2019 | July | Editing and partially re-writing a book on meat, treatment of farmed animals, and alternatives to factory farming (as a paid job). This job began in May and concluded in September, but was non-continuous, because I worked on several drafts of the book. I likely would have done this job if I had not been at the EA Hotel—because I would especially have needed money in that scenario—but this job allowed me to start paying for rent and food at the hotel. I can't yet name the book or its author, as I signed a non-disclosure agreement. [70%] Meeting with an editor at a publishing company and writing a book proposal. In June, an editor at a publishing company who had read an article I'd written emailed me to request that I submit a proposal for a book relating to animal ethics. I outlined a potential book in detail and started writing some of the chapters. They rejected the proposal for being “too academic” after I submitted it in July, but I will use it as a PhD dissertation proposal instead. [60%] Published an essay, Re-Orientation, about some of the possible personal and societal implications of sexual orientation conversion drugs that actually work. [90%] |
August- September | Mostly spent on the book editing job. | |
October | Essay writing. I wrote an academic philosophy essay about a problem for David Benatar’s pessimism about life and death, and submitted it to an academic journal. It is currently awaiting scores from reviewers. If the article is accepted for publication, it will improve my chances of being accepted into a good philosophy PhD program, where I plan to research and write about animal ethics. [10%] Essay writing. I began and completed one version of a writing sample which I will be submitting for my PhD applications. It’s about logical consistency arguments in animal ethics, why I think these are flawed, and what I believe a better approach is. [5%] Book indexing job. I got a contract job writing an index for a book by a well-known moral philosopher. The book is about the philosophy of death and dying, a topic which relates to my work in animal ethics. This job will help me continue to financially contribute to the EA Hotel. [20%] | |
November | Essay writing. I wrote an academic response to “The Diner’s Defence: Producers, Consumers, and the Benefits of Existence” and submitted my response to the academic journal that published the original article. [0%] PhD Applications, interviews and acceptances. I submitted an application to a philosophy PhD program that was due 1 November, was interviewed for it two weeks later. I also submitted an application to another PhD program. [40%] Book indexing job. I continued working on the book indexing job. [20%] | |
December | PhD Applications. I applied to two PhD programs. [40%] Essay contest. I submitted an entry to “Philosophy Contest: Write a Philosophical Argument That Convinces Research Participants to Donate to Charity.” [10%] Book indexing job. I continued working on the book indexing job. This took most of my time. [20%] Grad school acceptances. I was accepted into The National University of Singapore with funding. | |
2020 | January | Abstract submissions. I submitted an abstract for a poster or talk to the academic session of EAG San Francisco. I submitted an abstract to the Marquette University graduate philosophy conference. I submitted an abstract to the fourth biennial conference of the International Association for the Philosophy of Death and Dying. I submitted an abstract to the Society For Applied Philosophy Annual Conference. [10%] PhD Applications. I applied to nine PhD programs. [40%] Writing. I finished writing a new writing sample for PhD programs and edited a previous essay for a PhD program (and for an upcoming conference I’m presenting at). [20%] Book indexing job. I all but finished the book indexing job. [20%] Note: I was on vacation for over half of this month. |
February | Conference. I was accepted to give a talk and a poster to the academic session of EAG 2020 in San Francisco. This month I’ll be working on my talk, poster, slides, and possibly a handout for the talk. [10%] Grad School Acceptances. I was accepted into the philosophy PhD programs at St Andrews and the University of Oxford. I have so far also been accepted into philosophy PhD programs at National University of Singapore and University of Edinburgh. [30%] Writing. I finished a preliminary draft of a response to Will MacAskill’s and Andreas Mogensen’s new GPI paper called “The Paralysis Argument.” I submitted it to Andreas, who is a former supervisor of mine. [25%] Tutoring. I began tutoring an undergraduate PPE student in political philosophy. [0%] Book indexing job. I finished the book indexing job. [20%] | |
March | Scholarship interview. I had an interview for the Future of Humanity (FHI) DPhil Scholarship through Oxford. [20%] Conference acceptance. My talk was accepted for the 2020 International Association for the Philosophy of Death and Dying conference. [4%] Essay contest finalist. My essay for “Philosophy Contest: Write a Philosophical Argument That Convinces Research Participants to Donate to Charity” was selected as one of 20 finalist essays to be tested. [2%] | |
April | Scholarship interview. I made it to the final round for the FHI DPhil scholarship, and had a final interview. [6%] Scholarship application. I applied for the Amelia Jackson Studentship through Exeter College at Oxford. [60%] | |
May | Writing. I finished a significantly revised version of my response to “The Paralysis Argument” and sent it to Andreas Mogensen. [5%] | |
June | Tutoring. Finished the political philosophy tutoring. [0%] | |
July | Scholarship application. I applied for a scholarship with the Society for Applied Philosophy. [40%] Job application. I applied for a part-time job with Rethink Priorities. [0%] | |
August September | AI safety fiction story. Organizing notes and outlining a television series pitch for a story related to AI safety. [5%] AI safety fiction story. Outlining and writing script pages for a television series pitch for a story related to AI safety. [5%] | |
October | Oxford philosophy PhD thesis. Beginning work on my thesis about animal and AI ethics. [50%] Oxford philosophy class. Reading papers for and attending an online moral philosophy class. [50%] AI safety fiction story. Continuing to write the pilot script for this in my spare time. [5%] |
losophy
November Oxford philosophy PhD thesis. Finishing a rough draft of a paper that will be part of my thesis. [50%]
AI safety fiction story. Continuing to write the pilot script on some weekends. [5%]
December Oxford philosophy PhD thesis. Finishing a second draft of a paper that will be part of my thesis. [50%]
AI safety fiction story. Finishing first draft of pilot script. [5%]
January Oxford philosophy PhD thesis. Finishing a third draft of thesis paper. Working on the thesis outline. [50%]
Oxford philosophy classes. Attending a class on population ethics. [50%]
AI safety fiction story. Re-writing pilot script in spare time. [5%]
February Oxford philosophy classes. Attending a class on population ethics. [50%]
Oxford philosophy PhD thesis. Writing a fourth draft of thesis paper. [50%]
March Oxford philosophy classes. Attending a class on population ethics. [50%]
Oxford philosophy PhD thesis. Writing a fourth draft of thesis paper. [50%]
April AI safety fiction story. Working on a near total re-write of the pilot, inspired by feedback [5%]
May AI safety fiction story. Working on a near total re-write of the pilot, inspired by feedback [5%]
June AI safety fiction story. Finish re-writing pilot. Start writing second episode. [5%]