Sign in

Pekka Väyrynen

@vayrynen.bsky.social
1.3K followers 605 following 169 posts

Philosophy professor at University of Leeds. Metaethics | academic life | "a satisficer with really high standards" (said by a colleague, fairly). vayrynen.org

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Businesses are 'clear that universities should do "more to help students to gain workplace experience".' Are they clear that such workplace experience needs to be provided by, ahem, businesses?
ft.com
UK universities pledge work experience to more than 1mn students
Initiative comes amid growing concern among employers about young people’s readiness for workplace
713131
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
David Veevers @davidveevers.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Hey, I’ve got a sector far more valuable than car manufacturing to the economy which has lost TENS of thousands of jobs and looks forecast to lose TENS of thousands more, just if any minister is interested…
916444
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
This isn't new or anything, but I don't think I've ever seen it put quite so delightfully:
blogs.lse.ac.uk
Universities rarely use research evidence in their decision-making, so why do they expect anyone else to? - LSE Impact
Despite universities’ important role as evidence-producing organisations, they rarely draw upon research evidence for internal decision making, why?
17426
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
"Government has got to stop wasting money on extraordinarily high-margin generic intermediaries to buy in teaching it could commission directly from the starving universities that already provide it."
ft.com
Letter: Don’t pay consultants if universities can do the job
From Amanda Goodall, London EC1, UK and Andrew Oswald, Coventry, Warwickshire, UK
05112
Pekka Väyrynen @vayrynen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Saw Mogwai (@mogwai.scot) both nights at the glorious Brudenell Social Club in Leeds (capacity 400). Friday was very, very good. Last night was superb. Very little setlist overlap. Monumental sound and a treat to see them at one of my favorite music venues anywhere.
Mogwai on stage at Brudenell Social Club in Leeds on 22 August 2026.
0101
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Glad someone senior from the sector is pushing back. Labour MPs need to understand the serious real anger from graduates and the people who produce them. And the dangerous financial situation they have allowed to fester, or indeed worsened, in one of Britain’s leading sectors.
ft.com
Labour has harmed universities as much as Trump, London School of Economics head says
LSE vice-chancellor Larry Kramer points to domestic student fees freeze, international student limits and rise in employers’ national insurance
9671278
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Josh Habgood-Coote @impractknow.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Come for the nice typesetting, stay for the footnote that references both Quintillian and Lenin www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....
tandfonline.com
Asking a Question is a Proposal in Shared Inquiry
112
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Kate Devlin @drkatedevlin.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
It's called The Humanities and it's being systematically dismantled due to HE cuts. 😡
119059
Pekka Väyrynen @vayrynen.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
That's quite a risk function for risk-weighted expected utility.
040
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
A single poll result which is starkly at odds with the assumptions underpinning most economic models
10225
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
wariotifo @wariotifo.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
this has the potential to be the funniest half of football of all time, easily beating the current record held by the first half of this same match
111265206
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Prof. Pam Birtill @diervilla.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
I’ll take this paragraph! Higher Education and Universities are a success story. The chaotic destruction of the sector is avoidable, undesirable, and self defeating.
Universities are illustrative of the wider problem. They are one of the few sectors in which Britain is unquestionably world-class: they are exporters, research institutions, civic anchors and drivers of local growth. A government that says it wants innovation while pursuing a policy of often malign neglect when it comes to universities’ funding model and international students is not being tough-minded. It is simply incoherent.
04513
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Lydia Moland @lydiamoland.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
This just in: Mick Jagger admits in a NYT interview that he is reading philosophy, specifically Kant, because it is fashionable. Well, vaguely, but still. Also: so many arguments! #philsky
4225
Pekka Väyrynen @vayrynen.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Excellent Day 1 yesterday at the 2026 conference of British Society for Ethical Theory, held in Leeds this year (www.bset.org.uk). Day 2: Let's go! #PhilSky
The programme for the 2026 BSET conference, also available through the link in the post.
080
Pekka Väyrynen @vayrynen.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Just out: a very helpful Philosophy Compass piece on the metaethics of normative vagueness by Kaj Zeller, a philosophy PhD student at University of Leeds (@leedsprhs.bsky.social). Available as open access! #PhilSky compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Normative Vagueness: Metaethics
The apparent vagueness of normative predicates such as “permissible,” “wrong,” and “responsible” raises a number of intriguing questions and has prompted a growing body of philosophical literature. I....
022
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Justin Weinberg @dailynous.com · 30/06/2026
The entire editorial team at a journal of a for-profit publisher resigned and formed a new open-access journal. It has now published its first article...
dailynous.com
The New Open-Access Journal Philosophical Logic Is Now Publishing - Daily Nous
Last December, all of the editors-in-chief and associate editors of Springer Nature’s Journal of Philosophical Logic resigned and formed Philosophical Logic, a new "diamond" open-access journal (detai...
