#36,5

Today, during sick leave, I have had half an article writing day, with some 500 words written on the article "Steffens´ early outlook reconsidered: Nature conceptions of the industrial-age Anthropocene". So far this Autumn I have had 36,5 writing days including 17,5 article writing days.

Google scholar: 1248 citations; 2024 now second-best year

According to my Google Scholar profile my research has now been cited 1248 times (+12 since November 29th). This includes 177 citations in 2024 (+12), making 2024 my second-best year to date ahead of 2023 (172) but still behind 2022 (189). My h-index remains 20 and my i10-index 38.

#36

Today, during sick leave, I have had half an article writing day, mostly devoted to checking the proofs of my article "Applied umwelt theory in the context of phenomenological triangulation and descriptive phenomenology" which will appear in a special issue of Sign Systems Studies about applications of Umwelt theory shortly.

So far this Autumn I have had 36 writing days including 17 article writing days.

#35,5

Today, during sick leave, I have had half an article writing day, with some 600 words written on the article "Steffens´ early outlook reconsidered: Nature conceptions of the industrial-age Anthropocene". So far this Autumn I have had 35,5 writing days including 16,5 article writing days.

#35

Today, during sick leave, I have had half an article writing day, with some 400 words written on the article "Steffens´ early outlook reconsidered: Nature conceptions of the industrial-age Anthropocene". So far this Autumn I have had 35 writing days including 16 article writing days.

#34,5

Today, during sick leave, I have had half an article writing day, with some 300 words written on the article "Steffens´ early outlook reconsidered: Nature conceptions of the industrial-age Anthropocene".  So far this Autumn I have had 34,5 writing days including 15,5 article writing days.

#34

Today, during sick leave (after I abruptly had surgery on December 1st), I have had half an article writing day, with some 300 words written on the article "Steffens´ early outlook reconsidered: Nature conceptions of the industrial-age Anthropocene".

So far this Autumn I have had 34 writing days including 15 article writing days.

#33,5

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 550 words added to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. I also attended a webinar on CCS. So far this Autumn I have had 33,5 writing days including 19 book writing days. 

Altogether in November I had 7,5 writing days, including 5 book writing days and 2,5 article writing days, with 4.580 words written logged, of which 3.954 words written on Captured. The latter is slightly more than what I wrote in August and October, and the best month so far in terms of words written on this book (though I´ll have to write more in the coming months to stay on schedule).

Google Scholar: 1.236 citations; i10-index 38, "how to solve environmental crisis" article now cited 10 times

According to my Google Scholar profile my research has to date attracted 1.236 citations (+16 since October 17th), including 165 citations in 2024 (+14 since October 17th). My h-index remains 20 whereas my i10-index is 38 (+1 since October 17th). 

An i10-index of 38 means that 38 of my scientific texts have been cited 10 times each or more. The latest to make it is "Anticipating the societal transformation required to solve the environmental crisis in the 21st century" (2021),  which has been cited 3 times this year and 10 times altogether. 

Alice Crary´s Steffens lecture now online

A recording of Alice Crary´s Henrik Steffens lecture 2024, "All Justice is Animal Justice", held at University of Stavanger November 21st, is now available for streaming at Viten-TV.

#32,5

Today I have had an article writing day, with work done on the article "Kan velferd og miljø måles i forlengelsen av BNP?" which I co-write with Jan Karlstrøm. The article has now been submitted to Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning.

So far this Autumn I have had 32,5 writing days including 14,5 article writing days.

#31,5

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 350 words added to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Autumn I have had 31,5 writing days including 18 book writing days.

Ex.phil. for sosialfag no longer available after January 2025

I have been informed by Universitetsforlaget that the text book anthology Ex.phil. for sosialfag (2018), which I edited, will from January 2025 no longer be available for sale in digital format, via Allvit. It has already stopped to be be available in print format - or at least the publisher has recently shredded their stored copies of the book.

"What is it like to be an animal?" commentary published in Dyrenes forsvarer

About a week ago my commentary "Hvordan er det å være et dyr?" (What is it like to be an animal?) was published in Dyrebeskyttelsen Norge´s magazine Dyrenes forsvarer no. 4, 2024 (pp. 8-9). The commentary has also been published online. I am one of four commentators in Dyrenes forsvarer, this is my first commentary.

The magazine can be read in full online here.

"Ecological semiotics" chapter published

Last week I was informed that my chapter "Ecological semiotics" has been published. First published as a stand-alone chapter as of now, it is part of the 3rd edition of Elsevier´s Encyclopedia of Ecology, which will appear with organized volumes in January 2026.

Reference:

Tønnessen, Morten 2024. Ecological semiotics. Chapter. Encyclopedia of Ecology (3rd edition) (Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences). Elsevier. 9 pp. Planned publication for encyclopedia volumes January 16th, 2026. Abstract online October 19th 2024; chapter published November 21st 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-21964-1.00018-5.

The chapter can also be requested via my ResearchGate profile page if you are registered there.

#31

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 900 words added to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Autumn I have had 31 writing days including 17,5 book writing days. I have now written more than 21.000 words on Captured all-time, including more than 3.000 words so far in November.

Featured in Nationen news story about the Norwegian animal ethics conference 2024

The Norwegian daily newspaper Nationen has a 2-page news story about the Norwegian animal ethics conference 2024 (Dyreetikkonferansen 2024) which took place last week with animal consciousness as theme. The news story features an image and quotes from my presentation. In the image caption I am quoted as saying that our understanding of other beings is always somewhat limited.

Mentions in Alexei Sharov´s farewell editorial in Biosemiotics

Alexei Sharov has written a farewell editorial for Biosemiotics, for which he has been an Editor-in-Chief for about 10 years. The editorial is entitled "Following developments of biosemiotics", and includes some passages I really appreciate mentioning me, our joint work, and some initiatives of mine.

Excerpts:

"Many prominent scientists and philosophers in biosemiotics, such as Kalevi Kull, Jesper Hoffmeyer, Donald Favareau, Howard Pattee, Karel Kleisner, Prisca Augustyn, Morten Tønnessen, Anton Markoš, Stanley Salthe, Bruce Weber, Frederik Stjernfelt, Paul Cobley and others, supported the journal and published their articles in the initial years."

