William Gildea
Human equality, justice, animal ethics. Researcher in philosophy at McGill and the Centre for Research in Ethics in Montreal.
- Reposted by William GildeaMy Centre is a unique place to do a PhD in Philosophy, because you can be in constant contact with experts in veterinary medicine, psychology, zoology and policy and be part of a team united by a shared interest in animal minds. We now have our 1st ever PhD scholarship: www.lse.ac.uk/sentience/phd
- My latest episode! Such a stimulating conversation with Rachel Fredericks and Jeremy Fischer. Their paper is quite something.
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- The very real trials and tribulations of living in Canada as a Brit.
- I'm beginning not to trust anyone who ever says "no one has ever done more for X than me"
- "Our milk"? Really? Surely it's either the cow's milk or the calf's milk? Especially as removing the calf is the first step in taking and selling the #milk...
- This seemingly really cool project has a postdoc on emotions and grievance politics: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQD118/r... #academia
- The #newyearsresolutions episode of my podcast discusses how focusing on process over outcome can be more fulfilling and whether resolutions are a good idea in a culture of hyper-productivity. Let me know what you think! linktr.ee/surprisinget...
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- Not at all suss: "Dear William Gildea, Greetings from the office of International Journal of Philosophy Your crucial role in the progression of knowledge is evident By joining the editorial team, you will access: Gratitude [list cont] Not interested in the daily reports? Unsubscribe"
- Trump: #Greenland is essential to our national security. I'd imagine Greenland finds Greenland pretty much essential for their national security too.
- The Pamphlet has just published this feature of my podcast! www.the-pamphlet.com/articles/sur...
- Back to pens and paper in the exam hall? (For most students). Universities must grip cheating and defend education: their founding purpose. Surely we cannot allow university degrees to be undermined by corporate interests, whether AI-based or otherwise www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
- The land of the free www.theguardian.com/football/202...
- I stopped using Times New Roman *precisely* because it doesn't look professional - not in this century... www.cnn.com/2025/12/10/p...
- The EU's public consultation on animal welfare closes on Friday. Non-EU citizens can submit too. Here's a pre filled but editable form which makes it super quick. #animalrights act.animainternational.org?fbclid=IwY2x...
- This is heartwarming, but underlines the core truth: virtually no animal ever escapes slaughter. We decide their fate. We force them into the slaughterhouse doors. We decide the reasons, the timing, the method, the conditions. They have no power, and then no life www.theguardian.com/fashion/2025...
- NEW episode: why envy can be *good*, according to @saraprotasi.bsky.social. Our conversation covers envy's role in self-improvement, self-esteem, self-acceptance, love, friendship, inequality and racism. Listen here: linktr.ee/surprisinget...
- If #vegan milk/meat is 'fake', something fakes are better than the real thing. Fake, computer-game murders are better than the real deal. Being hit by fake bullets tends to be better, etc
- Prevsly I couldn't possibly go on Bluesky as I hadnt finished the #Traitors. All great apart from the end, and this....
- Will AIs have rights and become conscious? My podcast has a new episode! Hear from both sides of the debate on digital consciousness, as we ask whether we should stop AI development right now to prevent vulnerable AIs coming to be. linktr.ee/surprisinget...
- Wow, semi-silent fireworks, great for dogs, cats, birds and all animals (and many humans...).
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- I wrote this, asking: is this big UK supermarket producing the 'happy, natural, ethically raised' pigs it now claims it is? theecologist.org/2025/oct/31/...
- New episode today: Would less liberty be better for us? My guest Sarah Conly says absolutely yes: we need the state to make harmful choices illegal. She's a formidable proponent of paternalism and we have a cracking conversation for you: linktr.ee/surprisinget...
- Jesus, now even Outlook has introduced an AI function to summarise emails. Can't we just be left to read the actual goddam email in peace -- rather than communicate through robots?
- The one thing that's not saving me time is Adobe reader incessantly popping up with the view that "this document seems long: save time with a summary". Can we just not have tech companies continually trying to get people not to actually... read, and engage properly with ideas?
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- Pets to be fed whole to zoo animals. For "animal welfare" reasons. The predators "need" this, apparently. What about the needs/welfare of the pets slaughtered? It's shocking zookeepers could be so inconsistent. There's no ethics without consistency. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
- This kind of action is just so *absurdly* piecemeal. Why should anyone be able to shoot a bear in the face for fun? Maybe the bill is better than nothing but come on.
- Reposted by William Gildea🗳️ UK to lower voting age in national elections. Our colleague, Dr Isabella Trifan says, "This is a step forward—not because 16-year-olds pay taxes, but because they’re citizens affected by policy and as capable of voting as many adults are.” #PoliSky #YouthVote #Democracy #VotingRights #EssexGov
- The voting age will be lowered to 16 for all UK elections as part of an overhaul of the country’s voting system on.ft.com/4lznJVv
- Every time I go to the watch mender's/key cutter's I get a new story about how amazing/underappreciated animals are. Today's: "This swan flaps her wings at me in my kitchen to ask for bread. I give it once she beats her wings. Then she cuts it up for her little ones". Heartwarming
- Interesting - Guardian reports some UK farms will be taken entirely out of food production under plans to make space for nature. Environment secretary added this is so “you maintain outputs, or even increase outputs while increasing the space for nature" by increasing productivity on the best land
- Dear Bluesky, is 'Surprising Ethics' a decent name for a podcast? I am launching on September 4th and this is the provisional name. Any better way to convey the idea of an ethics/political philosohpy podcast that promises a surprise in each episode? Pls let me know, thank you!!
- It is terrifying to suppose that anyone believes the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were morally justified. But there are few limits to the things people will believe when their in-out group sense is aggressive enough.
- Just learned that AI can't divide one number by another. Can anyone explain why, to an AI novice? Isn't this the sort of thing it should do easily? (Any calculator can do it...).
- Zero mention of the ethical implications of killing octopuses, despite widespread opposition to octopus farming. Great joined-up thinking from the Guardian
- Far-right candidate for Romanian president George Simion went on TV in France, said some silly things and spoke Fran-Romanian (finishing sentences in Romanian). Then his opponent in Sunday's election met Macron, changed the conversation to French, and spoke....French
