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George Webster

@georgewebster.bsky.social
609 followers 553 following 198 posts

Lecturer in Philosophy at Worcester College, University of Oxford. Thinking about science, the world, and the history of our ideas about those things. Also in charge of Learning Development. www.georgewebsterphilosophy.com

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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
CFA for current + recent PhD students Annual Conference of the HEGEL SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN Deadline: 29 May 2026 Confirmed speakers: Caroline Bowman (Columbia), Jan Kandiyali (Durham), Thomas Khurana (Potsdam), Karen Koch (Basel) and Josh Wretzel (Penn State) #philosophy
hegel-society.org.uk
Conferences – Hegel Society of Great Britain
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Definitely recommending The Drama to my ethics students. #philosophy #ethics
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
What kind of a monster indents the first line of a paragraph by tapping the spacebar 10 or so times?! #writing
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PhilSci-Archive @philsci-archive.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
New on the Archive: Goyal, Philip (2026) From Complementarity to Quantum Properties: An Operational Reconstructive Approach. Foundations of Physics, 56 (23). ISSN 1572-9516 philsci-archive.pitt.edu/28775
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
My abstract was just accepted, so yes you will! 🎉
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
QBism and "it from bit" getting exposure in the recent issue of @newscientist.com: #philosophy #philsci 🧪
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
My review of Dror Yinon’s new book on Deleuze and Kant, for Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews: #Deleuze #Kant #philosophy #ndpr
ndpr.nd.edu
Deleuze and the Problem of Experience: Transcendental Empiricism
Dror Yinon’s Deleuze and the Problem of Experience offers one of the most sustained and systematic Kantian reconstructions of Gilles Deleuze&...
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Picked up this bad boy for £3 in a charity shop - absolute steal! #philosophy #phenomenology
A book: The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Phenomenology, edited by Dan Zahavi.
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Looking forward to contributing to this excellent-looking program for the upcoming NoSP conference, where I’ll be trying to make sense of Merleau-Ponty’s thoughts on quantum theory! #philosophy #phenomenology 🧪
events.tuni.fi
Program | Nordic Society for Phenomenology (NoSP) 2026 conference | Tampere Universities
NoSP 2026 conference program
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Antirealists? Where?!
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
doi.org
Robert Stern (1962–2024) | Hegel Bulletin | Cambridge Core
Robert Stern (1962–2024)
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
I’m a big fan of the North + late modern philosophy, so I’m super pleased to have been invited to speak at the Northern Seminar in Late Modern Philosophy in June! #philosophy
latemodernphilosophy.weebly.com
NSLMP
Keynote Speakers  Maria Dimova Cookson (Durham) Mark Textor (KCL)
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
...which draws on my DPhil thesis:
dx.doi.org
Difference and structure: Deleuze and ontic structural realism - ORA - Oxford University Research Archive
A branch of the interpretative literature on the work of the philosopher Gilles Deleuze is more or less dedicated to emphasizing his engagements with mathematics and the sciences and to presenting his...
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
It's based in part on my EJP article...
doi.org
The metaphysics science needs: Deleuze's naturalism
This article is aimed at those interested in the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and the sciences—and this includes philosophers of science working out of the analytic tradition. Deleuze's writings are ...
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
I enjoyed putting together this article for @iai.tv #philosophy #philsci
iai.tv
The quantum world reveals reality is made of relations, not objects
<p><em>We assume that objects are more fundamental than the relationships between those objects. However, philosopher <strong>George Webster</strong> argues that quantum mechanics upends this common-s...
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Just a couple of tutorials on moral explanation today. #philosophy
media.tenor.com
a man in a checkered shirt and tie says i went to cornell
ALT: a man in a checkered shirt and tie says i went to cornell
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Erik Angner @erikangner.com · 12/02/2026
Deadline coming up! The 2026 Swedish Congress of Philosophy (”Filosofidagarna”) will be hosted by the @stockholm-uni.bsky.social Department of Philosophy, June 12–14. www.su.se/english/divi... #philsky #philsci
su.se
Swedish Congress of Philosophy - Stockholms universitet
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Thanks for sharing! I hadn’t seen this!
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
I was surprised by this distribution of intuitions among a group of Yr12 (aged 16-17) students yesterday! Turns out most 16-17 year-olds are motivational externalists! #philosophy
A poll on the question "Do moral judgements necessarily motivate us?", to which 18 students answered "Yes" and 33 answered "No".
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Folks on the academic job market shouldn’t be allowed to watch No Other Choice. It’s irresponsible. #philosophy #highered #academic
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Pleased to be presenting again at the Nordic Society for Phenomenology conference this year - this time at Tampere University 🇫🇮 I'll be talking about Merleau-Ponty's engagement with quantum theory in his "Visible and the Invisible". #philosophy #phenomenology #physics 🧪
events.tuni.fi
Nordic Society for Phenomenology (NoSP) 2026 conference | Tampere Universities
April 22-24, 2026, Tampere University, Finland
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
I like to pretend it’s the *Iris* Murdoch room. #philosophy
Sign in a library that reads “MURDOCH ROOM”.
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Nikhil Venkatesh @nikvenkatesh.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
"I really like the ideas of Jeremy Bentham." "The ones about maximising pleasure and treating everyone equally?" "Not those ones, no." "Animal welfare? Decriminalising consensual sexual acts? Expanding democratic accountability?" "Not exactly." "Which ones then?" "Oh, you know the ones..."
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Just gave a talk @computingnewcastle.bsky.social on the prospects of a phenomenological approach to quantum reconstruction. Huge thanks to @jonterhance.bsky.social for inviting me! #philosophy #phenomenology 🧪