"In 2014, Marcello Barbieri transferred most of editorial duties to a new team of editors, that included me, Timo Maran, and Morten Tønnessen, and we took full charge as Editors-in-Chief in 2015. Our first joint editorial titled “Towards Synthesis of Biology and Semiotics” outlined our vision of the state and future of biosemiotics and its representation in this journal. We wrote:

The main idea of biosemiotics is that life and semiosis are coextensive. Here semiosis is understood as a sign process or sign exchange, where signs stand for something else in some respect or capacity. In particular, life has a semiotic nature because it is based on endless interpretation of environmental cues and transfer of life-related functional meanings vertically across generations and horizontally to neighboring organisms. Semiotic processes help organisms to perform their functions, preserve their habits and pursue their agendas through generations (Sharov et al., 2015): 1–2)."

"I am thankful to Morten Tønnessen for suggesting two new activities that helped to invigorate the relations between the journal and readers. First, it was the establishment of the Annual Biosemiotic Achievement Award in 2014 for the novelty and relevance to biosemiotics. And the second was the Biosemiotics Glossary Project, which started with the article on semiotic agency (Tønnessen, 2015), and then continued the discussion with the terms: umwelt, semiotic threshold, and intentionality. An important part of this project is answering questionnaires and statistical analysis of results which reflects the range of opinions within the biosemiotics field."

"Also we published the special issues “Can quantitative approaches develop bio/semiotic theory?” edited by Dan Faltýnek and Ľudmila Lacková, “Agency and (the Built) Environment” by Tim Ireland and Paul Cobley, “Biosemiotics of waste” by Yogi Hendlin, and “Umwelt Theory and Phenomenology” by Carlo Brentari and Morten Tønnessen."

"I enjoyed my work as Editor-in-Chief of Biosemiotics for many reasons. First, biosemiotics has been my major interest and activity for 36 years, although I combined it with my regular jobs in ecology, molecular biology, and bioinformatics. Second, I like helping young authors to improve their manuscripts, as well as interacting with reviewers. And third, my editorial job stimulated reading related publications, and I learned about new discoveries and theories in various fields of biology and the humanities. This knowledge helped me to write a book together with Morten Tønnessen Semiotic agency: Science beyond mechanism (Sharov & Tønnessen, 2021)."

Seminar "Ethics in a time of animal crisis" held; presentation given

Today I have attended, co-chaired, and presented at the seminar "Ethics in a time of animal crisis", held at university of Stavanger at the occasion of Alice Crary´s Steffens lecture 2024 at University of Stavanger (November 21st), and co-organised by Cato Wittusen and me. Some 25 people attended the seminar, which featured presentations by Hannah Winther, Dolly Jørgensen and me, with Alice Crary and the audience responding. My talk was titled «The range of dignity and suffering».

Alice Crary introduced at the occasion of the Steffens lecture 2024 at UIS; dinner

Yesterday evening I introduced Alice Crary when she gave the Steffens lecture 2024 at University of Stavanger, "All justice is animal justice". The event was well attended, with some 2-300 people attending in person. The lecture was also recorded and will later be made available online. 

Photo credit: University of Stavanger

After the lecture I joined Alice and some others, including University of Stavanger rector Klaus Mohn, for dinner at Bellies, a top-notch local vegan restaurant.

Langsikt seminar given

Yesterday I held a public lecture or presentation in the Langsikt seminar at the think tank Langsikt, titled "Hvordan få mest mulig velferd for pengene" (loosely translates as: How to get the most welfare for the money spent), drawing on my article "Wasted GDP in the USA". The seminar took place at Mesh Nationaltheatret in Oslo and was attended by 8 people.

Lecture "What is it like to be an animal?" held at Dyreetikkonferansen 2024; panel discussion participation

Today I have taken part in Dyreetikkonferansen 2024 (The Norwegian Animal Ethics Conference 2024), which took place at Litteraturhuset in Oslo and had the theme «Er du bevisst dyrs bevissthet?» (Are you conscious of animals´ consciousness?). Before lunch, I gave the talk «Hvordan er det å være et dyr?» (What is it like to be an animal?), with some 100 people attending in person and about 30 people online.

After lunch I took part in a panel debate on the conference theme and what implications it has in practice, along with Hilde Buer (sheep farmer and author), Ragnhild Aven Svalheim (NOFIMA), Eline Åsbjer (SLU) and Themis Altintzoglou (NOFIMA). Cecilie Mejdell was chair. Maybe 50 people attended in person at this point, and maybe 30 online.

Interviewed in UIS news story about Alice Crary Steffens lecture 2024

I am interviewed in the University of Stavanger news story "Henrik Steffens-forelesningen 2024: Alice Crary om dyrs rettigheter og menneskets verdighet", which is composed by Karen Anne Okstad and also released as a press release.

#30

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 700 words added to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Autumn I have had 30 writing days including 16,5 book writing days. I have now written more than 20.000 words on Captured all-time, including more than 13.000 words this Autumn.

56 compulsory assignment texts assessed in Ex.phil.

Over the last few weeks I have assessed 56 compulsory assignment texts from students in Ex.phil. which is part of the bachelor in psychology at University if Stavanger´s Department of social studies. Today I´ll assess three resubmitted, revised texts. The assessment result is pass/fail.

Partaking in 4 events in Stavanger and Oslo next week

I have been scheduled to take place in three more events next week, in addition to Dyreetikkonferansen 2024 (Wednesday November 20, Oslo):

Langsikt-seminar: Hvordan få mest mulig velferd for pengene, med Morten Tønnessen (Oslo, Thursday November 21, 2024) - takes place at 12.00-13.30 at Mech, Nationaltheatret

Academic seminar: Ethics in a time of animal crisis (University of Stavanger, Friday November 22, 2024) - takes place at 10.00-13.00 at University of Stavanger  

Steffens-forelesningen 2024, by Alice Crary: "All justice is animal justice" (University of Stavanger, Thursday November 21, 2024) - takes place at University of Stavanger at 18.00-20.00; I have been asked to introduce her

Sixth and final seminars in Ex.phil.

Today I have given the final seminar in two rounds in Ex.Phil. this Autumn, as part of the University of Stavanger´s bachelor degree in psychology. Topics included political philosophy, specifically freedom and justice, as well as general feedback on the compulsory assignment in the course, and exam preparations.

#29

Today I have had what ended up as half an article writing day, focused on a meeting with co-author Svein Tuastad on our article in process "Når gode råd er plagsomme" where we discussed a media study. So far this Autumn I have had 29 writing days including 13,5 article writing days.

Twelth and final lecture in Ex.phil.

Today I have given the twelth and final lecture in Ex.Phil. this Autumn, as part of the University of Stavanger´s bachelor degree in psychology. The topic was political philosophy, specifically political justice.

At the end of the lecture I was lucky enough to get flowers from the students, who thanked me for "fantastic lectures".

