#13,5

Today I have had half a book writing day, with some 850 words written on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Spring I have had 13,5 writing days, including 10,5 book writing days.

#13

Today I have had half a book writing day, with some 400 words written on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Spring I have had 13 writing days, including 10 book writing days.

#12,5; reference for forthcoming Sign Systems Studies article

Today I have half an article writing day, with proof-reading done on an article that will soon appear in Sign Systems Studies.

Reference:

— Tønnessen, Morten 2024, in production. Applied umwelt theory in the context of phenomenological triangulation and descriptive phenomenology. Sign Systems Studies 52 (3/4): 315–343. https://doi.org/10.12697/SSS.2024.52.3-4.02 

See also an earlier post, from mid-December, where I wrote that I conducted proof-reading of the same article, though that was proof-reading of a different kind - what I did today was the typeset proofs. 

So far in Spring 2025 I have had 12,5 writing days including 3 article writing days.

CRISTIN registrations for 2024: 39 posts; overview

I have just completed registrations in the Current Research Information System in Norway (CRISTIN) for 2024 (cf. my profile in CRISTIN). I registered 39 posts; all-time I have now registered 395 posts (since 2012, i.e. over 13 years, which means on average 30-31 posts per year). This is quite many posts though not quite as many as in 2019, when I registered 44 posts.

The activities I registered included 9 scientific publications, 7 of which should give "publication points" in the Norwegian system. This includes 2 book chapters I wrote by myself, 3 co-written book chapters in the book Mars and the Earthlings, and 2 full-length journal articles, one of which I wrote by myself and 1 I co-authored, as well as a short communication and a co-authored editorial for a special issue I was one of the guest editors of. 

Other activities included 4 festival appearances (on Wonderful world and Kåkånomics, both in Stavanger),  2 radio interviews, 3 interviews in Khrono, 5 scientific conference presentations (3 of which online, 2 in-person), 3 guest lectures (2 in Italy, 1 in Slovenia), and 1 co-authored consultative statement written for Norway´s Council for animal ethics.

#12; "Captured" about 40% completed

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 900 words written on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Spring I have had 12 writing days, including 9,5 book writing days. These are also the total number of writing days for January, which has now come to an end.

Altogether in January I logged 8.675 words written, including 8.123 words written on Captured. This is a record in terms of words written on my monograph in one month, and about twice as much as the record in Autumn 2024 with regard to Captured. I am almost on course, given the due date June 1st. Altogether I have now written more than 30.000 words on Captured, which is about 40% of the expected full length of the manuscript.

"Mars and the Earthlings" book published; co-author of three chapters; references

The book Mars and the Earthlings. A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement was published earlier this month. I have co-authored three chapters. The official copyright year is 2024. These are my first publications in astrobiology proper.

References:

— Elias Chatzitheodoridis, Philippe Clerc, Akos Kereszturi, Nigel Mason, Erik Persson, Carmen Possnig, Lucie Poulet, Mikko Puumala, Oskari Sivula, John Robert Brucato, Laetitia Cesari, Gisela Detrell, Ondřej Ditrych, Teresa Fornaro, Barbara Gonçalves, Christoph Gross, Maria Hedlund, Mahulena Hofmann, Alexandros Krassakis, Natuschka M. Lee, Kirsi Lehto, Andrea Meneghin, Lena Noack, Patrick Rückert, Nikola Schmidt, Stefan Selke, Mikko Tikkanen, Morten Tønnessen & Kirsten Tracht 2024. Towards Permanent Settlements on Mars (from 1000 to 100,000 People). Pp. 253–339 (chapter 8) in Cyprien Verseux, Muriel Gargaud, Kirsi Lehto & Michel Viso (eds.), Mars and the Earthlings. A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement (Space and Society). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-66881-4_8  

