Philosophy business 2024

Today I have summarized the financial report of my one person company (enkeltpersonforetak) "Spør Filosofen Tønnessen" for 2024. I had 7 NOK in income and 4.351 NOK in expenses, resulting in a negative result of 4.344 NOK. Over a 5-year period, the company has a margin of (in terms of positive result as a share of income) of 32%.

Fourth and final Wonderful World event 2025 attended on stage, on ecocentric democracy

Today, on the fourth and final day of the philosophy and science festival "Wonderful World - den nordiske festivalen for filosofi og vitenskap" (Stavanger, Norway May 28-31st), I took part in my fourth event this time around, «Kan Norge bli et økosentrisk demokrati?» (Can Norway become an ecocentric democracy?). I was part of a discussion panel that also included Andrew P. Kroglund, who recently published abook on "Ecotopia", and fellow philosopher Hedda Hassel Mørch. The event was chaired by journalist Ingvild Paulsen, and attended by about 70 people. 

Over these four days, I have reached a total audience of about 335 people. Moreover, I have attended about 3-4 events each day.

Two Wonderful World events attended on stage, on Mars exploration and personhood

Today I have taken part in two events at the Wonderful World festival which is being held May 28-31st in Stavanger, Norway.

First, I took part in the panel discussion «Kom Mars du skjønne milde», on exploration of and travel to Mars, with Brage W. Johansen and UIS colleague Alex Nielsen. The event was chaired by Johanne Pontoppidan Tuxen, and attended by about 45 people.

Then somewhat later I took part in the event «Er alle egentlig bare én person?» (Are everybody really the same person?), which featured an introduction by Hedda Hassel Mørch, and a discussion between her, me and Terje Sparby. The event was chaired by Jostein Gjertsen, and attended by about 70 people.

#60; record May totals

Today I have had half a book writing day, with some 500 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 60 writing days, including 52,5 book writing days.

In May, I had 17,5 writing days, all devoted to this book manuscript (a record), and logged 16.832 words written (also a record, at least in living memory).

#59,5 - extended due date for Captured

Over the two last days I have had what ended up as half a book writing day altogether (initially I planned half a writing day each of the days), with some 100 words written on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. Importantly, I concluded, during a sleepless night, that I would not be able to finish the full draft manuscript this week, but will need the next month to complete the writing. Over these two days I have communicated to the publisher that I will only be able to finish the manuscript and related materials by June 30th (versus June 1st as contracted), due to three rounds of hospitalization and sick leave over the last six months, although 90% of the text has been written. I have further reworked and made room for my writing plans for June, and rearranged some of my holiday plans for this summer. 

So far this Spring I have had 59,5 writing days, including 52 book writing days.

Comments given after John Ellis´ lecture at Wonderful World festival on Theory about everything

Yesterday evening I took part as a commentator in the event «Teorien om alt – fysikkens hellige gral?» (The theory about everything - the holy grail of physics?), following John Ellis´ lecture on the subject. The event was part of the Wonderful World festival, a science and philosophy festival being held in Stavanger, Norway, May 28-31st (third year), and was well attended, with about 150 people in the room. UIS colleague Anders Tranberg also served as commentator, while UIS colleague Eero Aleksi Kurkela chaired the event.

Screenshot from Wonderful World.

"Semiotic agency" book now my most cited text

On Google Scholar´s count, the book Semiotic agency: Science beyond mechanism (official publication year 2021, but appeared only in 2022), which I co-wrote with Alexei Sharov, has now overtaken "Umwelt transitions: Uexküll and environmental change" (published 2009 as the key article in my ph.d. work) as my most cited research publication (with 102 vs. 101 citations overall, and 10 vs. 2 so far this year).

See my profile in Google Scholar.

Ecological semiotics paper scheduled for presentation June 12th in Tallinn at NASS XIV

My paper «Ecological semiotics, lifeworld perspectives, and sustainability» has been scheduled for presentation On Thursday June 13th at around 14.30-15.00, in the preliminary program of The 14th conference of the Nordic Association for Semiotic Studies along with the 15th Annual Lotman Days, “Creativity – Complexity – Intelligence“ (NASS XIV), which is to take place at Tallin University, Tallinn, Estonia, June 11–13, 2025. My paper will be part of the session «Complexity in Ecological Thought» (involving four papers by skilled biosemioticians).