#28,5

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 800 words added to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement, in the main finishing the book´s preface. So far this Autumn I have had 28,5 writing days including 15,5 book writing days.

Peer-review for Theoria

I have at some point this year done a peer-review for the jurnal Theoria (Wiley).

#27,5

Today I have had an article writing day, with some 500 words added to the article "Friluftsliv in therapeutic residential care: Taking adolescents out to find a way in" which I co-write with Joakim Jiri Haaland. 

So far this Autumn I have had 27,5 writing days including 13 article writing days.

By now, with 42.417 words written logged this year to date, I have written more in 2024 than in any of the five previous years except for 2020, when I wrote 84.739 words. So far this Autumn I have written more than 16.000 words altogether.

Eleventh Ex.phil. lecture

Today I have given the eleventh lecture in Ex.Phil. this Autumn, as part of the University of Stavanger´s bachelor degree in psychology. The topic was political philosophy, specifically political freedom. I also brought up aspects of US politics in this regard, as made pertinent by the presidential election results that are all over the news today.

#26,5

Today I have had half a book writing day, with some 600 words added to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. By now I have written approximately a fourth of the book. So far this Autumn I have had 26,5 writing days including 14,5 book writing days.

Fifth Ex.phil. seminar

Today I have given the fifth Ex.phil. seminar this Autumn as part of the bachelor in psychology at the University of Stavanger´s Department of social studies, in two rounds. Topics included source use in academic texts, and who´s exempted from moral and juridical responsibility. 

#26

Today I have had an article writing day, with some 100 words added to the article "Friluftsliv in therapeutic residential care: Taking adolescents out to find a way in" which I co-write with Joakim Jiri Haaland. I have also had a work meeting related to the article "Når gode råd er plagsomme Regjeringens holdning til ekspertråd i omstridte politiske saker" which I co-write with Svein Tuastad.

So far this Autumn I have had 26 writing days including 12 article writing days.

Altogether in October I had 11 writing days, whereof 6 book writing days and 5 article writing days, and logged 5.895 words written.

So far in 2024, I have logged 41.270 which is more than in the full year 2021 (41.178).

Tenth Ex.phil. lecture

Today I have given the tenth lecture in Ex.Phil. this Autumn, as part of the University of Stavanger´s bachelor degree in psychology. The topic was political philosophy, specifically contractualism and related issues.

#25

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 900 words added to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Autumn I have had 25 writing days including 14 book writing days.

So far in October, I have now logged more than 5.000 words written altogether, and I have now written more than 15.000 words this Autumn. For Captured all-time, I have now logged more than 18.000 words written, of which more than 11.000 words written this Autumn.

Followers, reads etc. in academic social media - 2000+ followers/connections; 60.000+ reads all-time including 25.000+ last 3 years

I currently have the following number of followers in Academic social media (I am most active on ResearchGate, where my publications are added regularly, with 94 research items currently listed, and LinkedIn):

Academia.edu: 866 followers (vs. 335 in 2015, 391 in 2016, 519 in 2018 and 657 in 2021)

ResearchGate: 472 followers (vs. 114 in 2016, 250 in 2018 and 269 in 2019)

LinkedIn: 753 connections (vs. 360 in 2016 and 429 in 2018)

All-time reads is currently 26.455 on ResearchGate (vs. 2.297 in 2017, 4.747 in 2019 and 10.590 in 2021) and 33.681 on Academia.edu (vs. 6.503 in 2015, 14.374 in 2019 and 23.300 in 2021). I have 186 recommendations on ResearchGate (vs. 9 in 2019). My current "Research interest score" on ResearchGate is 668.7, and they list 718 citations (vs. ca. 1.200 on Google Scholar, which lists 135 research items).

So, I´ve added about 200 followers on ResearchGate over the last 5 years, and about 200 followers on Academia.edu over the last 3 years, as well as 300+ on LinkedIn over the last 6 years. Meanwhile, I´ve had about 16.000 reads on ResearchGate over the last 3 years (and about 22.000 reads over the last 5 years), while on Academia.edu I´ve had about 10.000 reads over the last 3 years (and about 19.000 reads over the last 5 years).

On LinkedIn, my posts have gained 16.554 impressions over the last 365 days (+1,262.5%).

#24

Today I have had an article writing day, with some 800 words added to the article "Når gode råd er plagsomme: Regjeringens holdning til ekspertråd i omstridte politiske saker", which I am co-writing with Svein Tuastad. So far this Autumn I have had 24 writing days including 11 article writing days. 

Altogether I have now logged more than 14.000 words written this Autumn, and more than 40.000 words this year.

#23

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 600 words added to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Autumn I have had 23 writing days including 13 book writing days. 

So far in October, I have now logged more than 4.000 words written altogether. Also, for Captured all-time, I have now logged more than 17.000 words written.

Kåkånomics panel on economics attended

Yesterday I took part in the Kåkånomics festival panel event "Har økonomer for stor makt over økonomifeltet?" (Do economists have too much power over the field of economics?) which took place at the ship M/S Sandnes at bay in Vågen, Stavanger. The panel was hosted by Karl-Fredrik Tangen and also featured Celine Brøndmo, Eirik Magnus Fuglestad and UIS colleague Torfinn Harding. The event was well attended, and I really enjoyed the discussion.

Ninth Ex.phil. lecture

Today I have given the ninth lecture in Ex.Phil. this Autumn, as part of the University of Stavanger´s bachelor degree in psychology. The topics were views on humans, specifically consciusness, free will and issues related to determinism.

To speak at Dyreetikkonferansen 2024

I have been scheduled to present at Dyreetikkonferansen 2024 (the Norwegian animal ethics conference 2024), which takes place at Litteraturhuset, Oslo, on Wednesday November 20th, with the theme "Er du bevisst dyrs bevissthet?" (Are you conscious of animals´ consciousness?). The title of my talk is "Hvordan er det å være et dyr?" (What is it like to be an animal?).

More info (in Norwegian) on the website of Norway´s Council for animal ethics.

