Maarten Boudry

Writer. Substack: me:
book: 'The Betrayal of Enlightenment' (Pitchstone)

[Maarten Boudry @mboudry]

Why do people believe crazy stuff? It's because they fall for “fallacies”, we're told. Memorize the classics (ad hominem, post hoc, straw man) and you’ll be inoculated against error.
It's a neat little story, and I used to believe it too. But I've become a fallacy apostate. 🧵/1

[Kate from Kharkiv @BohuslavskaKate]

Witkoff to Putin: "You talk so much about President Trump being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that. I commend you, and I thank you again."

HE MURDERS BABIES! BABIES!!! In their strollers. He murders adults too, entire families. Every day. I can't believe I'm fucking watching this!

[Andrew Fox @Mr_Andrew_Fox]

Apartheid update

[Mitt Romney @MittRomney]

Churchill could have shortened WW2 by years if he had just “done a deal” with Hitler. George Washington could have done a deal to end the American Revolution. Zelenskyy is in good company.

[Mark Nelson @energybants]

Proud to announce what we've been working on: Prosperity One.

Site control on 4 thousand acres of extraordinary land.

It includes ultra high voltage transmission, rail, and the mighty Ohio River, and a welcoming county, making for one of the best places for nuclear on earth.

[Maarten Boudry @mboudry]

Nog zo'n pseudo-analyse over de Franse rellen, compleet losgezongen van de werkelijkheid, deze keer over die andere favoriete zondebok ter linkerflank: "neoliberalisme".

Dat terwijl het overheidsbeslag in Frankrijk meer dan 57% is (!) van het BNP, met een schuldratio van 115,6%. Stilaan het nieuwe Griekenland. En ze geven nu al meer uit aan onderwijs dan gemiddeld in Europa. Maar ja, "neoliberale besparingen" zijn het probleem.

Pure waanzin. Ik sla dit soort stukken steeds meer over, het is volkomen zinloos.

"Het vervangen van de neoliberale besparingslogica door een rechtvaardige herverdeling van welvaart en door de garantie dat er opnieuw zal worden geïnvesteerd in de domeinen die mensen sociale erkenning, bestaanszekerheid en lotsverbetering bieden, is de weg naar democratisch herstel."

https://t.co/wCamp6KWY7

[Maarten Boudry @mboudry]

Academici en klassieke media lijken echt in een parallel universum te leven. Volgens deze ‘analyse’ zijn de massale plunderingen en brandstichtingen in Frankrijk — letterlijk onder Palestijnse vlaggen, met steun van antifa en Greta Thunberg, gepleegd door voornamelijk Noord-Afrikaanse jongeren — de schuld van… radicaal-rechts en Marine Le Pen. 🤯

Werkelijk verbijsterend. Doe geen moeite, @hendrikvos: Le Pen zal ook wel de verkiezingen winnen zónder uw nijvere inspanningen.

[Mossad Commentary @MOSSADil]

Israel has spent years trying to explain to the world what it has been dealing with. Maybe our most effective PR campaign was never going to come from Israel at all.
Maybe it’s this...👇

[Eric Anceau @Eric_Anceau]

Entre Lola-Fleur, jeune idéologue bourgeoise qui ne connaît rien de la vie mais donne des leçons à tout le monde et Jehmima née au Congo, arrivée en France à 5 ans, ayant vécu dans 10m2 et devenue cheffe d'entreprise, inutile de vous dire ma préférence !

[Maarten Boudry @mboudry]

I love this Grand Theory by @etiennefd: “There are many kinds of gay people, but, fundamentally, only one kind of straight people.” Properly understood, and for good evolutionary reasons, I think he’s right. 😉 https://t.co/8ThZzpYmbN

[Maarten Boudry @mboudry]

I'm immensely proud to be the first Senior Philosopher at the Conjecture Institute! At @ConjectureInst, we're dedicated followers of Karl Popper and @DavidDeutschOxf, championing bold conjectures and ruthless refutations. They hired me in a heartbeat—but if I turn out to be wrong about something (or everything), they should kick me straight back out. As fallibilists, we learn from our mistakes! 😉
"Let our hypotheses die in our stead!"

[Conjecture Institute @ConjectureInst]

Conjecture Institute is thrilled to welcome our first Senior Philosopher: @mboudry!

Dr. Boudry is a philosopher of science and first holder of the Etienne Vermeersch Chair of Critical Thinking at Ghent University.

He has published over 50 academic papers and co-edited two volumes: Science Unlimited? and Philosophy of Pseudoscience.

He has also written six trade books in Dutch on science and philosophy.

Boudry's book, The Betrayal of Enlightenment, will be published by @PitchstoneBooks.

He’s also a @rootsofprogress fellow and a regular contributor to @Quillette, @JoinPersuasion, @ConversationUS, @Independent, and @HumanProgress.

[Masih Alinejad @AlinejadMasih]

Emotional moment two women blinded under Islamic regimes meeting each other for the first time.

Fahimeh is from Afghanistan. Her husband threw acid on her face because she was fighting for women's rights against the Taliban. As her face burned, he told her: now I have taken your eyes and your face, people will be scared of you, so I dare you to go out and talk to people.

I invited her to come on stage with me and talk directly to thousands of people in Poland.

She met Kosar, an Iranian woman who was blinded by the Islamic Republic during the Woman life Freedom uprising.

We are now together stepping into Jewish history in Poland, including Auschwitz, and understanding the connection between the Holocaust and the Islamic Republic’s massacre on 2026.
If any of you think it’s easy to live under Islamic republic or Taliban just listened to their stories.

These women are not fighting for themselves. They are fighting to protect democracy everywhere from the most dangerous cancer, which is called Islamism.

[Hillary Clinton @HillaryClinton]

Ten years ago today.