— Francois Forget, Perrine Barthomeuf, Oskari Sivula, Caroline Freissinet, Natuschka M. Lee, Nicolas Mangold, Erik Persson & Morten Tønnessen 2024. Mars as a Planet B? Pp. 341–366 (chapter 9) in Cyprien Verseux, Muriel Gargaud, Kirsi Lehto & Michel Viso (eds.), Mars and the Earthlings. A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement (Space and Society). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-66881-4_9  

— Mikko Puumala, Oskari Sivula, Jacques Arnould, Klara-Anna Capova, Ondřej Ditrych, David Dunér, Natuschka M. Lee, Tony Milligan, Erik Persson, Nikola Schmidt & Morten Tønnessen 2024. Mars Historical and Ethical Context: Past, Present, and Imagination. Pp. 85–98 (chapter 4) in Cyprien Verseux, Muriel Gargaud, Kirsi Lehto & Michel Viso (eds.), Mars and the Earthlings. A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement (Space and Society). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-66881-4_4 

Peer review done for Humanities and Social Sciences Communications

I recently did a peer review for Humanities and Social Sciences Communications.

#11

Today I have had half a book writing day, with some 450 words written on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Spring I have had 10,5 writing days, including 8,5 book writing days.

#10,5; Spring 2025 prioritized writing plan finished

Today I have had half an article writing day, with some work done relating to a prospective translation of my agent/agency review article, and some 200 words added altogether to my so-called UNDP letter and "Wasted GDP in major economies". I also finished planning article writing days for the rest of the semester (May and June).

Altogether this semester I plan 51 book writing days and 17,5 article writing days, i.e., totally 68,5 writing days (in comparison I planned 47,5 writing days in Spring 2024, and completed about as many, whereas I planned 57 writing days in Spring 2023, and completed 52,5). The main priority this Spring is finishing my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement.

So far this Spring I have had 10,5 writing days including 2,5 article writing days.

Consultative statement on Norway´s oil fund´s investments in food production; working group headed by me

In October last Autumn, Norway´s Council for animal ethics, of which I am a member, published the consultative statement "Uttalelse vedrørende oljefondets investeringer i internasjonal matproduksjon" (Statement regarding the Norwegian Petroleum Fund's investments in international food production), a 27 pp. document written by me, Espen Gamlund, Eli Berge Ness and Rudi Ripman Seim, and discussed and approved by the council. I led the working group that was tasked with drafting the statement. The formal name of the Norwegian "oil fund" is Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG). The fund is the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world.

Chronicle on pension fund GPFG and animal welfare published in Nationen

The chronicle "Støtter pensjonspengene våre dårlig dyrevelferd?" (Do our pension funds support poor animal welfare?), which I co-wrote with Knut Egil Bøe, Cecilie Mejdell, Espen Gamlund, Eli Berge Ness and Rudi Ripman Seim, was published in the Norwegian daily newspaper Nationen online January 2nd and in print January 3rd. We are all involved in Norway´s Council for animal ethics, and the chronicle disseminates main observations from the council´s consultative statement on the Norwegian "oil fund", formally called Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), and its investments in food production internationally.

#10

Today I have had half a book writing day, with some 700 words written on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Spring I have had 10 writing days, including 8 book writing days.

#9,5

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 800 words written on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement, and an interview conducted. So far this Spring I have had 9,5 writing days, including 7,5 book writing days. By now this month I have written more than 6.000 words on Captured.

First lecture given in environmental psychology course

Today I have given a lecture in environmental psychology as part of University of Stavanger´s master in psychology, on the topic climate crisis and psychology.

Master in philosophy - oral exam

Today I have taken part as an external examiner in the oral defence of a master thesis in philosophy at University of Oslo, via Zoom.

#8,5

Today I have had half an article writing day, devoted to a work meeting relating to an article on democracy I am co-writing, as well as publication info on the book Mars and the Earthlings: A realistic view on exploration and settlement of Mars, and planning of article writing days in the next few months. So far this Spring I have had 8,5 writing days including 2 article writing days.