"Ecological semiotics" chapter in press; abstract now online

The abstract for my chapter "Ecological Semiotics", which is part of the 3rd edition of Elsevier´s Encyclopedia of Ecology, was published online on October 19th.

https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-21964-1.00018-5

Abstract:

Ecological semiotics, or ecosemiotics, is the study of sign use by organisms in an ecological context. This chapter provides an outline of semiotic phenomena in ecology and sign processes at different levels of biological organization and explains how complexity can be understood in semiotic terms. It presents the basic theoretical outlook of ecological semiotics, with emphasis on lifeworld perspectives, particularly represented by the Umwelt theory of Jakob von Uexküll. Studies of sign use can help us to understand how sentient organisms interpret their environment and make choices that are informed by their sign use. In a more rudimentary sense, even plants, fungi and microorganisms have agency which can be framed in semiotic terms. The chapter also outlines the characteristics of sign use in different kinds of interspecies interaction. Finally, the relevance of ecological semiotics for human ecology is stressed. While ecosemiotics is amply informative applied to general ecology, it is especially pertinent in the context of understanding how human agency and sign use affects the environment at large. Ecological semiotics can help us understand how genuinely human sign use stands out from non-human sign use, and the ways in which human sign use is subject to cultural variation. Crucially, ecological semiotics can be informative with regard to understanding how human behavior and sign use affects non-human lifeworlds by triggering environmental change which is experienced in sign-mediated ways. This positions ecosemiotics to address issues of environmental sustainability.

Updated event info for Kåkonomics 2024 panel event "Har økonomer for stor makt over økonomifeltet?"

There are now five people involved in the panel discussion I will take part in on Wednesday October 23rd as part of the economics festival Kåkånomics 2024. More info about the event here. 

Fourth Ex.phil. seminar

Today I have given the fourth seminar, in two rounds, in Ex.Phil. this Autumn, as part of the University of Stavanger´s bachelor degree in psychology. The topics were views on humans, as well as two oral discussions, and two writing or more specifically text analysis tasks.

#22

Today I have had an article writing day, with some 350 words added to the article "Friluftsliv in therapeutic residential care: Taking adolescents out to find a way in" which I am co-writing with Joakim Jiri Haaland. So far this Autumn I have had 22 writing days including 10 article writing days. 

Google Scholar: h-index 20, i10-index 37; 1220 citations

According to Google Scholar (cf. my profile), my research has to date attracted 1220 citations (+17 since September 26th). My h-index is now 20 (+1 since September 26th), and my i10-index is 37 (+1 since September 26th). This includes 151 citations so far in 2024 (+14 since September 26th). 

With these numbers, 2024 to date is now my 3rd best year in terms of number of citations, surpassing 2021 (148) yet still behind 2022 (186) and 2023 (174).

An h-index of 20 means that 20 of my scientific texts have been cited 20 times each or more. The latest one to make it is "Introducing zoosemiotics: Philosophy and historical background" (2016), written by Timo Maran, Morten Tønnessen, Riin Magnus, Nelly Mäekivi, Silver Rattasepp and Kadri Tüür, which has been cited 6 times so far this year and 21 times altogether.

An i10-index of 37 means that 37 of my scientific texts have been cited 10 times each or more. The latest to make it is "Introducing biosemiotic ethics" (2015), written by Morten Tønnessen, Jonathan Beever and Yogi Hale Hendlin, which has been cited 3 times this year and 10 times altogether.

Eight Ex.phil. lecture

Today I have given the eight lecture in Ex.Phil. this Autumn, as part of the University of Stavanger´s bachelor degree in psychology. The topics were views on humans and specifically on the "I" and the human mind.

#21

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 900 words added to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Autumn I have had 21 writing days including 12 book writing days. 

So far in October, I have now logged more than 3.000 words written altogether, for the Autumn as a whole I have logged more than 12.000 words written, including more than 9.000 words on Captured.

4 reviews done for Fondazione Cariplo

I have just completed my review of 4 applications in phase 2 of Fondazione Cariplo´s scheme Young researchers Humanities & social sciences.

#20

Today I have had half an article writing day and half a book writing day. Among other things, I contributed to proof-reading of the chapter "Mars as a Planet B?" for the book Mars and the Earthlings, and wrote some 400 words on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Autumn I have had 20 writing days including 11 book writing days and 9 article writing days.

So far in October, I have now logged more than 2.000 words written altogether.

#19

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 350 words added to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Autumn I have had 19 writing days including 10,5 book writing days.

Altogether I have now logged more than 8.000 words written so far this Autumn on Captured, and more than 11.000 words altogether this Autumn.

#18

Today I have had an article writing day, with some 700 words added to the article "Friluftsliv in therapeutic residential care: Taking adolescents out to find a way in", which I am co-writing with Joakim Jiri Haaland. So far this Autumn I have had 18 writing days including 8,5 article writing days.  Altogether I have now logged more than 1.000 words written so far in October, and more than 3.000 words altogether on the mentioned article.

#17; 10.000 words written so far this Autumn

Today I have had half an article writing day, with some feedback given on an article draft by Ángel Sánchez Rodríguez titled "Relationship between Perceived Economic Inequality and Broad Concept of Well-being in 71 Countries", where I have been involved in data gathering in Norway as part of the "Live better" research consortium, and half a book writing day, with some 100 words added to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Autumn I have had 17 writing days including 9,5 book writing days and 7,5 article writing days.

Altogether I have now logged more than 10.000 words written so far this Autumn, and more than 15.000 words written on Captured from the outset.

#16

Today I have had a book writing day with some 600 words added to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Autumn I have had 16 writing days including 9 book writing days.

Seventh Ex.phil. lecture

Today I have given the seventh lecture in Ex.Phil. this Autumn, as part of the University of Stavanger´s bachelor degree in psychology. The topics were views on humans from biology and social sciences. We also had an "early dialogue" (tidligdialog) concerning evaluation of the course.

#15

Today I have had an article writing day with work done on the second article on friluftsliv and child welfare which I co-write with Joakim Jiri Haaland. So far this Autumn I have had 15 writing days including 7 article writing days. 

Altogether in September I had 6 writing days (3,5 book writing days and 2,5 article writing days) and logged 3.524 words written. So far this Autumn I have logged 9.302 words written.

To take part in panel on economics during Kåkånomics 2024

I have been scheduled to take part in a panel discussion on the topic "Har økonomer for stor makt over økonomifeltet?" (Do economists have too much power in the area of economics?) during the festival Kåkånomics 2024, which is held October 23-26th 2024 in Stavanger, Norway. The panel is scheduled for Wednesday October 23rd at 9.30-10.30 p.m., and also involves Karl-Fredrik Tangen, social geographer at Høyskolen i Kristiania.

#14

Over yesterday and today I have had half a book writing day (versus a full day planned, but the time was cut short yesterday due to annoyance with the UIS leadership), with some 350 words added to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Autumn I have had 14 writing days including 8 book writing days. By now I have written more than 7.000 words on Captured this Autumn, including 3.248 words in September over (only) 3,5 book writing days this month (vs. 4,5 planned). 