In just the last few days: Trump made a deal for the U.S. to buy Russian diesel, an economic lifeline for Putin; he and Elon Musk blamed each other for an order that slowed down Starlink satellite connectivity over Ukraine, hampering the country's defenses during a devastating Russian attack; and Trump waived sanctions on Russia that Congress, led by his late friend Lindsey Graham, had pushed for.

Now, Putin has proposed a summit with Trump and Xi to decide Ukraine’s fate for them, bulldoze a century of international cooperation, and frame Russia as an equal to the U.S. and China.

We’ll see if Putin’s puppet continues to dance on his strings.

[Timeless Canon @GuGi263]

Keith Jarrett’s solo performance of “Over the Rainbow” in Tokyo in 1984 is widely regarded as one of the most outstanding and moving piano solo covers of all time. Rather than simply restating the familiar melody, the legendary pianist infused the piece with new life through his brilliant improvisation, refined harmonic structure, and profound emotional depth.

[Noa Tishby @noatishby]

Last year I was attacked in Paris by a pro-Hamas hate mob. They were screaming “F*** Israel, F*** USA”. This hate and violence was spreading like wildfire.

And now, the same mob is waving the same flags and chanting the same chants while Paris burns.

This was never just about Israel. It was never just about Jews. This is a war on the West and the freedom and values we hold dear. I said it then and I’ll say it again: wake up. This has to be stopped.

[Maarten Boudry @mboudry]

@alyssawolfe Pangram!

[Maarten Boudry @mboudry]

One of the pictures below (top left) appears to have been AI-generated; the other three are real. I chose the images purely for illustrative purposes, but I should have checked them more carefully. My apologies!

[Maarten Boudry @mboudry]

We will all soon know what it feels like to be Jewish. In France, they already do.

It will be our just deserts for having abandoned the Jews, ignored their warnings, turned against them, and even marched alongside their oppressors.

For three years, you useful idiots have been parading Palestinian flags, sporting keffiyehs, screaming “From the River to the Sea”, and recognizing a fictitious Palestinian state as a reward for Hamas’s October 7 massacre (looking at you, @EmmanuelMacron). You have boycotted the only Jewish state in the world, vilified the Jewish people’s right to self-determination (aka “Zionism”), and spread the “Gaza genocide” blood libel.

Did you really think that if you fed the crocodile enough Jewish flesh, it would eventually be satiated? All you have done is embolden the monster and whet its appetite.

So you were worried about “colonization”? Look around. The only thing being colonized here are our own Western cities. The Palestinian flag has become a victory banner, proudly waved amid the ruins of looted and vandalized historic buildings—a symbol of hatred for our civilization and everything it stands for.

It never ends with the Jews.

[Maarten Boudry @mboudry]

https://t.co/mjt0bY1zSQ

[Maarten Boudry @mboudry]

Academici en klassieke media lijken echt in een parallel universum te leven. Volgens deze ‘analyse’ zijn de massale plunderingen en brandstichtingen in Frankrijk — letterlijk onder Palestijnse vlaggen, met steun van antifa en Greta Thunberg, gepleegd door voornamelijk Noord-Afrikaanse jongeren — de schuld van… radicaal-rechts en Marine Le Pen. 🤯

Werkelijk verbijsterend. Doe geen moeite, @hendrikvos: Le Pen zal ook wel de verkiezingen winnen zónder uw nijvere inspanningen.

[Maarten Boudry @mboudry]

What this assistant professor of religion at @haverfordedu has posted is simply unacceptable. It’s very unfortunate that he targeted “Jews” rather than “Zionists,” as he should have. Had he made that crucial distinction, there would be nothing to object to. Everything else is hunky-dory in academia, folks.

“The jews are angry because the world has woken up and realized Hitler was right all along.”

“Our society must be cleansed of the jewish filth.”

“The goyim have woken up, jew. Run. Flee. Leave.”

“Lower Merion will be cleansed of the jew filth.”

“We can make you into candles to celebrate the complete elimination of the jews.”

“What flavor would you like for the gas we will be using?”

“Go get fucked, fat jew pig.”

“Even a mild holocaust will put the American economy in a much better position. Deal with the jews first.”

https://t.co/75ejSfbzzZ

[Sam @Sam_kuyp]

It's great to have @mboudry, a deeply thoughtful and insightful writer, as part of CI.

I recently attended a wonderful talk he gave about his book The Betrayal of the Enlightenment. It was refreshing to hear a philosopher defend progress so unequivocally.

[Maarten Boudry @mboudry]

https://t.co/LraZ9c1cm6

[Maarten Boudry @mboudry]

One of the pictures below (top left) appears to have been AI-generated; the other three are real. I chose the images purely for illustrative purposes, but I should have checked them more carefully. My apologies!

[Maarten Boudry @mboudry]

We will all soon know what it feels like to be Jewish. In France, they already do.

It will be our just deserts for having abandoned the Jews, ignored their warnings, turned against them, and even marched alongside their oppressors.

For three years, you useful idiots have been parading Palestinian flags, sporting keffiyehs, screaming “From the River to the Sea”, and recognizing a fictitious Palestinian state as a reward for Hamas’s October 7 massacre (looking at you, @EmmanuelMacron). You have boycotted the only Jewish state in the world, vilified the Jewish people’s right to self-determination (aka “Zionism”), and spread the “Gaza genocide” blood libel.

Did you really think that if you fed the crocodile enough Jewish flesh, it would eventually be satiated? All you have done is embolden the monster and whet its appetite.

So you were worried about “colonization”? Look around. The only thing being colonized here are our own Western cities. The Palestinian flag has become a victory banner, proudly waved amid the ruins of looted and vandalized historic buildings—a symbol of hatred for our civilization and everything it stands for.

It never ends with the Jews.