Ville V. Kokko's Blog
August 26, 2025
We're starting a new publication: "Ihminen ja maailma"
I and a few others have started a new publication for popular philosophical and philosophy adjacent writing. It's mostly in Finnish, though other languages are welcome if someone offers us something in them and we're able to handle it. The title is in Finnish: "Ihminen ja maailma", which is hard to translate into natural-sounding English easily but could be as "The Human and the World". (Traditional English would say "Man", but the Finnish version doesn't have that weird sexist imprecision, and I don't feel like adding it.)
This is a new step for me - running a publication myself - but I'm looking forward to seeing where it might go. The ideal would be for it to become a major thing nationally.
The site can be found at https://ihminenjamaailma.wordpress.com/
This is a new step for me - running a publication myself - but I'm looking forward to seeing where it might go. The ideal would be for it to become a major thing nationally.
The site can be found at https://ihminenjamaailma.wordpress.com/
June 3, 2025
The first book (co-)copyedited by me has come out
It's a non-fiction book in Finnish published by Eetos, where I'm a board member: Henkipuita ja tilanhoitoa: Uskonnot ympäristökriisien aikakaudella
This translates as "Spirit Trees and Stewardship: Religions in the Age of Environmental Crises", which I think is moderately self-explanatory. It's a good collection of articles studying different angles on the topic.
This translates as "Spirit Trees and Stewardship: Religions in the Age of Environmental Crises", which I think is moderately self-explanatory. It's a good collection of articles studying different angles on the topic.
December 19, 2024
About time: My first peer-reviewed article
As it were hot on the heels of the book article I mentioned in my last post, I got a copy of Ajatus 81: Suomen Filosofisen Yhdistyksen vuosikirja 2024, which has my article in Finnish on why connecting free will with indeterminism is problematic. As an academic, you're supposed to publish stuff that is peer-reviewed to ensure that it really is valid science or humanities or whatever, philosophy in this case. This is my first such publication (even if it's not a hard journal to get accepted to).
I should translate this article into English and publish it on my blog or something at some point. The point it makes is one that has been brought up many times before but is too often ignored when people act as though connecting free will with indeterminism is an unproblematic position. I make the point thoroughly and precisely here.
I should translate this article into English and publish it on my blog or something at some point. The point it makes is one that has been brought up many times before but is too often ignored when people act as though connecting free will with indeterminism is an unproblematic position. I make the point thoroughly and precisely here.
December 12, 2024
My first contribution in a real non-fiction book
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending Professor Valtteri Arstila's birthday seminar, where they also unveiled a book of philosophical articles in his honour. I was one of the contributors with an article referencing "The Langoliers" by Stephen King to help explain why the traditional philosophical question of whether time flows or is static makes no sense.
This is my first real non-fiction book here, the other one being just a collection of conference abstracts that happened to qualify. Naturally, I'm thrilled. Stay tuned for more.
Here is the book: True Colors, Time after Time: Essays Honoring Valtteri Arstila
This is my first real non-fiction book here, the other one being just a collection of conference abstracts that happened to qualify. Naturally, I'm thrilled. Stay tuned for more.
Here is the book: True Colors, Time after Time: Essays Honoring Valtteri Arstila
April 1, 2024
It's been a while, but here are some new fiction publications
My science fiction (and cosmic horror) flash fiction piece "Perspective" was just published on Metastellar. See it here for free: https://www.metastellar.com/fiction/f...
And, once more, one of my stories is appearing in new formats by After Dinner Conversation. See: After Dinner Conversation - Crimes And Punishments: Philosophy Ethics Short Story Fiction and After Dinner Conversation - Examining the Past: Philosophy Ethics Short Story Fiction.
And, once more, one of my stories is appearing in new formats by After Dinner Conversation. See: After Dinner Conversation - Crimes And Punishments: Philosophy Ethics Short Story Fiction and After Dinner Conversation - Examining the Past: Philosophy Ethics Short Story Fiction.
January 20, 2023
New nonfiction publication and upcoming collection
At the end of the last year, I got a piece published on The Ratty: "Dr. Manhattan, Time, Causality, and Freedom".