Popular science article on life on Mars published in astronomy magazine

My popular science article "Livet på Mars" (Life on Mars) has been published in the magazine Astronomi, which is published by Norsk Astronomisk Selskap (Norwegian Astronomical Society), in no. 2, 2025 (5 pages).

Moreover, our book Mars and the Earthlings: A realistic view on Mars exploration and settlement is highlighted in a section with book recommendations.

#59

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. So far this Spring I have had 59 writing days, including 51,5 book writing days.

I have logged more than 16.000 words written so far this month.

By now in 2025, I have written in excess of 50.000 words.

Næss and economics paper scheduled for presentation July 25th at ISQOLS 2025 (Luxembourg)

The paper "What deep ecologist Arne Næss can teach us about the interdisciplinary nature of economics", submitted on behalf of Jan Karlstrøm, Thomas Hylland Eriksen and myself, has been scheduled for presentation (by me) at the 2025 conference of the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies  (ISQOLS 2025), which is held in Luxembourg July 22-25th. The paper will be presented on Friday July 25th at 14.14-14.36 as part of the session 21A, "Special Session on Legitimate Public Policies: Promoting Well-being and Ecological Sustainability".

Letter to the editor in SA on CCS

Today a letter to the editor I have written titled "Fanget av tidsånden" (about Carbon Capture and Storage) is published in the paper version of Stavanger Aftenblad, in response to a chronicle titled "Stavanger-regionen kan ta en lederrolle i karbonfangst" which was published a few days ago. My letter to the editor was published online yesterday.

Mentioned in two UIS news story articles on the Wonderful World festival

I am mentioned among the University of Stavanger´s participants on stage at the Wonderful World festival, a science and philosophy festval that is held for the third time this week, May 28th to 31st (Wednesday to Saturday). On the university´s open webpage the news story/event page is titled "Wonderful World", on the university intranet it is titled "Rabatt på dagspass for UiS-ansatte på Wonderful World". The article is written by Karen Anne Okstad.

I am in the program council for the festival, and will take part on stage in four events this week.

#58

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 58 writing days, including 50,5 book writing days.

By now I have written more than 70.000 words on my monograph.

#57

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 57 writing days, including 49,5 book writing days.

#56,5

Today I have had 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 56,5 writing days, including 49 book writing days.

#55,5

Today I have had half a book writing day, with some 300 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 55,5 writing days, including 48 book writing days.

By now in May I have written more than any other month in recent memory (at the very least since 2019, which is what my records in this context go back to).

#55

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 600 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 55 writing days, including 47,5 book writing days.

Update on Wonderful world festival: 4th event scheduled with John Ellis; Mars event update

On Wednesday May 28th I have been scheduled to comment on a lecture by John Ellis on "The theory of everything - the holy grail of physics?" (Teorien om alt fysikkens hellige gral?) at the Wonderful world festival, which is held in Stavannger May 28-31st.

The Mars event on May 30th now has a new poster, featuring a certain Elon Musk.

#54

Today I have had half a book writing day, with some 600 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 54 writing days, including 46,5 book writing days.

Interest signalled for being Ombudsmann for scientific integrity; deemed qualified but not chosen

Some time back, I expressed interest in being the University of Stavanger´s new Ombudsman for scientific integrity (in Norwegian: Vitenskapsombud), after professor Geir Skeie. Last week I was in for an interview. Although I was considered qualified, I was not chosen for the function.

#53,5

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 1.100 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 53,5 writing days, including 46 book writing days.

#52,5

Today I have had half a book writing day, with some 750 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 52,5 writing days, including 45 book writing days.

#52

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 52 writing days, including 44,5 book writing days.

By now in May I have written in excess of 10.000 words on my monograph.

#51,5

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 1.100 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 51,5 writing days, including 44 book writing days.

Google Scholar: 100+ texts cited; 13 new citations

According to my Google scholar profile, my research has to date attracted 1.375 citations (+13 since April 7th). This includes 39 citations so far in 2025 (+12 since April 7th). My h-index remains 20, while my i10-index is now 41.

