UTOPISM. *** In the long run, nothing else is realistic. *** Welcome to the English language blog of Morten Tønnessen, Professor of philosophy at University of Stavanger's Department of Social Studies.
On Tuesday this week (October 27th) I was interviewed by the Norwegian TV channel TVL, on why we treat different animals differently (such as eating some but not others). The interview, which was conducted (online) by journalists Vemund Sødal and Hanna Pettersen and lasted 7-8 minutes, aired the same evening, in the programme TVL magasinet (subscription required).
Today I was interviewed (online) by TVL about how we treat animals. The interview will air tonight around 8 p.m. in the programme TVL-magasinet. The journalists interviewing me were Vemund Sødal and Hanna Pettersen.
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.
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.
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.
My popular science chronicle on life on and in Earth which was published in Forskersonen at forskning.no yesterday (see yesterday´s post) has done quite well online, with close to 500 likes and 50 shares on Facebook. It also appears to be the third most read text right now in Forskersonen (though not at forskning.no generally).
Today a chronicle of mine, titled «Vi har et ansvar for livet vi ikke ser» (literally, We have responsibility for the life we don´t see), was published in Forskersonen at forskning.no.
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.
Today I was interviewed on NRK P2´s radio program Ekko, along with Andreas Haga, with Rikke Eckoff as program manager, on why we treat animals so differently. I was presented as Professor of philosophy at University of Stavanger, and a member of Norway´s Council for animal ethics. The section, which was recorded live, lasts for some 20 minutes.
Today the chronicle "Burde vi behandle skadedyr bedre?", written by me and Knut Bøe on behalf of Norway´s Council for animal ethics, has been published online in the Norwegian national daily newspaper Nationen. The chronicle is based on a recent consultative statement that I co-authored.
