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Stephen Law

@stephenlaw.bsky.social
2.8K followers 3.2K following 1.1K posts

Philosopher, author of The Complete Philosophy Files, The Philosophy Gym etc.

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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 23h
If you ask just one question re the speech make it this: what did it commit to doing that would radically rebalance the economy in favour of the less well-off (and against financial interests of oligarchs?) The answer is: nothing. Now ask yourself why that is.
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 23h
‪If you ask just one question re Burnham's speech make it this: what did it commit to doing that would radically rebalance the economy in favour of the less well-off (and against financial interests of oligarchs?) The answer is: nothing. ‬
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Richard Murphy @richardjmurphy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
It is time for people of courage to walk away from Labour www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2026/09... They have had their chance. They have blown it. We need a real alternative in this country now. They will never be it again.
taxresearch.org.uk
It is time for people of courage to walk away from Labour
As I say on fiscal rules in the glossary to this blog: Fiscal rules are targets set by governments to limit borrowing, debt, or deficits over time. They are presented as if they are neutral, technical...
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We Own It @weownit.org.uk · 26/09/2026
They keep lying about public ownership of water Thank goodness we have fighters like Feargal Sharkey to call them out on this lie every time Make sure your MP has the facts. Take 2 minutes now to send them our NEW REPORT on how Andy Burnham can deliver public ownership: vist.ly/5jytv
Screenshot of a Feargal sharkey tweet that says ""Thatcher Minister Defends Water Selloff Despite Thames Crisis."  Let's be clear about this renationalising the water industry does not force water company investment to compete with other demands on the public purse like the NHS or education. Frankly that's a lie.  We, the consumer, the bill payer, we are already paying for all this today, upfront, now. EG over the next 5 years we the bill players are financing 99% of the so called investment, paying for it directly from our water bills, that's why they gone up so much, it's not coming from shareholders, not from govt, not from tax payers but from us, directly from our bills.  When will they stop making this stuff up?"
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Natacha @natacha.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
This is exactly why we need the Green Party to win in Holborn & St Pancras…
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Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
One from the archives In 1984 Dunnes shop worker Mary Manning refused to handle South African goods & was backed by her shop steward, Karen Gearon. Both were suspended. 9 colleagues came out in support. The strike lasted 3yrs & forced the Irish govt to ban the import of all SA goods. All heroes
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Labour already have a huge majority. Another Labour MP putting Thames Water "on notice" isn't going to lower our water bills or protect our rivers. Nationalise Thames Water. Vote Green on October 8th. 💚
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Odin happy.
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Whitney Curry Wimbish @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The youngest person his pager attack killed was 9-year-old Fatima Abdullah, who had just started 4th grade. The pager was on a table when it went off and she picked it up to take to her dad. It exploded in her face and reports said it covered the room in her blood. She wanted to learn English.
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Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Adam Parsons reports on an IDF soldier being attacked in the occupied West Bank A reminder that people living under occupation have the right under international law to resist their occupiers, & that includes armed resistance. But that fact isn't mentioned in the report.
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The Green Party of England & Wales @greenparty.org.uk · 23/09/2026
Time's up on Thames Water. Since privatisation in 1989, Thames has handed out over £10 billion to shareholders, while racking up over £20 billion in debt. Now a consortium of US hedge funds want to take control... Get private profit out of water. Nationalisation now.
Background image of a sewage treatment works. Text reads:

REAL HOPE. REAL CHANGE.

TIME'S UP ON
THAMES WATER

NATIONALISATION NOW.

In the centre of the graphic is a screenshot of a Zack Polanski BlueSky post, which reads: Thames Water has long passed its notice period. Labour can use its massive majority to nationalise it right now.