#8

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 1.000 words written on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Spring I have had 8 writing days, including 6,5 book writing days. 

Listed as co-author of article "Cultural religiosity moderates the relationship between being in love and subjective well-being"

I have been listed as a co-author of the article manuscript "Cultural religiosity moderates the relationship between being in love and subjective well-being" (Mateusz Olechowski et al.), which has been submitted to International Journal of Intercultural Relations, based on my involvement in data gathering in the "Live better" research consortium.

#7

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 900 words written on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. I also assessed how much I have written on each of the 12 chapters by now, and "where" I should focus on writing going forward. 

So far this Spring I have had 7 writing days, including 5,5 book writing days. By now in January, I have written more on the book in terms of words written than in any single month in Autumn 2024, but I still have to write considerably more by the end of this month.

#6

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 450 words written on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. So far this Spring I have had 6 writing days, including 4,5 book writing days.

#5

Today I have had half an article writing day, mostly devoted to going through parts of recent "Live better" articles, and registration of some 2024 scientific publications in the Current Research Information System in Norway (CRIStin). Marginally, I also added a reference to my "UNDP Letter". So far this Spring I have had 5 writing days including 1,5 article writing days.

Listed as co-author of "Towards a Fulfilling Life" article

I have been listed as a co-author of the article manuscript "Towards a Fulfilling Life: The Role of Low Negative Societal Emotional Environments in Living the Happy and Meaningful Life", which is about to be submitted, based on my involvement in data gathering in the "Live better" research consortium.

Abstract for NASS XIV: "Ecological semiotics, lifeworld perspectives, and sustainability"

I have just composed and submitted the abstract below to organizers of The 14th conference of the Nordic Association for Semiotic Studies along with the 15th Annual Lotman Days, which has the theme “Creativity – Complexity – Intelligence“ and is held in Tallinn, Estonia, June 11–13, 2025.

***

"Ecological semiotics, lifeworld perspectives, and sustainability"

Abstract

Morten Tønnessen 

Drawing on my recently published encyclopedia chapter “Ecological semiotics” (Tønnessen 2024), in this presentation I outline how ecological complexity is underpinned by sign use and sign systems. Ecological semiotics, or ecosemiotics, can be understood as the study of sign use by organisms in an ecological context. In ecology, semiotic phenomena and sign processes occur at different levels of biological organization, and distinctive kinds of sign use is characteristic of different kinds of interspecies interaction. Ecosemiotic studies help to explain how ecological complexity can be understood in semiotic terms, and how sentient organisms interpret their environment and make choices that are informed by their sign use. I will present the basic theoretical outlook of ecological semiotics with an emphasis on lifeworld perspectives, particularly represented by the Umwelt theory of Jakob von Uexküll (2010). This implies relating ecosemiotics to phenomenology, subjectivity and agency. In a more rudimentary sense, even plants, fungi and microorganisms have agency which can be framed in semiotic terms. In my work, I stress the relevance of a semiotic approach for human ecology and contemporary discussions concerning environmental sustainability. 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, a semiotic approach to environmental issues can be informative with regard to understanding how human behaviour 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.

REFERENCES 

Tønnessen, Morten 2024. “Ecological semiotics”. Chapter. Encyclopedia of Ecology (3rd edition) (Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-21964-1.00018-5.  

von Uexküll, Jacob 2010. A foray into the worlds of animals and humans with A theory of meaning. O’Neil, J. D. (transl.). Minneapolis, London: University of Minnesota Press.

Lecture on publication ethics etc. given in psychology bachelor thesis course

Today I gave a lecture in the bachelor thesis course (BPSBAC) in the bachelor in psychology at University of Stavanger´s Department of social studies, covering selected topics in applied ethics, focused on publication ethics and, secondarily, privacy issues etc. related to involvement of participants in student projects.

