"New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness" signed

I have signed the New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness, which was launched April 19th 2024 at New York University. See also an informative background text. PS: I was not among the initial signatories.

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The New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness 

Which animals have the capacity for conscious experience? While much uncertainty remains, some points of wide agreement have emerged. 

First, there is strong scientific support for attributions of conscious experience to other mammals and to birds. 

Second, the empirical evidence indicates at least a realistic possibility of conscious experience in all vertebrates (including reptiles, amphibians, and fishes) and many invertebrates (including, at minimum, cephalopod mollusks, decapod crustaceans, and insects). 

Third, when there is a realistic possibility of conscious experience in an animal, it is irresponsible to ignore that possibility in decisions affecting that animal. We should consider welfare risks and use the evidence to inform our responses to these risks.

Google Scholar: 1.100 citations

According to Google Scholar - cf. my profile - my research has to date attracted 1.100 citations (+17 since March 21st), including 41 in 2024 (+10 since March 21st). My h-index remains 19 and my i10-index 37.

WIth 54 citations (+3 since March 21st), the book Semiotic agency: Science beyond mechanism, which I co-wrote with Alexei Sharov, is now my second most cited text (up from shared #3 spot March 21st, #4 March 8th and #9 January 3rd). 

I passed the last +100 in the total citations count on December 5th 2023, i.e. about 5 months ago (see link below). 

See also:

Google Scholar: 1000 citations; updated Google Scholar history (December 5th 2023)

Two forthcoming lectures in Trento, Italy May9th and 10th

As part of my upcoming Erasmus exchange to Italy and Slovenia I will be giving two lectures at University of Trento, in Trento. 

On Thursday May 9th at 4-6 p.m., I will give a lecture for ph.d. students titled ”Semiotic agency and the Anthropocene”.

On Friday May 10th (exact time not known) I will give a lecture for BA students on the perspective of the Anthropocene and what it says about humans´ place in nature, in a philosophical anthropology course.

To give lecture "The Anthropocene: Alpha and omega?" at AMEU–ISH in Ljubljana May 14th

My Erasmus exchange to Italy and Slovenia is approaching. On Tuesday May 14th, I will give a lecture at Instititum Studiorum Humanitatis, Alma mater Europaea (AMEU–ISH), in Ljubljana, titled “The Anthropocene: Alpha and omega?”. Abstract and bionote below.

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Title: The Anthropocene: Alpha and omega? 

Abstract: For about a generation, the perspective of the Anthropocene has been much discussed as a framing of our current socioecological predicament. Recently, the Anthropocene reportedly failed to become an official designation for the time we live in, after a majority of the members of the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG), sorting under the International Commission on Stratigraphy´s Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy, voted against it. But this is not the end of the Anthropocene, given how fruitful the concept and perspective has proven to be over the last several years. Key questions remain to be satisfactorily answered: What does the perspective of the Anthropocene say about humans´ place in nature, generally and currently? When did human impact start overwhelming ecosystems? When did humans start having a global impact? For how long is it likely – or desirable – that we humans, and the Earth, will remain in a predicament in which humans predominate environments globally? And how can the Anthropocene perspective be informative with regard to understanding how we should solve environmental problems, including the climate crisis?   

Bionote: Morten Tønnessen (born 1976) is a professor of philosophy at University of Stavanger, Norway. Tønnessen has been an Editor-in-Chief of Biosemiotics and is currently a member of its editorial board. He is a past president and the current secretary of the Nordic Association for Semiotic Studies (NASS), and a member of Norway´s Council for animal ethics. His writings on the Anthropocene include “The Global Species” (New formations: a journal of culture/theory/politics, 2010), Hvem er villest i landet her? Råskap mot dyr og natur i antropocen, menneskets tidsalder (co-editor, Scandinavian Academic Press 2013) and Thinking about animals in the age of the Anthropocene (co-editor, Lexington Books 2016). Academic (b)log: https://utopianrealism.blogspot.com. For an overview of publications see Tønnessen´s Google Scholar profile.

#36 - Encyclopedia of ecology chapter "Ecological semiotics" finished

Today I have had half an article day devoted to finishing my chapter "Ecological semiotics" for the forthcoming 3rd edition of Elsevier´s Encyclopedia of ecology, with some 250 words added to the text, and the manuscript finally completed, and submitted. So far this Spring I have had 36 writing days.

Article on Arne Næss´ philosophy of economics accepted for publication in Norsk Filosofisk Tidsskrift

We have just been notified that our article "Hva Arne Næss kan lære oss om økonomifagets tverrfaglighet" (What Arne Næss can teach us about the interdisciplinary nature of economics) has been accepted for publication in Norsk Filosofisk Tidsskrift. I have co-written the article along with Jan Karlstrøm and Thomas Hylland Eriksen.

#35,5

Today I have had an article writing day with some 500 words added to my encyclopedia chapter "Ecological semiotics" and discussions of feedback and further work on the GDP review article which I co-write with Jan Karlstrøm.