Green Party
Promoted by Chris Williams on behalf of the Green Party of England and Wales, c/o PO Box Green Party, London, SE1P 6YL
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Getting ready for panel discussion on Europe and whether it needs Christianity. Trondheim Norway.
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
If you care about free speech, Sangita Myska's interview with Nadia Sawalha is absolutely riveting. Growing horror and outrage as it progresses. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s...
podcasts.apple.com
EXCLUSIVE: TV’s Nadia Sawalha Opens Up on Her Legal Action Against ITV and Why She Won’t Stop Talking About Gaza
Podcast Episode · Sangita Meets · 15 September · 1hr 9min
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Who would be a good UK-based speaker on witch hunts esp. red scare, McCarthy, etc. Ideally a woman. Also, who would be a good UK-based speaker on moral catastrophes and why they happen (Rwanda, Holocaust, etc.)?
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Perhaps what makes someone political 'extreme' is not their position on the left/right axis, but their commitment to silencing dissenting voices & gaining control by any means necessary. That makes most centrist Labour MPs extreme, & most of those on the Corbynite left moderate.
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Chris Guiton @chrisguiton.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
'People’s lives will not stop getting worse under Burnham’s leadership. And that slow and steady sense of decline is precisely what drives support for fascism.' graceblakeley.substack.com/p/how-to-fix...
graceblakeley.substack.com
How to Fix a Broken British Economy
Andy Burnham has correctly diagnosed the problem – the country is run in the private rather than the public interest. Here’s what he must do if he really wants to end the blight of neoliberalism.
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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
A much better thread than @jonathanfreedland.bsky.social's original article
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
I am playing jazz n funk with Groove Alchemy tomorrow night (Sunday) at the amazing Rose and Crown on North Parade in Oxford. Book roseandcrownoxford.com/latest-news/...
roseandcrownoxford.com
JAZZ at the Rose and Crown - Rose & Crown Public House
JAZZ IN THE COURTYARD: MOST Sundays. Learn more at "WHAT'S ON", click here. 7pm to 9pm Book in advance to save money, at WhatsApp 07957 437 858, booking recommended as it guarantees you a seat. SUNDAY...
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Chris Guiton @chrisguiton.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
"This important investigation exposes precisely why the UK govt’s recent measures are largely performative and designed to whitewash the multifaceted, shameless complicity of the UK with Israel’s regime of settler-colonialism... apartheid and genocide." www.declassifieduk.org/how-israels-...
declassifieduk.org
How Israel's arms industry is integrated into Britain's military
Ed Miliband’s decision to leave the military relationship with Israel intact raises serious concerns about Britain’s compliance with international law.
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The UK government ceasing automatically to support almost anything the government of Israel does is a major shift. The next step should be to rescind the ban on #PalestineAction, to stop treating protesters as terrorists, and to acknowledge that those seeking to disrupt a genocide may have a point.
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I'll be talking with Chris Insole abour God, Atheism, reason, and more at Conway Hall - we have rather different views. 16 Sept 6.30pn www.conwayhall.org.uk/whats-on/eve...
conwayhall.org.uk
If God is the Answer, What is the Question? – Conway Hall
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Setting up at Kingsley Cafe, Eynsham.
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Regarding the Arday affair, it's extremely complicated and multilayered. One key oversimplification is to insist that only one of these two things can be true: 1. Arday was guilty of serious academic misconduct, 2. Arday was the victim of racist media witch-hunt.
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
The Riverside scandal, in which that local leftwing branch of Labour was accused of antisemitism by their MP Louise Ellman and other local centrists, provides a dramatic case study in how things went, and continue to go, very wrong in media coverage: jewishvoiceforliberation.org.uk/article/loui...
jewishvoiceforliberation.org.uk
Exclusive: The Riverside scandal - Jewish Voice for Liberation
Louise Ellman and the war on Riverside Labour Party This JVL investigation details clashes between Liverpool Riverside MP Louise Ellman and Constituency Labour Party members, including Jews, who say t...
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
The Consciousness Conundrum. Chpt from my book The Philosophy Gym introducing the puzzle of consciousness. stephenlaw.blogspot.com/2013/09/extr...
stephenlaw.blogspot.com
Extract from my book The Philosophy Gym - "The Consciousness Conundrum"
13. The Consciousness Conundrum Philosophy Gym category: Warm up Moderate More challenging Scientists are grappling w...
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Goats on crib goch.
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Lindisfarne
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
View from Uffington White Horse.
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Are dogs spies from the planet Venus? A key mechanism leading to cult think: stephenlaw.blogspot.com/2026/08/expl...
stephenlaw.blogspot.com
Explaining Away The Evidence - why it's so tempting when it comes to politics, religion, etc.
Often, when we’re presented with strong evidence that our belief is false, we can easily change our mind. Show me I’m mistaken in believin...
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Medical Ethics: An Introduction. 10 week Oxford Uni course. Ideal for med. professionals and anyone interested. In person. More info and book here lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk/courses/medi...
lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk
Medical Ethics: An Introduction - Oxford Lifelong Learning
Explore tough ethical questions in clinical decision-making. Examine ethical issues in clinical contexts, analyse real-life cases, and gain practical skills to make wise, principled decisions while va...
