Sixth Ex.phil. lecture

Today I have given the sixth lecture this semester in Ex.phil. at the University of Stavanger´s Department of psychology (SVEXPHIL-IP) for bachelor and one-year students in psychology. The topic was political philosophy, specifically different conceptions of political justice.

Study program meeting attended

Today I attended the biannual study program meeting related to University of Stavanger´s master in social studies.

#25

Today I have had half a book writing day devoted to my book Carbon Capture and the Future of Environmentalism, which is forthcoming with Bloomsbury Academic. I approved of the press proof (cover and back cover as well as the spine, of which the latter two were new). Moreover, I finished going through and responding to the second page proofs (or revised page proofs), which is organised by Integra.

This brings the number of writing days this Autumn up to 25 including 16 book writing days.

#24,5

Today I have had half an article writing day, with work done on the wolf socialization article I co-write with Laura Kiiroja. I also went through correspondence related to "Live better" articles. This brings the number of writing days this Autumn up to 24,5 including 9 article writing days.

Letter to the editor on philosophy and animals published in Nationen in September

On September forth my letter to the editor "Må ikke være filosof for å forstå at dyr lider" (literally: Don´t have to be a philosopher to understand that animals suffer) was published in the Norwegian daily Nationen.

Link to "Contradictionary - an almanac of resistance" online (Open Access)

The book Contradictionary - an almanac of resistance - is available for reading and download (Open Access) here. The book, which was edited by Bernd Herzogenrath and Nicol A. Barria-Asenjo and is published by Open Humanities Press, includes two entries written by me, namely "Environmental quality" and "Pollution". The concept of the book is that it lists and explains terms that have been "banned" (or rather black-listed) by the Trump administration in a research context.

Beyond GDP input given to UN via Spanish government; now available on UN´s Beyond GDP webpage

In late August I sumbitted input to the "Beyond GDP" initiative in the UN system, which was coordinated by the government of Spain. My written input (2 pages), titled "Beyond GDP input", is now available at the UN´s Beyond GDP page under "Documents and reports" - see "Download Non-Member States ZIP file" and locate the file "Morten Tønnessen_Beyond GDP Input" there.

Job interviews attendance; committee work

About a month ago I took part in job interviews with two candidates for a ph.d. position in social work at University of Stavanger´s Department of social studies. I was part of the evaluation committee and also contributed to the committee´s assessment report.

#24

Today I have had a book writing day, with work done on the second page proofs (or revised page proofs) of my forthcoming book with Bloomsbury Academic, Carbon Capture and the Future of Environmentalism, which I received today. Moreover, I also pondered upon a possible publication venue for my book project Being and Sign. This brings the number of writing days this Autumn up to 24 including 15,5 book writing days.

#23

Today I have had half an article writing day, with work done related to planning and rescheduling of writing days, and an interview Federico Comollo conducted with Michael Marder and me. This brings the number of writing days this Autumn up to 23 including 8,5 article writing days.

Scheduled to take part in Kåkånomics event on the (lacking) ethics of Norway´s oil fund

I am scheduled to take part in an event during Kåkånomics, which is held in Stavanger October 21st to 24th, titled «Oljefondet og etikken som forsvant» (which translates directly as "The oil fund and the ethics that disappeared"). At the event, which takes place on Friday October 23rd, I will comment on a presentation given by Cecilie Hellestveit, and discuss the topic with her. The event takes place at Norsk Oljemuseum, Stavanger. 

#22,5

Today I have had half an article writing day, with work done related to an invited (although competitive) chapter contribution related to transecology which I am considering, and an interview Federico Comollo conducted with Michael Marder and me. I also did a little planning. This brings the number of writing days this Autumn up to 22,5 including 8 article writing days.

Seminar given in Theory of science MA course; attendance

Today I have given a one-hour seminar in the master course Theory of science (MSO120), which is offered by the University of Stavanger´s Department of social studies. The topics were pragmatism (applied to the Cornell University rape case) and Lakatos´ notion of research programs (applied to social studies). 6 students attended. I also attended the preceding three hours of lectures.

#22

Today I have had half an article writing day, with work done revising my article "Prolegomena to lifeworld-oriented studies of contested climate pasts and futures" which has been submitted to Journal of Cognitive Historiography. In the process I added some 150 words to the manuscript. This brings the number of writing days this Autumn up to 22 including 7,5 article writing days.

See also:

Book review "A primer on interspecies translation and animal welfare" published in Biosemiotics

Book review "A primer on interspecies translation and animal welfare" published in Biosemiotics

A book review I have written has just been published in Biosemiotics. 

Reference:

Tønnessen, Morten 2026. A primer on interspecies translation and animal welfare. Book review of Xany Jansen van Vuuren, Interpreting, communication and animal welfare. An ecosemiotic analysis of interspecies translation, De Gruyter Mouton 2025. Biosemiotics. Published online October 9th 2026. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12304-026-09668-8 

Radio interview on AI and animals aired September 9th

On September 9th a radio interview featuring me and two others, titled «Vil KI lære oss å snakke med dyr?» (Will AI teach us to talk to animals?), aired on the program "Lokalen" on NRK Rogaland. The journalist was Ingvill Bjorland.

Chronicle published in Dyrenes forsvarer

My chronicle (or guest commentary) "Dyr i øst og vest" (Animals in east and west) was recently published in Dyrebeskyttelsen´s magazine Dyrenes forsvarer no. 3, 2026.

NASS XV to be held June 16-18th, 2027 in Kristianstad, Sweden

It has now been made public that the 15th conference of the Nordic Association for Semiotic Studies (NASS XV), which will be organized in Kristianstad, Sweden, will be held June 16-18th 2027.

#21,5

Today I have had half an article writing day, with work done in relation to the interview that Federico Comollo has conducted with Michael Marder and me, and proof-reading conducted for my book review of Xany Jansen van Vuuren´s book Interpreting, communication and animal welfare. An ecosemiotic analysis of interspecies translation, titled "A primer on interspecies translation and animal welfare", which is forthcoming in Biosemiotics. This brings the number of writing days this Autumn up to 21,5 including 7 article writing days.

#21

Today I have had an article writing day, with work done in relation to the article "Kan velferd og miljø måles i forlengelsen av BNP?" (literally: Can welfare and environment be measured as an extension of GDP?) which I have co-written with Jan Karlstrøm and which is currently under consideration in Samfunn og økonomi. In the process I added some 200 words to the manuscript. Moreover, I did some work related to an interview that Federico Comollo has conducted with Michael Marder and me.

This brings the number of writing days this Autumn up to 21 including 6,5 article writing days.

Book review accepted for publication

I have been notified, today, that my book review of Xany Jansen van Vuuren´s book Interpreting, communication and animal welfare. An ecosemiotic analysis of interspecies translation, has been accepted for publication by Biosemiotics.

Preliminary reference:

— Tønnessen, Morten, forthcoming. A primer on interspecies translation and animal welfare. Book review of Xany Jansen van Vuuren, Interpreting, communication and animal welfare. An ecosemiotic analysis of interspecies translation, De Gruyter Mouton 2025. Biosemiotics.

#20

Today I have had an article writing day, with some 650 words added to my book review of Interpreting, Communication and Animal Welfare by Xany Jansen van Vuuren for Biosemiotics, during revisions requested by the journal. In the process I changed the title of the book review from "A primer on ecosemiotics and animal welfare" to "A primer on interspecies translation and animal welfare", and resubmitted.

This brings the number of writing days this Autumn up to 20 including 5,5 article writing days. This was the first article writing day for more than a month (the last was in late August).