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.

Book launch event for "Philsophising with Rocks. Henrik Steffens and the Anthropocene" in Stavanger June 10th

On Wednesday June 10th at 18 o'clock, I will take part in a book launch event which takes place at Stavanger Antikvariat, downtown Stavanger. The book Philsophising with Rocks. Henrik Steffens and the Anthropocene appeared earlier this Spring, and includes my chapter "Steffens’ early outlook reconsidered-Nature conceptions of the industrial-age Anthropocene".

At the book launch event, Jørg Arne Jørgensen (KåKå) will chair a conversation about the book with Benedikt Jager (editor), me, Morten Tønnessen (contributor) and Terje Torkildsen who has had a central role in highlighting the work of Steffens locally.

If you read this before the event takes place you can also check out the registration link.

At any time, you can check out this link which takes you to a page where you can download the book for free.

Essay on longtermism published in Salongen

Earlier this week, my essay "På sporet av en tapt fremtid" (roughly translating to "In search of a lost future"), which deals with longtermism, was published online in Salongen - nettidsskrift for filosofi og idéhistorie. 

Reference:

— Tønnessen, Morten 2026. På sporet av en tapt fremtid. Essay. Salongen – nettidsskrift for filosofi og idéhistorie (Salongen.no). Published March 9th 2026. URL: https://www.salongen.no/essay/pa-sporet-av-en-tapt-fremtid/262022 

Book review on research methododology now online

My book review "Kritisk realisme for viderekomne samfunnsvitere", which appeared in issue 2, 2025 of Fontene Forskning, is now also available as an online article.

See also:

Book review on critical realism published in Fontene Forskning

"Wasted GDP in the USA" surpasses "The ethics of laying hen genetics" as my most read article, with 17.000 accesses

My article "Wasted GDP in the USA", which was published Autumn 2023, now has 17.000 accesses. This compares to about 14.000 accesses by March this year, and likely makes it my most read article, ahead of "The ethics of laying hen genetics" (2019) which now stands at 16.000 accesses.

See also:

My 10 most read Springer Nature articles; ca. 60.000 accesses in total (March 2025)

Popular science chronicle on life on and in Earth catching on online

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).

Articles featured in new ReFill article "Humans are not alone"

In January, the website ReFill at University of Stavanger published a literature recommendation article titled "Mennesket er ikke alene" (Humans are not alone), written by Alessandro Falcetta and featuring some of my texts in Norwegian on animals and environmental issues.

30.000 reads on ResearchGate

 My research items have reached 30.000 reads on ResearchGate. This is about 3.500 more than 9 months ago, and about 20.000 more than by 2021.

See my Researchgate profile here.

"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.

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.

Article "What Arne Næss can teach us about the interdisciplinary nature of economics" published; mention in editorial

The article Hva Arne Næss kan lære oss om økonomifagets tverrfaglighet (What Arne Næss can teach us about the interdisciplinary nature of economics), which I have co-written with Jan Karlstrøm and Thomas Hylland Eriksen, was published in Norsk Filosofisk Tidsskrift today. 

Reference:

Tønnessen, Morten, Jan Karlstrøm and Thomas Hylland Eriksen 2024. Hva Arne Næss kan lære oss om økonomifagets tverrfaglighet (What Arne Næss can teach us about the interdisciplinary nature of economics). Norsk Filosofisk Tidsskrift 59(1-2), 21–36.

The article is in Norwegian but has an English abstract:

Arne Næss criticized modern economics for its lack of philosophical awareness and interdisciplinarity, suggesting that economists should draw inspiration from the field’s origins in philosophy. Næss’ views on how the economy should be organized and studied are significant, particularly in light of his differentiation between a deep and shallow understanding of environmental issues. In this article, we will review Næss’ critique of economics as an academic discipline and discuss his proposals for transforming our approach to economics, considering both its historical development and the ongoing environmental crisis. Specifically, we will emphasize the importance of philosophy, ecology, and social anthropology as foundational elements for economics. Our primary reference is the Norwegian-language chapter “New tasks for political economy” from Næss’ major work in environmental philosophy, Ecology, Community and Lifestyle. In the article, we deal with Næss’ view on the use of models and the relationship between theory and reality, the fundamental connection between ecology and the economy, what role normative systems thinking can play for economics, and how economics can be informed by economic anthropology. In conclusion, we will reflect on the implications of our analysis of Arne Næss’ economic viewpoints for the future of economics.

Our article is mentioned in the editorial of the same issue, written by Cathrine Victoria Felix and Heine Alexander Holmen.

Excerpts:

Å bedrive akademisk filosofi innebærer å utforske og analysere grunnleggende spørsmål på en systematisk og metodisk måte. Dette inkluderer alt fra å undersøke ulike filosofiske tradisjoner, argumenter og perspektiver, til å utvikle egne teorier og konsepter. Med andre ord: akademisk filosofi er et mangfoldig felt med et bredt spekter av metoder. Vi håper dette nummeret av Norsk filosofisk tidsskrift presenterer dette mangfoldet på en god måte. Nummeret inneholder tre fagartikler som tar for seg så ulike temaer som examen philosophicum, prostitusjon og økonomifaget.