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Do you think reproductive cloning is morally permissible? Do you check food labels to exclude any with GM ingredients? Check out this Bioethics for beginners course at University of Oxford - fully online 10 week. lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk/courses/bioe...
lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk
Bioethics for Beginners - Oxford Lifelong Learning
Do you think reproductive cloning is morally permissible? Do you check food labels to exclude buying any with GM ingredients? If so, you will be interested in this ten week online course for the think...
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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
If Heath doesn't realise that some of his own colleagues - for example Ashworth-Hayes who wrote the piece Lowe is citing -share Lowe's ethnonationalism he is even more deluded than we thought...
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
My 10 week in-person intro to Wittgenstein's later philosophy - starts after Xmas. Book now lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk/courses/intr...
lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk
Introduction to Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations - Oxford Lifelong Learning
An introduction to Ludwig Wittgenstein's later thinking, with a focus on mind and meaning. We explore many of Wittgenstein's key ideas and arguments, from family resemblance to the private language ar...
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
I will be speaking about God and religion with Prof Christopher Insole on Wed 16th September at Conway Hall. His new book is 'If God is The Answr, What is The Question?'
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Hasan Piker, banned from entering th UK by Labour, Interviewed by Channel 4. He is an extraordinary communicator. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNSt...
youtube.com
Hasan Piker on UK entry ban, rise of far-right and claims of antisemitism - full interview
YouTube video by Channel 4 News
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Good Law Project @goodlawproject.org · 03/08/2026
Since 2021, the 10 largest private water companies in the UK have hiked up their bills by an average of 56% while spilling sewage more than 1.8 million times 💰💩 Find out what the sewage scandal has cost you – and send Andy Burnham a message 👇 goodlaw.social/4rcc
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
One of the things blocking recognition that certain institutions are fundamentally corrupt is the false assumption that this entails that most of the individuals working for it are fundamentally corrupt.
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
My essay on AI and The Experience Machine: www.templeton.org/news/the-exp...
templeton.org
The Experience Machine Beckons. How Should We Respond?
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
My post on a highly misleading use of statistics about Islamophobia and antisemitism in the UK. stephenlaw.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-...
stephenlaw.blogspot.com
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
My piece HOW TO THINK ABOUT WEIRD THINGS, from discs in the sky to faces in toast. 5 key bits of advice. psyche.co/guides/how-t...
psyche.co
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Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
I'd like to share a clip of Falconer explaining why the UK is still arming Israel when the defence secretary has said they've committed war crimes & the minister for the cabinet office has said they've committed genocide. But #BBCBreakfast didn't ask him about it so I can't.
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
This would be a great opportunity for Britons to ask themselves whether it’s wise to prosecute protestors throwing paint as if they were ISIS
Financial Times v
@financialtimes.c... • 42m
Prosecutors call for Barclays protesters to be sentenced under UK terror laws ft.trib.al/
QYrpEZ2
Prosecutors call for Barclays protesters to be sentenced under UK terror laws
The defendants, who are affiliated with Palestine Action, were found guilty last mont...
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
David Byrne. Latitude.
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
My The Philosophy Gym: 25 short adventures in thinking. Is time travel possible? Could a machine think? www.amazon.co.uk/Philosophy-G...
amazon.co.uk
The Philosophy Gym: 25 Short Adventures in Thinking : Law, Stephen: Amazon.co.uk: Books
Buy The Philosophy Gym: 25 Short Adventures in Thinking by Law, Stephen (ISBN: 9780747232711) from Amazon's Book Store. Free UK delivery on eligible orders.
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
There's something a bit surreal about hearing a politician in a position of real power saying true and principled things like this. It's almost inconceivable that, say, Andy Burnham would speak this way.
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 22/07/2026
Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal.
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Lake Sorapiss, from few weeks ago.
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
My critical thinking course on Udemy - for a bargain price... www.udemy.com/course/criti...
udemy.com
Critical Thinking - An Upgrade For Your Mind
<p>This course aims to make you a more rigorous, effective, and creative thinker.</p><p>I have taught philosophy and critical thinking at Oxford University and the University of London. I've also writ...
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Do some of us really gain a glimpse of divinity in the world? Can you see God in a blade of grass? This essay explores the idea... www.templeton.org/news/on-seei...
templeton.org
On Seeing Divinity in The World: Ultrasound Scans and The Canals of Mars
Some will suggest that seeing the divine in nature is much more like seeing the canals on Mars. In the 1870’s the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli observed Mars through his telescope. The imag...
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Stephen Law @stephenlaw.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
What Libet & the later more dramatic Haynes expts. confirm is *not* that we lack free will, but that the decisions/actions have physical causes, which the physical conservation of energy in any case entails. Which means *they don't have any sort of immaterial 'soul-stuff' cause*.
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