2025 at 2:26 PM
I've now posted an episode on the causal faithfulness condition. Faithfulness says much more than just that causal paths don't cancel, and raises foundational questions about causation, probability, and underdetermination.
youtu.be/k8p0OS-8u2Q
youtu.be/k8p0OS-8u2Q
Reposted by Kate Nave
Henry’s thesis is on: “Developing a Naturalistic Metaphysics for Biological Agency”. His goal (our goal in working together) was to show that there’s nothing unscientific or supernatural about ideas of agency, mental causation, and free will. ⬇️ (1/n)
October 3, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Henry’s thesis is on: “Developing a Naturalistic Metaphysics for Biological Agency”. His goal (our goal in working together) was to show that there’s nothing unscientific or supernatural about ideas of agency, mental causation, and free will. ⬇️ (1/n)
Reposted by Kate Nave
Again, it is worth keeping in mind when comparing the rate of discoveries that public funding for medicine and the sciences is orders of magnitude larger than for the humanities. We work slow in part because we work on a shoestring.
October 13, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Again, it is worth keeping in mind when comparing the rate of discoveries that public funding for medicine and the sciences is orders of magnitude larger than for the humanities. We work slow in part because we work on a shoestring.
Reposted by Kate Nave
The best exhaustive study on helmets in the Roman Republic - an iconic marker of Roman identity and the Roman army - is a 30-year-old unpublished dissertation that I think likely gets their primary manufacture method wrong!
Much work to be done.
Much work to be done.
October 13, 2025 at 2:42 PM
The best exhaustive study on helmets in the Roman Republic - an iconic marker of Roman identity and the Roman army - is a 30-year-old unpublished dissertation that I think likely gets their primary manufacture method wrong!
Much work to be done.
Much work to be done.
Reposted by Kate Nave
Charting the rise and fall of ancient trade through shipwrecks was a major 1990s thing (substantially altering our understanding of the ancient economy) but an approach massively refined to tune for discontinuities in the evidence, e.g. Leidwanger (2020).
October 13, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Charting the rise and fall of ancient trade through shipwrecks was a major 1990s thing (substantially altering our understanding of the ancient economy) but an approach massively refined to tune for discontinuities in the evidence, e.g. Leidwanger (2020).
Reposted by Kate Nave
Maybe this is simply a difference in the expected 'rate' of knew knowledge, but this take puzzles me, because there's quite a bit of new data and studies needing to be done that I can see pretty easily in Roman history.
Knowledge creation steady and clearly visible.
Knowledge creation steady and clearly visible.
October 13, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Maybe this is simply a difference in the expected 'rate' of knew knowledge, but this take puzzles me, because there's quite a bit of new data and studies needing to be done that I can see pretty easily in Roman history.
Knowledge creation steady and clearly visible.
Knowledge creation steady and clearly visible.