Title slide stating: "QUANTUM RECONSTRUCTION & PHENOMENOLOGY", with a subtitle "George Webster, University of Oxford / Newcastle Talk | 21 January 2026".
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
Great piece! Reveals a lot about the state of contemporary philosophy of biology, and how studying Bergson can help move it forward! #philosophy 🧪
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Accessibility Awareness @a11yawareness.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
For people who don't use screen readers, it can be difficult to understand how screen readers work. If you're interested in learning how people use screen readers, check out this demo from Marc Sutton and The University of California San Francisco. youtu.be/dEbl5jvLKGQ
youtu.be
Screen Reader Demo for Digital Accessibility
YouTube video by UCSF Documents & Media Photography
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Good little free-book haul. #philosophy #books
Four book covers: Seneca, On the shortness of life; Schopenhauer, On the suffering of the world; Marcus Aurelius, Meditations; Wollstonecraft, A vindication of the rights of woman.
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Perhaps more depressingly, I think Dummett’s point is less about specialisation and more about rigour. He seems to assume that there’s something about “provincial” departments (i.e., not Oxbridge or London) that precludes the possibility of doing/teaching/researching philosophy properly 😞
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
My view is more mixed. I think the tutorial system is like any other teaching system - it can be done well or poorly. And it has its own strengths and weaknesses. I certainly don’t think it’s necessary or sufficient for a good education. Though I’m glad your husband had a positive experience!
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Agreed! And I don’t think so at all!!
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
“Dummett […] told me flatly that it was wrong in principle to try to preserve all these provincial academic departments. Philosophy, he said, was a serious and highly technical subject which should only be studied at its own proper level.” (2/2)
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Something else that struck me was Michael Dummett’s backwards view regarding who gets to study philosophy. 😞 Paraphrasing his reply to her letter rallying support in the face of the closure of Newcastle’s philosophy department, Midgley reports that: (1/2) #philosophy #philsky
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
Very much like this! Will share with my students!
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
…mere general lack of thought”. 3/3 #philsky #philosophy #artificialintelligence #ai
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
…are not due primarily to lack of cleverness but to ordinary human causes such as greed, bias, folly, meanness, ignorance, ill-temper, lack of common-sense, lack of interest, lack of public feeling, lack of teamwork, lack of experience, lack of conscience, perhaps most of all to… 2/3
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
Something I like is Midgley’s (2018) critique of artificial intelligence - a couple of years before gen AI started to blow up. Here’s a good passage: “Why […] should anyone expect these extra calculative powers to make the difference that is needed? The confusions that now afflict human life… 1/3
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@neohempelian @neohempelian.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
Note to self: When you teach the problem of induction at a commuter campus, the example that your justification that your car is where you think you left it is that it always has been in the past is a powerful one. 💪 Keep using!
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
A little against the spirit of the book, I suspect!
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Finally got round to reading this excellent book. Definitely recommend it to - well, anyone! #philsky #philosophy
MARY MIDGLEY
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY FOR?
BLOOMSBURY
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I Support People Protesting in Support of Palestinian Action @srdfrench.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Now with added #Physics
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
When the students head home, I take the opportunity to have the College library all to myself 📚 @bodleian.ox.ac.uk #academicsky #philsky
Library reading room. Wooden floors, old desks and chairs, books lining one wall, windows lining the other.
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Works fine for me!
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
New website by Alison Stone, publicising the work of Julia Wedgwood - a major Victorian-era philosopher! #philsky www.juliawedgwood.org
juliawedgwood.org
The Julia Wedgwood Site | Julia Wedgwood philosopher - Victorian women writers and moral philosophy
Explore the life and writings of Julia Wedgwood, a Victorian philosopher, essayist, critic, and member of Darwin’s circle, with resources, research materials, and her own writings. Discover her writin...
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
It’s that time of year again - Oxford admissions interviewing!
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
@sephilo.bsky.social is launching a mentorship scheme for postgrads and beyond working in European/Continental philosophy. Join for expertise from those further down the academic pipeline! / Join to support those earlier in their careers! #philsky
societyforeuropeanphilosophy.com
Mentoring
SEP is launching a mentorship scheme, open to members at postgraduate level and above. Why a mentorship scheme? Academia can be challenging for everyone. Those working in the traditions of European…
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Thanks, Steve! (I’ve also had a look at your general writing advice on your website, and it’s really good!)
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Thanks!
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
That’s helpful - thanks, Lisa!
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
ADVICE SOUGHT Some of my undergrads are uneasy with the detached, clinical style of much contemporary practical-ethics work. How do you help students engage with it - or provide alternatives that still feel rigorous? Any strategies or readings you’ve found especially helpful? #philsky #ethics
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George Webster @georgewebster.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
More from the conference this past weekend - Chris Fuchs being sassy! #philsky #philsci 🧪
Speaker presenting to an audience in front of a slide which reads: “QBism wouldn't be ashamed if it took another 100 years to complete its project.
Anyone who says they have the solution now is likely pissing in the wind.”
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