Kenneth Novis
@saditious.bsky.social
3rd year Philosophy DPhil @ox.ac.uk | Researching Spinoza, Bayle, and Atheism in the French Enlightenment | also French and Italian Marxism (Weil, Althusser, Deleuze and Operaismo) | Ultraleftist Metalhead | 27 | he/him
https://linktr.ee/saditious
https://linktr.ee/saditious
I picked up a copy of Clara Mattei's new book at an event last night. It's a strong read so far!
February 13, 2026 at 3:56 PM
I picked up a copy of Clara Mattei's new book at an event last night. It's a strong read so far!
Saw this in the new Verso catalogue, hopefully it'll serve as a corrective for the Losurdo-inspired dreck that seems to have been dominating the discussions of Nietzsche among the (too online) left since last year
February 12, 2026 at 9:59 PM
Saw this in the new Verso catalogue, hopefully it'll serve as a corrective for the Losurdo-inspired dreck that seems to have been dominating the discussions of Nietzsche among the (too online) left since last year
I'm somewhere on the outskirts of the academic philosophy community
February 9, 2026 at 10:29 AM
I'm somewhere on the outskirts of the academic philosophy community
Today would have been Simone Weil's 117th birthday. I have been thinking a lot about her essay 'God's Love and Affliction.' A few years ago I also wrote a short biography of her for the UK Simone Weil Research Network @simoneweiluk.bsky.social : 19006198.wixsite.com/simone-weil-....
February 3, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Today would have been Simone Weil's 117th birthday. I have been thinking a lot about her essay 'God's Love and Affliction.' A few years ago I also wrote a short biography of her for the UK Simone Weil Research Network @simoneweiluk.bsky.social : 19006198.wixsite.com/simone-weil-....
I've been thinking about this line from Pascal's Pensées lately. It does feel like a lot of life is simply finding things to avoid having to think about life, how empty and meaningless it can feel, or how hopeless it can be.
February 2, 2026 at 12:53 PM
I've been thinking about this line from Pascal's Pensées lately. It does feel like a lot of life is simply finding things to avoid having to think about life, how empty and meaningless it can feel, or how hopeless it can be.
It's that day again
January 19, 2026 at 12:58 PM
It's that day again
It looks like someone's trying to start up the whole Brennerite origins of capitalism debate again plutobooks.com/product/moth...
January 15, 2026 at 4:59 PM
It looks like someone's trying to start up the whole Brennerite origins of capitalism debate again plutobooks.com/product/moth...
Another conference acceptance - I will be presenting a paper titled 'Spinoza on Virtue and the Knowledge of God' in April in my old home city of Edinburgh. I lived there for 5 years, and haven't been back since 2022. It'll be strange seeing the place again.
January 13, 2026 at 12:14 PM
Another conference acceptance - I will be presenting a paper titled 'Spinoza on Virtue and the Knowledge of God' in April in my old home city of Edinburgh. I lived there for 5 years, and haven't been back since 2022. It'll be strange seeing the place again.
Pierre-François Moreau, Experience and Eternity in Spinoza (p.564)
January 12, 2026 at 11:47 AM
Pierre-François Moreau, Experience and Eternity in Spinoza (p.564)
I found out today that my talk on Spinoza and Émilie du Châtelet has been accepted for the History of Women Philosophers' Libori Summer School, happening in July.
historyofwomenphilosophers.org/study/summer...
historyofwomenphilosophers.org/study/summer...
January 9, 2026 at 3:51 PM
I found out today that my talk on Spinoza and Émilie du Châtelet has been accepted for the History of Women Philosophers' Libori Summer School, happening in July.
historyofwomenphilosophers.org/study/summer...
historyofwomenphilosophers.org/study/summer...
I should be on board with all of what Laurent Bove is saying here, since he also reads Spinoza as an irreligious, anti-mystical thinker. But it's hard to see why he thinks this about Spinoza.
January 7, 2026 at 5:53 PM
I should be on board with all of what Laurent Bove is saying here, since he also reads Spinoza as an irreligious, anti-mystical thinker. But it's hard to see why he thinks this about Spinoza.