102 of my texts listed by Google scholar have now been cited (95 of them 2 times or more, 80 of them 3 times or more). Altogether 170 texts are listed.

#50,5

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 1.300 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 50,5 writing days, including 43 book writing days.

By now in 2025 I have logget 42.825 words written, which is more than what I logged in 2021, when i wrote 41.178 words, and in 2019, when I wrote 42.112 words (as well as in 2022 and 2023). Only 2020, with its 84.739 words, and 2024 (51.879 words) now stands out as more productive than the current year in terms of words written on scientific texts.

This was one of my five most productive writing days so far this year. Also, May is by now my second-most productive month so far this year.

#49,5

Today I have had half a book writing day, with some 600 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 49,5 writing days, including 42 book writing days.

3 hours of condensed teaching in environmental psychology master course

Today I have given two one-hour lectures and a one-hour seminar digitally in the environmental psychology master course (MPS180) that is part of University of Stavanger´s master degree in psychology. The lectures (which were originally scheduled as two hours each) and seminar was earlier cancelled due to sickness. The topics were ecological psychology with emphasis on affordances, and lifeworld perspectives on human and animal perception and behaviour.

This concludes my teaching this Spring term.

#49

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 1.500 words written on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. This is my second-most productive writing day this year so far in terms of number of words written.

So far this Spring I have had 49 writing days, including 41,5 book writing days. So far this year I have written in excess of 40.000 words, mostly on my monograph.

#48

Today I have had an extra half book writing day, with some 800 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 48 writing days, including 40,5 book writing days.

By now I have written in excess of 60.000 words on my monograph, with more than 5.000 words written in May to date.

#47,5

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 1.050 words written on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. I went through, sorted and archived plenty of my task notes for the monograph. I also scheduled a few more book writing days this month, with no time left now for article writing days in May as I am finishing the manuscript of my monograph.

So far this Spring I have had 47,5 writing days, including 40 book writing days.

Bachelor thesis supervision finished

Yesterday I finished my bachelor thesis supervision in this round, with three supervision sessions ahead of the submission deadline next week. I have been supervising 4 bachelor students in social work this semester (one more was assigned but never got in contact with me).

#46,5

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 100 words written on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. I took stock of the writing progress by chapter in numerical terms (words written by chapter over the last couple of months, and the number of planned subsections initiated/partially drafted). By now I have initiated most subsections (74 of 78 subsections, to be precise), and four chapters now have a decent length while none are extremely short (though many are still too short).

So far this Spring I have had 46,5 writing days, including 39 book writing days.

Workshop invitation

Some time ago I was invited to take part in a high-level workshop on the theme "Making Meaning in Biology: From the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis to Biosemiotics”, which is to be hosted by the Lorentz Center, in Leiden, The Netherlands, 18–22 August, 2025. Due to a lack of funding I will not be able to go.

#46 - and more written so far this year than in all of 2023

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 1.400 words written on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement, as I was finishing inscribing and placing the remaining references I have selected (total count now stands at 502 sources). So far this Spring I have had 46 writing days, including 38,5 book writing days.

In terms of words written in one day, this is my second-most productive day in 2025 so far.

By now in 2024, in a little more than 4 months, I have logged more words written than in 2023, when I logged 35.417 words written on scientific texts.

Mars event renamed and rescheduled (Wonderful world festival)

The Wonderful World festival event on Mars was previously called "Mars og jordboerne" (Mars and the earthlings) and scheduled for Saturday May 31st. It has been renamed "Kom Mars du skjønne milde" (a wordplay on a Norwegian saying about May) and is now scheduled for Friday May 30th. I will take part along with Brage W. Johansen and UIS colleague Alex Nielsen.

#45

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 550 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 45 writing days, including 37,5 book writing days.

#44,5

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 44,5 writing days, including 37 book writing days.

#44

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 150 words written on my scientific monograph Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement. More importantly, after 2-3 weeks work (spread out on 10 half or full writing days), I finally finished going through the hundreds of articles and other texts I have downloaded as possible references and checking whether they are already used or placed in the manuscript. In the process I have added more then 80 references, with 60 something remaining and the current count in the manuscript standing at 438 references.

So far this Spring I have had 44 writing days, including 36,5 book writing days.

#43

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 43 writing days, including 35,5 book writing days.