Bill Vanderburgh

@billvanderburgh

Philosopher by profession (science, evidence, cosmology, religion, Hume). Sailing, photography, poker, & craft beer the rest of the time. #philsky #philsci #hps #separationofchurchandstate williamvanderburgh.com

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Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Dec 26

A lovely moment from my flight on Christmas Day. #sky #sunset #clouds #ocean

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Dec 6

For the #blueskyartshow on Dec. 6. #Sky

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Dec 6

For the #blueskyartshow on Dec. 6. #Sky

Sunset and clouds reflecting symmetrically on a wet beach.

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Dec 3

"Pluribus" and Philosophy, Part Three, by Apple TV's "Pluribus" is a hit in part because it is interesting philosophy. Check out the three posts I've written about it so far. And please subscribe to my Substack! open.substack.com/pub/billvand...

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Nov 27

#philosophy #thanksgiving #evolution #anthropology Check out my Substack when you get tired of your uncle’s stories. substack.com/@billvanderb...

Text summary: Grateful to the band of never more than 1,280 of our ancestors who persisted alone for 117k years so we could be here, 813k years later.

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Nov 20

“The problem with introductory philosophy is that introductory philosophy doesn’t exist.” Happy World Philosophy Day! #philsky #philosophy #worldphilosophyday #phiulosophychat #philosophysky open.substack.com/pub/billvand...

Sunset with crepuscular rays. Title of article being advertised: "On Learning Philosophy for the First Time" from the Substack account Philosophy for Good.

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Sep 21

#superseabirdsaturday #marinelife #birds #wildlifephotography

A brown pelican landing on the Pacific Ocean near San Diego, California, backlit by sunset.

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Sep 16

Take that, all you unsuspecting brains out there. #wildlife #birds #seagulls #illusion #photography

Seagull stands on a cloud above the shore as the sky reflects the beach.

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Jun 28

These are nine of 100+ common dolphins I saw near San Diego a couple of days ago. Look at the cute little one in front! #marinelife #sailinglife #sailing #wildlifephotography

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Jun 27

A common dolphin attempting to fly near San Diego earlier today. #marinelife #ocean #wildlife #photography

A dolphin leaps from the water directly toward the camera.

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Jun 20

Trump’s “Religious Liberty” Commission had its 1st meeting. Those are scare quotes, since it is not trying to promote real religious freedom. The meeting was held at the “Bible History Museum.” Those are SMDH quotes. billvanderburgh.substack.com/p/the-religi...

A cross casts a dark shadow on the American flag.

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· May 25

Reminds me of this.

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· May 14

I’ve been a fan of Moore since Lamb. I’m really looking forward to diving into this as soon as I finish grading for the semester. And surely the cover alone will win awards: gorgeous! #booksky #comedy #books

Cover of Christopher Moore’s new novel, _Anima Rising_.

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· May 5

I'm not going to re-post that ridiculous AI image of DJT as #pope that you've seen already, but I did post a response over on my blog, where I write about #christiannationalism #democracy and #freedomofreligion. I've got about 25 posts up there now. Please check it out and help spread the word.

https://www.thedisunion.com/blog/popeignoramus

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Apr 3

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (Tor, 2023). Wow! One of the very best of 40 the books I've read in the last 6 mo. Highly recommended for anyone who likes #scifi #sf Great characters, action, multiple worlds, plus sophisticated antifascism! #booksky @torbooks.bsky.social @emilytesh.net

Cover of the science fiction novel Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh.

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Mar 9

It seems too much hassle to divide this into a series of posts, so I'll just post it as an image, and maybe I'll put it on my blog, too. #christiannationalism #philosophy #politicalphilosophy #sociologyofreligion #separationofchurchandstate

Text of a few thoughts in reaction to the NYT piece about Renn and "negative world."

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Feb 14

Tell me you live in California without telling me you live in California.... We had a rain storm, and my university published this.

Screen capture of an email from a university risk management office about how to stay safe in the rain.

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Feb 4

The Cal State University system (23 campuses, 450k students) is becoming “an AI powered university.” Unclear what it means besides license for ChatGPT. Also: WHO WANTS THIS? Most professors are fighting vs AI; now we’re officially endorsing it? #calstate #ai #ChatGPT #university #philsky

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Jan 29

The U.S. needs to have a conversation about government & religion. The Constitution demands church/state separation, but why *should* folks want that, whether they are religious or not? #freedomofreligion #endchristiannationalism #philosophy #publicphilosophy www.thedisunion.com/blog/governm...

Image of a blog post titled, "Governments and Religious Freedom."

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Jan 24

Policies inspired by #project2025 #ChristianNationalism are flying thick & fast. We're up against a well-funded, well-organized campaign to undercut democracy by imposing extremist ideology. #philosophy has a role here: defending freedom of belief. #philsky www.thedisunion.com/blog/strange...

Image of a webpage. Blog post entitled Strange and Dangerous: How to Stop the Wave of Christian Nationalism. Link here: https://www.thedisunion.com/blog/strange-and-dangerous-how-to-stop-christian-nationalism

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Nov 16

Why do I do this to myself? Leslie 1989…multiple worlds, design arguments, fine-tuning #whatiamreading #books #philsky #astronomy #cosmology #philsci #philosophyofreligion

Cover of John Leslie, 1989, Universes. Routledge.

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Nov 16

Bottom right for me

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Nov 15

What I am #reading. #philsky #multipleworlds

Image of the cover of David Lewis’s book, 1986 On the Plurality of Worlds.

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Nov 6

Stop worrying for a millisecond. Post a bird. 🪶 Brown pelican enjoying a feast.

A pelican, wings pumping, beak full of small fish, rises from the ocean surface.

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Oct 31

Finished this today. A very wide-ranging look at issues that come up in poker that apply to/have insights for (or from) real life. Lots of good sci comm. Should appeal even to non-poker-players who are interested in reasoning under uncertainty, reasoning about risk, etc. #books #poker #scicomm

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Jun 4

A small common dolphin riding the bow wave of my sailboat about 15 miles off of San Diego. #marinelife #wildlifephotography

A common dolphin surfacing for a breath.

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Apr 29

Here's a fin whale I saw about a week ago off San Diego! #marinelife #wildlifephotography

A fin whale surfaces for a breath with the Point Loma lighthouse and the tallship America in the distance.

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Mar 15

Here's one from a couple of summers ago! A blue whale with the San Diego skyline just visible in the background. #whaletales

Blue whale tail, with San Diego in the distance.

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Feb 18

I call it "rainblow." (A migrating gray whale from two days ago near San Diego.) Happy World Whale Day. #marinelife #whales #rainbow

A gray whale spout that caught the light just right and looks like a rainbow.

Bill Vanderburgh@billvanderburgh· Feb 10

A recent sunset in San Diego. #photography #naturephotography #sunsetphotography