Third Ex.phil. seminar

Today I have given the third Ex.phil. seminar, in two rounds, in the University of Stavanger´s bachelor in psychology, in collaboration with Anne Beth Våga from the UIS library, who covered referencing and use of sources for the first hour of the seminar. Today´s seminar was also open som student in their second or third year of the bachelor study.

Google Scholar: 1.200+ citations

According to Google Scholar (cf. my profile), my research has to date attracted 1203 citations (+7 since September 16th). My h-index remains 19, and my i10-index 36. This includes 137 citations so far in 2024 (+5 since September 16th). 

It is about 5 monhts since I passed 1.100 citations, in late April, and about 10 months since I passed 1.000 citations.

See also:

Google Scholar: 1.100 citations (April 22, 2024)

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

Proof-reading Mars book

Today I have contributed to proof-reading of chapters 4 and 8 of Mars and the Earthlings, which is in production.

Sixth Ex.phil. lecture; second MEE125 lecture

Today I have given the sixth lecture in Ex.phil this autumn, at Department of social studies, and my second and final lecture in the theory and methods of science course MEE125 at Department of media and social sciences. The topcs were ethics of proximity, moral development etc. in the former and phenomenology in the latter.

#13,5

Today I have had half an article writing day and half a book writing day, with some 50 words added to an article on friluftsliv and child welfare which I co-write with Joakim Jiri Haaland, and some 150 words added to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Autumn I have had 13,5 writing days including 7,5 book writing days and 6 article writing days. 

New title for third Live Better article

I have previously mentioned that I am listed as a co-author of an article that was work-titled "Expression of Positive Emotions Links to Independent Selfhoods, Globally with Minor Exceptions Only: Findings from Two Macro-Psychological Studies". The article now has a new title: "Does Expressing Positive Emotions Reflect Independent or Interdependent Models of Selfhood? Searching for Latin American ‘Expressive Interdependence’ in Two Global Studies." The article has now been submitted to Psychological Science.

See also:

Third Live Better manuscript

#12,5

Today I have had half a book writing day, with some 400 words added to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Autumn I have had 12,5 writing days including 7 book writing days. 

#12

Today I have had half a book writing day, with some 250 words added to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Autumn I have had 12 writing days including 6,5 book writing days.

Fifth Ex.phil. lecture

Today I have given the fifth lecture in Ex.Phil. this term, as part of the University of Stavanger´s bachelor degree in psychology. The topics were utilitarianism and duty ethics.

Peer-review for Humanities & Social Sciences Communications

Sometime earlier this year I have done a peer-review for Humanities & Social Sciences Communications.

Digital Council for animal ethics meeting attended

Today I have attended the digital full day meeting of Norway´s Council for animal ethics, held online due to a lack of funds. Among the topics were the council´s work with a consultative statement on Norway´s Government Pension Fund Global and their investment in international food business, which I have coordinated and led.

Google Scholar: 1.196 citations

According to google Scholar (cf. my profile) my research has to date attracted 1.196 citations (+24 since July 27th), including 132 citations so far this year (+15 since July 27th). My h-index remains 19, and my i10-index 36.

The book Semiotic agency: Science beyond mechanism, which I co-authored with Alexei Sharov, has 77 citations, 40 of which in 2024.

"Wasted GDP in the USA" reaches 12.000 accesses

My journal article "Wasted GDP in the USA", published October 2023, has now reached 12.000 accesses, according to the publisher´s article website. It remains my second-most read article after "The ethics of laying hen genetics" (2019) which has had 14.000 accesses.

Third Live Better manuscript

I am listed as a co-author of the journal article "Expression of Positive Emotions Links to Independent Selfhoods, Globally with Minor Exceptions Only: Findings from Two Macro-Psychological Studies" (Kuba Krys), which is about to be submitted to Psychological Science. I am involved due to my role concerning data gathering in Norway in the Live Better project.

Second Ex.phil. seminar prepared; funeral attended

Today the second seminar in Ex.Phil. this term, as part of the University of Stavanger´s bachelor degree in psychology, was given by Maria Mjaaland Sele (it was prepared by me). Among the topics were a compulsory written assignment.

Meanwhile, I was in Grimstad attending the funeral of my aunt Unni Mirjam Hellerslia.

#11,5

Today I have had half an article writing day, and half a book writing day, with some 950 words added to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement and 200 words to the article on Norwegian democracy I co-write with Svein Tuastad. So far this Autumn I have had 11,5 writing days including 6 book writing days and 5,5 article writing days, and written about 6.000 words on Captured and more than 8.000 words altogether.

First MEE125 lecture - on human ecology and animals

Today I gave a first lecture in the master course "Philosophy of science and research methods" (MEE125), which is offered to students in three master programmes at the University of Stavanger´s Department of media and social sciences. The topics were human ecology and animals, specifically building on the Anthropocene concept, a chapter in our book Semiotic agency: Science beyond mechanism, and Gibson´s affordance theory.

Fourth Ex.phil. lecture

Today I have given the fourth lecture in Ex.Phil. this term, as part of the University of Stavanger´s bachelor degree in psychology. The topics were metaethics and virtue ethics.

#10,5

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 1.200 words added to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Autumn I have had 10,5 writing days including 5,5 book writing days and 5 article writing days, and written more than 5.000 words on Captured.

Interviewed live on NRK P2 on Hvaldimir and celebrity animals

Yesterday, September 5th, I was interviewed live on Norwegian national radio as a guest in the program "Studio 2" which airs on NRK P2, under the headline "Hvorfor blir vi så glade i kjendisdyra?" (Why are we so fond of celebrity animals?). Program host was Einar Lie Slangsvold. The interview ran for 14-15 minutes. The specific occasion for the interview was that the white whale nick-named "Hvaldimir" was found dead on the Norwegian coast about a week ago.

#9,5

Today I have had half an article writing day, devoted to proof-reading my chapter for Elsevier´s forthcoming 3rd edition of Encyclopedia of Ecology, "Ecological Semiotics". So far this Autumn I have had 9,5 writing days including 5 article writing days and 4,5 book writing days.

Lecture on environmental ethics given in sustainability course

Today I have given a lecture on environmental ethics, particularly climate ethics, in the University of Stavanger´s bachelor course "Bærekraft og grønn omstilling" (Sustainability and green transition). Some 25 students attended.

Third Ex.phil. lecture

Today I have given the third lecture in Ex.Phil. this term, as part of the University of Stavanger´s bachelor degree in psychology. The topics were theory of science and the classification of psychology.

Lecture on environmental philosophy given in sustainability course

Today I have given a lecture on environmental philosophy in the University of Stavanger´s bachelor course "Bærekraft og grønn omstilling" (Sustainability and green transition).