24111
Pekka Väyrynen @vayrynen.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Excited beyond belief to be seeing Mogwai (@mogwai.scot) on their 30th anniversary tour at the fantastic Brudenell Social Club (capacity 400) on both Aug 21 and Aug 22. Artist pre-sale jackpot through jammed servers, tickets coming back up after going unavailable, and all that. 🥳
050
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Lucy Burke @lucyburkemcr.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
It’s wild that politicians don’t seem to grasp the degree to which universities contribute to the economy- local, regional, national. The failure to intervene is a stain on this govt - a shocking dereliction of duty to every worker, every local business, every student, every area that is suffering
9335141
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Richard Moore @richardmoore.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
The Philosophy department at Exeter is exceptional. It has both a concentration of world leading researchers in the philosophy of the biological and cognitive sciences, and a unique departmental profile in the UK. It would be a catastrophic loss to the UK philosophy scene.
16031
Pekka Väyrynen @vayrynen.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Two new papers just landed! Each is about evaluative language, focusing on specific phenomena about evaluative gradable adjectives (e.g. 'good', 'rational'). Each is a side project to a seemingly interminable book project on normative explanation. Titles, blurbs, links in the thread. 1/3 #PhilSky
180
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Bijan Parsia @bparsia.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Hey #UCU, I just released v1 of another @ucucommons.org project: JNCHES vs Inflation. Site: jnchesvinflation.streamlit.app Blog post: ucucommons.org/project-jnches-vs-inflation/ It's depressing but may be helpful!
ucucommons.org
Project: JNCHES vs Inflation
We're happy to announce a new UCU Commons Project: JNCHES vs. Inflation. We've extracted pay spine point data going back to 2005 and plotted it in a number of ways against several inflation measures.
1157
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
BBC Question Time now doing exact same with AI they did with Farage? This ‘expert’ panel on AI is a disgrace: not one critical voice. Gilbert works for Tony Blair to promote AI. Jones is govt chief AI booster (& Blair flunky). Riparbelli is industry. Gawdat is ex industry. And a Tory MP
831418673
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Emily Herring @emilyherring.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
website that picks the Rothko closest to how the weather feels in your location (by Joonas Virtanen) rothko.joonas.wtf
17744233
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Heather Stewart @guardianheather.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Latest data due tomorrow but your regular reminder: net migration is *plunging* without these plans being enacted.
An ONS graph showing net migration rising v sharply post EU referendum and then falling rapidly
19196102
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Simon Fisher @profsimonfisher.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
“Academic science is not only about productivity but also deep understanding, creative solutions & training critical thinkers as next generation of researchers. Now is the time for our community to evaluate whether AI products help or hinder these.“ @lmesseri.bsky.social & @mjcrockett.bsky.social🧪👇
nature.com
The uncritical adoption of AI in science is alarming — we urgently need guard rails
Artificial intelligence is rapidly accelerating scientific output, but risks narrowing inquiry, weakening judgement and undermining how scientists are trained.
29137
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Josh Habgood-Coote @impractknow.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
So much AI chat is just shill
111
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
That guy Maks @callmesipo.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
With disgust I learned Olga Tokarczuk uses AI to help with writing her latest novel - article in Polish, my translation of relevant bit in posts below mycompanypolska.pl/artykul/olga...
mycompanypolska.pl
Olga Tokarczuk zapowiada ostatnią powieść w karierze: „Pisanie długich opowieści jest dziś ekonomicznie nieopłacalne”
Czy w świecie powszechnego pędu i pośpiechu jest jeszcze miejsce na duże, wymagające opowieści? Olga Tokarczuk wyraża obawę, że ta era dobiegła końca. Dlatego najnowszą powieść, uważa za ostatnią w ka...
39479170
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Dr Keith 🎃 Wilson @keithwilson.eu · 13/05/2026
My list of Bluesky Philosophers is now 2,284 strong. 💪 But I’m always on the lookout for new additions—particularly students, early career researchers, and those doing #philosophy in other languages. DM me with any suggestions or if you’d like to be added! #filosofi #filosofie #philosophia
3277
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Today’s Education Select Committee report on higher education is the best report on HE to come from Govt/Parliament in ages. It takes a rounded view of the whole system, moving away from the more atomistic or narrow accounts we’ve seen 🧵 committees.parliament.uk/committee/20...
committees.parliament.uk
“A very serious problem”: No clear government plan for universities risking insolvency, MPs find in new report - Committees - UK Parliament
Today MPs on the Education Committee warn that the government has no clear plan for universities facing insolvency and that protections for students are inadequate, as the Committee publishes a new re...