Google Scholar: Profile updated; 25 texts added to profile; 1300+ citations all-time

I was prompted to update my Google scholar profile, and have revised keywords there plus gone through a number of publications that were not listed on my profile, adding 25 of my texts. 161 texts are now listed on my profile (+25 since December 31st).

My keywords or "areas of interest" now read: biosemiotics, ethics, phenomenology, economics and welfare, astrobiology

Largely due to the updated list of publications, my citation count has increased. My research has now attracted 1.303 citations (+52 since December 31st), including 96 from 2016 (+4), 92 from 2020 (+2), 155 from 2021 (+6), 192 from 2022 (+3), 179 from 2023 (+8) and 187 (+8) from 2024. 811 of the citations are since 2020. My h-index remains 20 and my i10-index 38.

As for my Google Scholar history, on Google´s count I passed 1.000 citations in December 2023, 1.100 citations in April 2024 and 1.200 citations in September 2024. For a detailed history further back (100-1000 citations, achieved 2016-2023), see my 2023 blog post "Google Scholar: 1000 citations; updated Google Scholar history".

#4,5

Today I have had an article writing day, with some 350 words written, mainly on a revised version of my "UNDP Letter" which is now to be expanded into an full research article. I also did a little work on my article "Wasted GDP in major economies" and a few other article projects. So far this Spring I have had 4,5 writing days including 1 article writing day.

#3,5

Today I have had a book writing day, #3,5 this Spring, with some 1.100 words written on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. I have now written more than 25.000 words or about a third of the manuscript.

#2,5

Today I have had a book writing day, #2,5 this Spring, with some 550 words written on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement.

Blog stats 2024: 10.000+ visits

In 2024, my English language blog Utopian Realism and my Norwegian blog Utopisk Realisme had 6.665 and 4.071 page loads respectively and 10.736 altogether. For both blogs this is the highest for several years - though not an all-time high. Visits to Utopian Realism almost doubled from 2023, whereas visits to Utopisk Realisme increased more than 5-fold (although I don´t post much in that blog anymore). All-time accummulated number of page loads is at about 50.000 for each of the blogs and 104.520 page loads altogether.

The vast majority of the 10.669 unique visitors (6.609 for Utopian Realism and 4.060 for Utopisk Realisme) were First time visitors.

#1,5

Today I have had half a book writing day, #1,5 this Spring, with some 300 words written on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement.

#1

Today I have had the first writing day of 2025, a book writing day devoted to my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement, with some 900 words written.

Academic readings 2024; most read authors

In 2024 I have logged that I have read some 6172,5 pages of academic texts. This is quite a bit more than the 4546 pages I logged in 2023, and a good step towards earlier highs. Apart from students I supervise at ph.d., MA or BA level, the authors I read the most of included Jakob von Uexkülll, Jason Hickel, Dag Hessen, Philip Goff, Alice Crary and Lori Gruen.

2024: Shortest work year in living memory, at "only" 138% of normal work year

I have just summed up my work year in 2024 based on my log of working hours. 2024 stands out as the shortest work year in living memory (with my work log going back to 2009), with an average work week of 44,7 hours all weeks in the year included. This amounts to 2335,5 work hours, which compares to 138% of an ordinary work year. I worked 180 hours less than in 2023, which was at that point my shortest work year in living memory. This has contributed to a better work/life balance, with more time for karate training and relaxation; since the summer of 2024 I have also taken up daily meditation. And I still got quite a bit done in my working hours - though I got to attend fewer international scientific conferences in person than I´ve been used to, due to budget cuts at University of Stavanger.

Even though it went down from 2023, the share of my work time I spent on research in 2024 was the second-highest in living memory (after 2023). Similarly, the share of my work time I spent on research plus book projects was the second-highest ever, after 2023. Research was the largest category in terms of work hours in 30 weeks, vs. 17 for teaching, supervision and grading etc., and 6 for book projects. Book projects was the category whose share of all work hours increased the most from 2023, in result of my prioritisation of getting Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement finished by Summer 2025.