2 oral exams attended and graded

Lately I have taken part in the grading and assessment of 2 oral exams in the University of Stavanger´s master thesis course in social work, in the capacity as internal examiner.

Biosemiotics 17(2) published; special issue "Umwelt theory and phenomenology" featuring 16 articles; correspondence article published in issue

Biosemiotics´ special issue "Umwelt theory and phenomenology", which is guest-edited by Carlo Brentari and me, has now been published as volume 17, issue 2 of the journal. The special issue features an editorial and 15 original research articles, and spans over pp. 265-585 of volume 17 (321 pp). 

Updated, complete references:

— Brentari, Carlo & Morten Tønnessen (2024). Introduction to the Special Issue ‘Umwelt Theory and Phenomenology’. Editorial. Biosemiotics 17(2): 265–272. Published online July 19th 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12304-024-09583-w  

— Brentari, Carlo & Morten Tønnessen (guest editors, 2024). “Umwelt theory and phenomenology”. Special issue of Biosemiotics, vol. 17, no. 2 (August 2024). https://link.springer.com/journal/12304/volumes-and-issues/17-2 

The issue also contains 9 more articles which are not part of the special issue. This includes my correspondence text "Understanding subjecthood and experience", first published online in March. Updated and complete reference: 

— Tønnessen, Morten (2024). Understanding subjecthood and experience. Correspondence. Biosemiotics 17(2): 733–735. Published online March 15th 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12304-024-09557-y  

First Ex.phil. seminars

Today I have given the first Ex.Phil. seminar this term, in two rounds, as part of the University of Stavanger´s bachelor degree in psychology. The topics included summary of content from the first two lectures, a question session, oral discussions, and written exercises.

#9

Today I have had half an article writing day, devoted to an article on Norwegian democracy that I co-write with Svein Tuastad. So far this Autumn I have had 9 writing days including 4,5 article writing days and 4,5 book writing days. 

Altogether in August I logged 9 writing days and 5.779 words written.

Second Ex.phil. lecture

Today I have given the second lecture in Ex.Phil. this term, as part of the University of Stavanger´s bachelor degree in psychology. The topics were epistemology and critical thinking.

Peer-review for Semiotica

Earlier this year, I have done a follow-up peer-review for Semiotica.

Fact-checking Norway´s Prime minister on Norway´s demographic future

Today I attended a lecture by Norway´s Prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre which was held at the University of Stavanger. Early on in the presentation, he made a false claim about Norway´s future demographic development, stating that in 2060, half of Norway´s population would be 65 years or older (see slide below). If that was indeed true, this would have been sensational - half the population will be in retirement age by 2060! But alas, it is a false claim, as is very clear if one reads the government's "Long-term Perspectives on the Norwegian Economy 2024" (Perspektivmeldingen 2024) which was presented earlier in August (particularly p. 8 and 172-174). In fact, less than 1/3 of the population is expected to be 67 years or older in 2060 - which means that twice as many will be younger than 67, compared to those 67 or older. 

I made the Prime minister aware of this during the Q & A session. In response, he said that if what I said was true, he apologized - but that "the challenge remains". Sure, but for any informed discussion about demographic challenges, we must start by getting the facts right.

#8,5

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 600 words added to my book manuscript Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Autumn I have had 8,5 writing days including 4,5 book writing days and 4 article writing days.

Rountable discussion "The Human-Environmental Relationships in Critical Period of Crisis" at WCEH4 attended

Today I have taken part (digitally) in the roundtable "The Human-Environmental Relationships in Critical Period of Crisis", convened by Matteo Sartori & Julia Prakofjewa, on the last day of the 4th World Congress in Environmental History, which has been held in Oulu, Finland and online August 19-23rd. My brief introduction was related to my article “Anticipating the societal transformation required to solve the environmental crisis in the 21st century”; I also took part in the discussion. Some 10 people attended physically and online altogether.

#7,5

Today I have had half an article writing day, with some 250 words added to the article "Friluftsliv in therapeutic residential care: Taking adolescents out to find a way in" which I co-write with Joakim Jiri Haaland. So far this Autumn I have had 7,5 writing days including 4 article writing days and 3,5 book writing days.

First Ex.phil. lecture

Today I gave the first lecture this Autumn in Ex.phil. for students in the University of Stavanger´s bachelor in psychology. Besides giving an overview of the course, the topic was epistemology.

Applied Umwelt theory article revision finished

Today I have made the last few edits in my revision of the article "Applied Umwelt theory in the context of phenomenological triangulation and descriptive phenomenology", with some 100 words added to the text. I have now resubmitted the manuscript to Sign Systems Studies.

#7

Today I have had half an article writing day, with some 450 words added during the revision of my article "Applied Umwelt theory in the context of phenomenological triangulation and descriptive phenomenology". So far this Autumn I have had 7 writing days including 3,5 article writing days and 3,5 book writing days.

UIS The Greenhouse presentations at the Fourth World Congress of Environmental History (WCEH4)

Here is an overview of presentations and events incvolving scholars from The Greenhouse - Center for Environmental Humanities at the Fourth World Congress of Environmental History (WCEH4), held August 19-23rd at University of Oulu, Finland and online with the theme “Transitions, transformations and transdisciplinarity: Histories beyond history”.

"The study of past Umwelten" presented digitally at Fourth World Congress of Environmental History (WCEH4)

Today I have presented my paper "The study of past Umwelten" at The Fourth World Congress of Environmental History (WCEH4), held August 19-23rd at University of Oulu, Finland and online with the theme “Transitions, transformations and transdisciplinarity: Histories beyond history”, specifically in session 2 of the panel “Environmental biography as a methodological challenge”. About 15 people attended altogether.

See also: 

Discipline Filosophiche special issue on Uexküll now published, with "The study of past Umwelten"

Full article in UIS Brage

Peer-review for Philozofia

Theis year I have done a peer-review for the Slovak academic journal Philozofia.

Plenary "The crisis of mechanistic science seen through the lens of the nature crisis" held at IACS5

Yesterday I gave my plenary talk "The crisis of mechanistic science seen through the lens of the nature crisis" at The Fifth Conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics, with the theme “Crises of meaning”, organised at Division of Cognitive Semiotics at the Centre for Language and Literature at Lund University, in Lund, Sweden (August 15-17th). Some 50-60 people attended.

#6,5

Today I have had an article writing day devoted to the article "Friluftsliv in therapeutic residential care: Taking adolescents out to find a way in" which I co-write with Joakim Jiri Haaland, with some 300 words written in net terms. So far this Autumn I have had 6,5 writing days including 3 article writing days and 3,5 book writing days, with more than 4.000 words written altogether.