...

Arne Næss kan beskrives som en titan innen norsk filosofi. I artikkelen «Hva Arne Næss kan lære oss om økonomifagets tverrfaglighet» skriver Morten Tønnessen, Jan Karlstrøm og Thomas Hylland Eriksen om Næss’ kritikk av det moderne økonomifaget. I lys av Næss’ kritikk argumenterer forfatterne for viktigheten av å inkludere filosofi, økologi og sosialantropologi som grunnlag for studiet av økonomi. De diskuterer fremtidens økonomifag og reiser spørsmål om modellbruk, forholdet mellom teori og virkelighet og normativ systemtenkning.

Read-only link to "Understanding subjecthood and experience"

My correspondence text "Understanding subjecthood and experience", which clarifies my views in response to Jablonka and Ginsburg, is available for reading (only) here.

My 10 most accessed articles with Springer Nature; ca. 44.000 accesses combined

These are my most accessed articles published by Springer Nature according to info from their editorial system Snapp:

1. The Ethics of Laying Hen Genetics Authors (Mia Fernyhough et al., Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 2019) 12.924

2. Umwelt Transitions: Uexküll and Environmental Change (Biosemiotics, 2009) 5.155

3. Wasted GDP in the USA (Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 2023) 5.144

4. Phenomenology and Biosemiotics (Morten Tønnessen, Timo Maran & Alexei Sharov, Biosemiotics, 2018) 4.648

5. Jesper Hoffmeyer’s Biosemiotic Legacy (Morten Tønnessen, Alexei Sharov & Timo Maran, Biosemiotics, 2019) 3.279

6. Current Human Ecology in the Amazon and beyond: a Multi-Scale Ecosemiotic Approach (Biosemiotics, 2020) 3.041

7. Towards Synthesis of Biology and Semiotics (Alexei Sharov, Timo Maran & Morten Tønnessen, Biosemiotics, 2015) 2.672

8. Biosemiotic Achievement Award for the Year 2020 (Claudio Julio Rodríguez Higuera & Morten Tønnessen, Biosemiotics, 2021) 2.644

9. Comprehending the Semiosis of Evolution (Alexei Sharov, Timo Maran & Morten Tønnessen, Biosemiotics, 2016) 2.546

10. Making the Umwelt Bubble of the Modern Synthesis Burst (Biosemiotics, 2021) 2.131

Combined these 10 articles have been accessed 44.184 times to date. Of these, 26.116 accesses concerns articles published in Biosemiotics.

"Wasted GDP in the USA" close to 5000 reads

My article "Wasted GDP in the USA" now has 4.910 Article accesses. This is up 1.211 since Monday morning and up 1.892 since last Friday. Nice development.

"The ethics of laying hen genetics" with 2.500 reads on ResearchGate

The article "The ethics of laying hen genetics", which I co-wrote and which was published in Journal of agricultural and environmental ethics, has reached 2.500 reads on ResearchGate. It has been read about 13.000 times on the journal´s homepage.

"Wasted GDP in the USA" now read by a few hundred a day; 468 tweeters engaged; in top percentile in Online attention

My article "Wasted GDP in the USA" now has 1.751 Accesses and an Altmetric score of 241. This is up 714 (accesses) and 84 (Altmetric score) in two days, since Saturday. According to the detailed article metrics provided by Altmetric, the article has been linked to by 468 tweeters (up 202 since Saturday). This places it within the top percentile in terms of Online attention both for articles of a similar age in Humanities & Social Sciences Communications (where it is placed #1 of 177 articles), and all similar articles of a similar age (where it is placed #1.699 of 283.597 articles). Tweeters include 30 scientists and 9 science communicators, according to Altmetric.

See also:

"Wasted GDP in the USA" widely shared on Twitter after Jason Hickel tweets; in 1st percentile regarding Online attention (November 11)

"Wasted GDP in the USA" now in RePEc - already in other services

My article "Wasted GDP in the USA", published in Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, is now also available via RePEc (Research Papers in Economics). It was already listed via LibKey, and available in full via UIS Brage, ResearchGate and Academia.edu (be aware that the latter service is a hassle).

Popular science cronichle "A large Gross Domestic Product doesn’t necessarily lead to better lives" published by ScienceNorway

A popular science piece (chronicle) I have written on my article "Wasted GDP in the USA", "A large Gross Domestic Product doesn’t necessarily lead to better lives", has today been published by ScienceNorway.no. The article has been posted on the front-page, in the Researcher´s Zone, and in the thematic segment Society.

Chapter "Nosology and semiotics" available for reading via Google Books

My introductory chapter "Nosology and semiotics" is available in full for reading in Google Books, as part of the book Organ Crosstalk in Acute Kidney Injury: Basic Concepts and Clinical Practices.

#2

Today I have had a writing day, the 2nd this Autumn, with some 250 words added to my book manuscript Captured: The fight for the soul of the environmental movement. For now I am still working on expanding the bibliography and index. I have also worked a little on the accessability of my published works via ResearchGate.

See also:

"Semiotics in Ethology and Zoology" and "The study of past Umwelten" now available via ResearchGate

The 39 most read texts on my ResearchGate profile