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Journal launch: The *Journal of Mathematical Philosophy* aims to publish high-quality research articles in all areas of mathematical philosophy (broadly understood), offering open access at no cost to authors. Submissions of manuscripts are now welcome at: mathematicalphilosophy.org/mathphil

We had a wonderful 2026 Summer School for Widening Participation in Mathematical Philosophy at @lmu.de! Many thanks to the terrific participants from all over the world and to the fantastic lecturers Dunja Šešelja [Bochum], Xueyin (Snow) Zhang [Berkeley], and @sabinaleonelli.bsky.social [@tum.de]!

Newly published: "Even big data does not speak for itself", by Jürgen Landes, Synthese, 2026, doi.org/10.1007/s112...

Even big data does not speak for itself - SyntheseThis paper demonstrates that in an important class of data-integration problems even Big Data cannot speak for itself: marginal probabilities provided by large and unbiased datasets do not determine a unique joint probability distribution. Big Data must instead be accompanied by further reasoning methodologies for handling unavoidable uncertainties. I assess how Bayesian approaches handle this underdetermination and argue that they face practical challenges when dealing with Big Data that does not speak for itself.doi.org

Newly published: "Maximality Axioms and the Principle of Plenitude", by Nicola Bonatti, Erkenntnis, 2026, doi.org/10.1007/s106...

Maximality Axioms and the Principle of Plenitude - ErkenntnisHilbert’s (arithmetical) Axiom of Completeness asserts that the structure of the real numbers $$\mathbb {R}$$ R is maximal in the sense of not having a proper extension to an Archimedean ordered field. The more recent works of Ehrlich (2001), McGee (1997) and Aczel (1988) show that certain maximality conditions modeled upon Hilbert’s axiom provide unique characterizations of, respectively, the s-hierarchical ordered field of surreal numbers No, the well-founded hierarchy of pure sets $$\mathbb {V}_{\!k}$$ V k , and the non-well-founded hierarchy of Finsler-extensional sets $$\mathbb {V}_{\scriptscriptstyle \!F\!A\!F\!A}$$ V F A F A . The paper provides a comprehensive historical and theoretical reconstruction of this often overlooked chapter in the history of the axiomatic method. The historical reconstruction suggests that the maximality condition of non-extensibility arises as a natural axiom in the unique characterization of mathematical structures, as illustrated by the theories of (s-hierarchical non-)Archimedean continua and (non-)well-founded sets. The theoretical reconstruction argues that the maximality condition of non-extensibility is the formal explication of the heuristic principle of Plenitude, as usually adopted to describe the intuitive ‘‘fullness” of punctiform continua and the cumulative hierarchy of sets.doi.org

Newly published: "A Double-Halfer Embarrassment: Response to Pust", by Lennart B. Ackermans, Analytic Philosophy, 2026, doi.org/10.1111/phib...

A Double‐Halfer Embarrassment: Response to PustMichael Titelbaum introduced a variant of the Sleeping Beauty problem in which a coin is tossed on both Monday and Tuesday, with the Tuesday toss not affecting Beauty's condition. Titelbaum argues th....doi.org

Newly published: "Articulating Invariantism", by Alexander Reutlinger, Episteme, 2026, doi.org/10.1017/epi....

The MCMP's Christian List on @seanmcarroll.bsky.social's #MindscapePodcast, talking about "Free Will and Levels of Reality".

The MCMP's Christian List interviewed on The Dissenter on the topic of free will.

Newly published: "A Clear Case for Scientific Progress at the Origin of Analytic Philosophy", by Daniele Bruno Garancini, Synthese, 2026, doi.org/10.1007/s112...

A clear case for scientific progress at the origin of analytic philosophy - SyntheseDoes philosophy make scientific progress, and if yes, how much? As Dellsén, Firing, and Norton have recently argued, to answer this, we need to consider both empirical questions about the history of philosophy and theoretical questions about the definition of scientific progress. In this paper, I develop a case study about the origin of analytic philosophy—focusing on Frege—to show that in this period we can document what I call a clear case for scientific progress in philosophy. That is, philosophy made scientific progress over this period no matter what definitions of scientific progress we consider, even by the very high standards of scientific progress that pessimists about progress in philosophy endorse. Thus, if any of the existing accounts of progress are correct, philosophy made progress at the origin of analytic philosophy.doi.org

Newly published: "Four Formal Versions of the Two-Envelope Paradox", by Lennart B. Ackermans, Mind, 2026, academic.oup.com/mind/advance...

A new study published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B shows under what conditions collective judgments are better than individual ones. The findings are also relevant for the use of AI agents among other applications. doi.org/10.1098/rstb... @royalsocietypublishing.org

How groups make good decisionsMathematical philosophy: A new study shows when collective judgments are better than individual ones. The findings are also relevant for the use of AI agents among other applications.www.lmu.de