#5,5

Today I have had a book writing day devoted to work on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement, #3,5 this Autumn, with some 650 words written. So far this Autumn I have had 5,5 writing days including 2 article writing days.

IACS-5 plenary addresses to be broadcast live via Zoom; links

The plenary addresses at The Fifth Conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics (IACS-5), to be held in Lund, Sweden, August 15-17th with the conference theme "Crises of meaning", will be broadcast live over Zoom. All six are listed with their respective Zoom links in this document.

My Plenary Address “The crisis of mechanistic science seen through the lens of the nature crisis” is held Friday August 16th at 17:15-18:15, and can be followed live online by using this Zoom link.

#4,5

Today I have had half a book writing day devoted to work on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement, #2,5 this Autumn, with some 550 words written. So far this Autumn I have had 4,5 writing days including 2 article writing days.

#4

Today I have had half an article writing day devoted to the revision of my article "Applied Umwelt theory in the context of phenomenological triangulation and descriptive phenomenology", with some 150 words written in net terms. So far this Autumn I have had 4 writing days including 2 article writing days and 2 book writing days.

IACS5 plenary talks abstracts now online

Abstracts of the six plenary talks for the 5th conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics have now been shared online.

These include:

Elena Cuffari: "Autonomy, participation, and sense-making as sites of crisis: studying the technopolitical situatedness of linguistic bodies"

Hans-Georg Moeller: "The Crisis of Authenticity: Meaning under Conditions of "Profilicity""

Cornelia Müller: "Multimodality and aesthetic experience: How feeling guides the ways we make sense"

Jamin Pelkey: "The birth of wild meaning: Facing crises of alienation and disenchantment"

Komarine Romdenh-Romluc: "Break-downs and times of crisis"

Morten Tønnessen: "The crisis of mechanistic science seen through the lens of the nature crisis"

"Ecological semiotics" chapter accepted for publication in Encyclopedia of Ecology

I have been notified that my chapter "Ecological semiotics" has been accepted for publication in the 3rd edition of Elsevier´s Encyclopedia of Ecology (forthcoming in 2024/2025).

#3,5

Today I have had a book writing day devoted to work on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement,  #2 this Autumn, with some 800 words written. So far this Autumn I have had 3,5 writing days including article writing days.

#2,5

Today I have had an article writing day devoted to revising my article for a special issue of Sign Systems Studies and titled "Applied Umwelt theory in the context of phenomenological triangulation and descriptive phenomenology", with some 400 words written. So far this Autumn I have had 2,5 writing days.

#1,5

Today I have had a book writing day devoted to work on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement, with some 1.150 words written. So far this Autumn I have had 1,5 writing days.

#0,5

Today I have had half an article writing day devoted to work on my second Henrik Steffens chapter, "Steffens´ early outlook reconsidered: Nature conceptions of the industrial-age Anthropocene", with some 200 words written. This is my first (half) writing day this Autumn, on my first day back at work.

Interviewed on wolf and sheep cultural imagery on regional radio

Today I was interviewed live on regional radio, in the NRK P1 program "Lokalen" by NRK Rogaland. The interview was featured under the headline «Har ulven alltid vært skummel? Filosof Morten Tønnessen» (Has the wolf always been scary? Philosopher Morten Tønnessen). The journalists in the studio was Jostein Gjertsen and Øystein Otterdal. The context for the interview is that a wolf is currently in the south of the region and has reportedly killed three sheep.

The interview can be heard here, at 02.12.47-02.18.44.

Google Scholar: 1172 citations

According to Google Scholar (cf. my profile) my research has to date attracted 1.172 citations (+17 since June 29th), including 117 citations so far in 2024 (+16 since June 29th). My h-index remains 19, and my i10-index 36.

I noticed a hickup in the system: My recent article "Wasted GDP in the USA" (2023) was previously registered by Google Scholar, but had now fallen out, and I had to add it manually.

Introduction to the Special Issue ‘Umwelt Theory and Phenomenology’ (Biosemiotics) published online

The introduction to the special issue of Biosemiotics ‘Umwelt Theory and Phenomenology’, written by Carlo Brentari and me, has just been published online.

Reference:

Carlo Brentari and Morten Tønnessen 2024. Introduction to the Special Issue ‘Umwelt Theory and Phenomenology’. Editorial. Biosemiotics. Published online July 19th 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12304-024-09583-w 

Abstract:

This introduction to the special issue “Umwelt Theory and Phenomenology” is composed of a brief theoretical introduction to phenomenology seen as a key attitude of philosophical research, an investigation of the possibilities offered by a combined application of phenomenology and biosemiotics, and an overview of the articles that are included in the special issue. The theoretical introduction stresses the possibility of distinguishing, within phenomenology, between approaches centred on the object (in other terms, the phenomenon), and subject-centred approaches which have emerged in the wake of Kantian transcendental idealism. The connection with biosemiotics is explored for both kinds of approaches, showing how Uexküll, and many other scholars after him, have used phenomenological tools and perspectives in the study of biological meaning and meaning-making processes. For each article in the collection, the overview of the articles indicates one or two points that we believe are of the greatest interest for the reader.

2 Inequalities Research applications reviewed for Fondazione Cariplo

I have recently reviewed 2 research project applications for Fondazione Cariplo (Italy) in relation to their Inequalities Research 2024 call.

11 plus 3 explanations for grading given

Today, on my last work day before summer holidays, and on my way back from the ISQOLS 2024 conference in Malaysia, I have given explanation for grading to 11 students in the bachelor course in law and ethics I have been involved in, and to 3 students in the master course in environmental psychology.

Interviewed on laying hen breeding in magazine Ren mat

This Spring I was interviewed for a story in the magazine Ren mat, titled "Alle egg i samme kurv" (All eggs in the same basket). The theme for the feature article is the dominant breeding companies in the egg business. Journalist: Anette Schive. The story links to our article "The Ethics of Laying Hen Genetics".

Google Scholar: 100+ citations so far in 2024

According to Google Scholar (cf. my profile) my research has to date attracted 1.155 citations (+1 since June 3rd), including 101 citations so far in 2024 (+13 since June 3rd). Apparently, the numbers indicate that Google must also have removed a number of citations previously registered. My h-index remains 19, while my i10-index is back to 36 (-1 since June 3rd). 

With 101 citations so far, 2024 is already my 4th best year in terms of number of citations, after 2022, 2023, and 2021.