A comrade reminded me last night of this great little essay by Gramsci on the topic of New Year’s Day viewpointmag.com/2015/01/01/i...
January 1, 2026 at 12:01 PM
A comrade reminded me last night of this great little essay by Gramsci on the topic of New Year’s Day viewpointmag.com/2015/01/01/i...
This is one of the more interesting criticisms of Spinoza, and one that I might actually agree with. Why think that understanding the mechanicity of nature would lead us to an attitude of love, rather than hatred? Feuer's criticism has just the pessimistic audacity that I appreciate Adorno for.
December 30, 2025 at 11:29 AM
This is one of the more interesting criticisms of Spinoza, and one that I might actually agree with. Why think that understanding the mechanicity of nature would lead us to an attitude of love, rather than hatred? Feuer's criticism has just the pessimistic audacity that I appreciate Adorno for.
I got this nice coat for Christmas
December 28, 2025 at 5:05 PM
I got this nice coat for Christmas
If this exposition of Duns Scotus is right, then for him Lucifer was effectively condemned for being a utilitarian
December 26, 2025 at 11:48 PM
If this exposition of Duns Scotus is right, then for him Lucifer was effectively condemned for being a utilitarian
I was surprised to find that one of my old suits still fits me
December 25, 2025 at 3:43 PM
I was surprised to find that one of my old suits still fits me
It took me a while to get through this one, but Moriarty is that rare kind of academic whose writing is just beautiful and relaxing to read
December 22, 2025 at 11:35 PM
It took me a while to get through this one, but Moriarty is that rare kind of academic whose writing is just beautiful and relaxing to read
Justin Steinberg uses this example several times to illustrate how he thinks desire relates to joy and sadness in Spinoza's work, but whenever I read it I feel more confused about what Steinberg means - using this illustration makes his position less clear.
December 22, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Justin Steinberg uses this example several times to illustrate how he thinks desire relates to joy and sadness in Spinoza's work, but whenever I read it I feel more confused about what Steinberg means - using this illustration makes his position less clear.
One of my friends is trying to collect money for her younger brother to receive complex surgery to treat a serious spinal injury he suffered in 2019, when he was 16. If you have any spare change, please consider donating it to them: tinyurl.com/2w8td4r3
December 22, 2025 at 10:30 AM
One of my friends is trying to collect money for her younger brother to receive complex surgery to treat a serious spinal injury he suffered in 2019, when he was 16. If you have any spare change, please consider donating it to them: tinyurl.com/2w8td4r3
This is an insight from Emma Goldman that lots of philosophers of religion today seem to miss. What we mean by ‘God’ today is a historical anomaly, and it’s a meaning that emerged in defiance of the spread and success of rationalism in philosophy.
December 20, 2025 at 7:23 PM
This is an insight from Emma Goldman that lots of philosophers of religion today seem to miss. What we mean by ‘God’ today is a historical anomaly, and it’s a meaning that emerged in defiance of the spread and success of rationalism in philosophy.
Pascal was so real for this
December 20, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Pascal was so real for this
For context, the responses to these (and to others sharing the article) includes plenty of people claiming to have experienced anti-white-male discrimination themselves, or to have personally heard of this happening. That's just to say that there's a lot of people endorsing this narrative atm.
December 19, 2025 at 12:48 PM
For context, the responses to these (and to others sharing the article) includes plenty of people claiming to have experienced anti-white-male discrimination themselves, or to have personally heard of this happening. That's just to say that there's a lot of people endorsing this narrative atm.
This is my first time ever giving a full diet of lectures, but it is cool getting to see my course alongside all of the others.
December 18, 2025 at 3:11 PM
This is my first time ever giving a full diet of lectures, but it is cool getting to see my course alongside all of the others.
The extent of the review doesn't even seem like it's due to its depth and detail, it's just filled with so much pointless gesturing that I guess he's included to make himself seem more cultured. I didn't know we were even allowed to include autobiography in an academic book review.
December 17, 2025 at 4:34 PM
The extent of the review doesn't even seem like it's due to its depth and detail, it's just filled with so much pointless gesturing that I guess he's included to make himself seem more cultured. I didn't know we were even allowed to include autobiography in an academic book review.