213080
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Grumpy Philosopher @stevecooke.org · 12/05/2026
Coincidentally, the number of staff currently at risk of redundancy (2700) at the University of Nottingham is the same as the number of jobs at risk at British Steel. Yesterday, the govt said they aren't neutral on job losses & so pledged to save those steel jobs. Watch as they blithely ignore HE.
520887
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
unfortunately, kim il sung's clothes hang a lot better
There are two photos. On the left, there's an image of the newly unveiled Donald Trump bronze statue covered in gold leaf. On the right, there's a bronze statue of North Korea leader Kim Il Sung. Both are wearing tailored outfits, but Trump's outfit is very wrinkly while Sung's clothes hang cleanly.
399125221968
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
The media have to just stop interviews with Farage when this happens. But they *never* do and Farage knows it, which is why he gets prickly and threatens to walk away. He knows they want/need their story and that's exactly what happened here. Stop fuelling the beast, FFS.
2128477
Pekka Väyrynen @vayrynen.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Landscape: my go-to handout format for many years now, for these reasons precisely.
130
Pekka Väyrynen @vayrynen.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Colleagues are organizing a cool workshop on "Everyday Diversity: Individual Differences and Philosophy of Mind" at the University of Leeds (June 10-11). More info at www.leasalje.com/everyday-div.... Registration (no fee) by email to everydaydiversityproject@gmail.com by May 20. #philosophy
leasalje.com
020
Pekka Väyrynen @vayrynen.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Wow. That's a lot of the chief editor's time. Thank you for your contribution to the profession, @bweatherson.bsky.social! #philosophy #academicpublishing
040
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Brian Weatherson @bweatherson.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Somehow we've had 103 Imprint submissions in the last month. This is more than twice what we can reasonably handle.
1151
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
This is a crime against all living beings in the world.
8409162
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
vijay iyer @vijayiyer.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
“There’s no neutrality on a runaway train.” Shoutout once again to @aaup.org (gift link to the NY Crimes, which pitifully attempts to bothsides this by linking to ‘many [i.e., two] ruminations about the group’s “fall” and “unraveling”’) www.nytimes.com/2026/04/24/u...
nytimes.com
A Professor Union Grows Fast as It Ramps Up Its Fight Against Trump
12114
Pekka Väyrynen @vayrynen.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
What is university senior management (the word 'leadership' doesn't apply to this lot) good for if it can only manage decline?
130
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
News Eye @newseye.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
Someone has actually done this on Google 😂😂👏
The location of the Strait of Hormuz on google with the opening hours shown at Mon-Fri 9.30am - 4pm
12826288
Pekka Väyrynen @vayrynen.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
I feel seen.
071
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Mikko Tuomi @mustapipa.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
The critical Atlantic current system appears significantly more likely to collapse than previously thought after new research found that climate models predicting the biggest slowdown are the most realistic. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Critical Atlantic current significantly more likely to collapse than thought
Scientists say finding is ‘very concerning’ as collapse would be catastrophic for Europe, Africa and the Americas
06418
Pekka Väyrynen @vayrynen.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Very proud of my former PhD student Rodrigo Valencia Pacheco for a nicely done 1000-word primer on non-cognitivism about moral judgment! #Philosophy
071
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
It's not just that Orbán losing inspires hope in other competitive-autocratic countries ruled by right-wing nationalist authoritarians. It's that his loss materially changes things in those other countries, because he's been operating as a headquarters and funding source...
133142003070
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
This was the "Choose Canada" export promotion drive of the UKVI reportedly rejecting an aspirant international student for not preferring Canada to Britain
2458
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Shen-yi Liao 廖顯禕 @liao.shen-yi.org · 10/04/2026
Nerds: This is basically an amazing open ended RPG set in important scenes in philosophical history. Pedagogy nerds: This is like Reacting (to the Past) simulations but single player. And philosophy. It’s not generic LLM generated but based on lots of research into academic and popular sources.
2195
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Grumpy Philosopher @stevecooke.org · 10/04/2026
Fuel prices have gone up because there are shortages. Given that, I don’t understand why politicians have queued up to discourage change in behaviour (or to subsidise no change). During shortage, maintaining demand is stupid. Govt. should be giving advice & alternatives, & helping the most needy.
1112
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Alan Beattie @alanbeattie.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Another one who thinks the response to a global shortage of something which makes it more expensive is to subsidise people to buy more of it. Truly British politics is blessed with genius.
39615144
Reposted by Pekka Väyrynen
Disappointed But Not Surprised @heliocide.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
The reason Moby Dick is the most American novel ever written is because it is about a violent white man enacting a confusing revenge fantasy against a cheap source of oil.
2734241174