Paper on GDP and alternative measures presented at ISQOLS 2024 in Malaysia

Yesterday I presented the paper “Can welfare and environmental concerns be measured in extension of GDP?” (see abstract posted earlier) on behalf of Jan Karlstrøm and myself at the 22nd conference of the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS), which was held in Kota Kinabula, on Borneo, in Malaysia, June 26 to 28th. The paper was part of Session 23C, “Beyond GDP: New Understandings and Measures of Progress”. Some 45 people attended the session.

Photo: Sabah International Convention Centre, the ISQOLS 2024 venue.

"Mars and the Earthlings" book webpage launched; publication date December 11th

Springer Nature has now launched a website for the forthcoming book Mars and the Earthlings: A Realistic View on Mars Exploration and Settlement, which I am one of ca. 60 authors of. The book will appear in the book series Space and Society. Planned publication date is said to be December 11th. The book will be included in Springer´s e-book package for Physics and astronomy.

Book description:

In an era of public Mars fascination, this book offers an objective presentation of the challenges of crewed Mars missions and discusses scenarios of Mars settlements under scientific, technical, social, economic , ethical and political aspects. With the aim to make the reader comprehend what is plausible and what is at stake, the book tries to clarify misconceptions and half-truths spreading rapidly in the public. The authors argue that approximations and misinformation should be countered for two main reasons. First, to avoid missing out on the benefits that Mars exploration may bring, including major scientific discoveries and an inspiring, federative human endeavor. Second, to remediate dangerous delusions – such as the idea that humanity could be transferred there should the Earth become inhabitable in the near term. In preparation for this book a group of European, world-renowned scientists from fields as diverse as astronomy, planetology, geology, biology, philosophy, or economics, as well as astronauts and science-fiction writers, was gathered to discuss Mars missions ranging from near-term robotic missions, all the way to large-scale settlements and even the feasibility of terraforming. For each, they draw arguments from their domains of expertise to discuss what is feasible and what is desirable. The result provides researchers with an objective review of the field, policy makers with a reference to make informed decisions, and the general public with a tool to form educated opinions.

#46,5; Spring summary; ca. 26.000 words written in Spring 2024

Today I have had a writing day, the final one this Spring, consisting of half an article writing day, with some writing plans made for the autumn and minor work on the editorial for the upcoming special issue of Biosemiotics "Umwelt theory and phenomenology" which I co-edit with Carlo Brentari, as well as on the second article on friluftsliv and child protection that I co-write with Joakim Jiri Haaland, and half a book writing day, with some work done related to my book manuscript Captured: CCS and the fight for the sould of the environmental movement.

Altogether this Spring I have had 46,5 writing days, with 2,5 of these being logged as book article days (vs. 7,5 planned initially) and 44 as article writing days (vs. 40 planned initially). Altogether I had one less writing day than initially planned (46,5 vs. 47,5).

With 1.709 words written in June, the least any month this semester, in Spring 2024 I have altogether logged 26.073 words written. This is almost 3.000 words more than in Spring 2023, but significantly below the ca. 36.000 words I wrote in the first half year of 2020 or the ca. 45.000 words I wrote in the Spring semester that year with the first half of July included.

IACS5 plenary speech scheduled for Friday August 16th

My plenary speech at The Fifth Conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics, with the theme “Crisis of meaning”, which is to be held at Lund University in Sweden August 15-17th, has according to a preliminary programme been scheduled for presentation Friday August 16th at 17.30-18.30.

See also:

Abstract for IACS5 (Lund, Sweden): "The crisis of mechanistic science seen through the lens of the nature crisis"

Peer-review

I have recently done a peer-review for Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews.

In Malaysia; cultural excursion attended

I arrived in Kota Kinabula, Malaysia, two days ago, to take part in the 22nd annual conference of the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, which has the theme "Human Happiness and Wellbeing in an Uncertain World" and is held June 26–28th. This will be the fifth ISQOLS conference in a row I am attending (the 2020 and 2021 conferences were held digitally).

Today I have attended a pre-conference cultural excursion in Sabah, to Kiulu, organised by University Malaysia Sabah with Lingga Eco-Tourism Kiulu.

Applied Umwelt theory and phenomenology paper presented at 24th Gathering in Biosemiotics

Today I held my presentation "Applied Umwelt theory in the context of descriptive phenomenology and phenomenological triangulation" digitally at the 24th Gathering in Biosemiotics, which is held at the University of the free state in Bloemfontein, South Africa, as a hybrid event. Some 17 people attended online, in addition a number of people attended physically.

#45,5

Today I have had half a writing day, with some work related to my article "Wasted GDP in major economies", with some 150 words added, the book Mars and the Earthlings (see separate post), a second "Live better" article (see separate post), and the editorial "Introduction to the special issue «Umwelt theory and phenomenology»" which I co-write with Carlo Brentari, with some 100 words added. So far this Spring I have had 45,5 writing days.

"Mars and the Earthlings" book near completion; to be submitted to publisher; co-author of three chapters

The manuscript for the book Mars and the Earthlings. A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement is approaching completion and will be submitted to Springer this week. I will be credited as a co-author of three chapters, cf. below. Altogether 61 experts have co-authored the book.

Updated preliminary reference:

— forthcoming, 2024. Mars and the Earthlings. A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement (eds. C. Verseux, M. Gargaud, K. Lehto & M. Viso). Co-author of chapter 4 (“Mars Historical and ethical context: Past, present and imagination”), chapter 8 (“Toward permanent settlements on Mars (from 1000 to 100 000 people)”), chapter 9 (“Mars as a planet B?”). Springer. Planned publication 2024.

Second Live better article soon to be submitted

A second article based on Live better data will soon be submitted. Preliminary reference:

— in review, 2024, with Brian W. Haas, Xiaobin Lou et al. Aspirational life satisfaction moderates the link between actual life satisfaction and negative emotional experience: A large scale cross-cultural study. Emotion. 

See also:

"Live better" project: Stavanger dataset delivered

First "Live better" article submitted; credited as co-author

35 ethics answers graded

I have over the last few days taken part in the grading of 35 exam papers in the University of Stavanger´s bachelor in psychology course in law and ethics, along with course coordinator Eva Næsheim, with responsibility for the ethics answer, which was one of four assignments.

Interviewed in Khrono news story on state of higher education in Norway

I am interviewed in the Khrono news story "Antall faglige ansatte vokser raskere enn antall studenter" (The number of scientific staff grows faster than the number of students) which was published today, along with Minister of Research and Higher Education, Oddmund Hoel, and Director of the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), Sveinung Skule, by journalists Eva Tønnessen and Hege Larsen. The topic of the news story is a new release of an annual report on the state of higher education in Norway.