Now I heard that After Dinner Conversation doesn't publish entire season anthologies anymore, instead doing a "best of" for the year... but my "The Only Punishment" is still going to be in the next one. Wasn't that already in one of them...? Well, anyways, it's nice.
This year, I'm trying to get more ambitious about getting ahead and getting a career, and writing might play a part in that but I'm not sure, so... maybe I'll post some reflections or updates on that here at some point.
Now I heard that After Dinner Conversation doesn't publish entire season anthologies anymore, instead doing a "best of" for the year... but my "The Only Punishment" is still going to be in the next one. Wasn't that already in one of them...? Well, anyways, it's nice.
This year, I'm trying to get more ambitious about getting ahead and getting a career, and writing might play a part in that but I'm not sure, so... maybe I'll post some reflections or updates on that here at some point.
July 22, 2022
I started publishing my webcomic already
I started publishing the fan webcomic I've been talking about last week. The address is lessbittersweet.thecomicseries.com.
I wasn't in a rush to announce the comic here because it was quite enough work without that too, and, as I explained previously, it's really aimed at people who know the game. I already reached those people by posting about it on Reddit. While I kind of want to show others who know me what I'm making too, I find it unsatisfying that they'll not really see the point of it even if they look at it. Besides, I'm not always that proud of the art - it's a learning process.
I am very much enthusiastic that I am making and publishing this thing, though. It's just that for people who know me in general, I want to tell them to go and play the game first and then read it.
I wasn't in a rush to announce the comic here because it was quite enough work without that too, and, as I explained previously, it's really aimed at people who know the game. I already reached those people by posting about it on Reddit. While I kind of want to show others who know me what I'm making too, I find it unsatisfying that they'll not really see the point of it even if they look at it. Besides, I'm not always that proud of the art - it's a learning process.
I am very much enthusiastic that I am making and publishing this thing, though. It's just that for people who know me in general, I want to tell them to go and play the game first and then read it.
July 8, 2022
I don't rate books with my contributions in them on Goodreads, but...
...but it seems like I would be the only one who would do so impartially. My ratings would usually bring the overall rating down, because the works are all usually such small-time collections of short stories that the majority of the people rating them, or even the only people, are associated with the publication. Who mysteriously just happen to think highly of it.
(So yes, that means that the reason I have a high average rating for works on Goodreads is because they're all so insignificant.)
Here's the thing, I believe the others may be trying to do it impartially. But they always end up saying "I'm impartially rating every other story in here except my own. Anyway, I think this collection of stories by newbie writers is totally worth four or five stars." (I would say that too sometimes, but only sometimes. With four stars, not five.)
That rather undermines the argument, which someone presented to me, that authors can also honestly rate works like that as readers. It seems like we're prone to be biased.
Of course, the other, even bigger reason why I don't do it is that it would probably look bad anyway.
(So yes, that means that the reason I have a high average rating for works on Goodreads is because they're all so insignificant.)
Here's the thing, I believe the others may be trying to do it impartially. But they always end up saying "I'm impartially rating every other story in here except my own. Anyway, I think this collection of stories by newbie writers is totally worth four or five stars." (I would say that too sometimes, but only sometimes. With four stars, not five.)
That rather undermines the argument, which someone presented to me, that authors can also honestly rate works like that as readers. It seems like we're prone to be biased.
Of course, the other, even bigger reason why I don't do it is that it would probably look bad anyway.
July 1, 2022
June 25, 2022
Oh, about publishing that webcomic?
The one I talked about recently? I couldn't get started before I went to my first conference in Helsinki and then the first one I presented in in Vilnius (see this) and now to a summer cottage for Midsummer. So basically, the date when I start publishing got pushed to next month. Hopefully really soon at the beginning of the month...
I also noticed drawing was taking so much time, even though I could focus on it for hours on end, that I'll have to give up in trying to colout every strip; probably most will be in black and white, though I might experiment with mixing coloured and non-coloured panels within single strips.
I also noticed drawing was taking so much time, even though I could focus on it for hours on end, that I'll have to give up in trying to colout every strip; probably most will be in black and white, though I might experiment with mixing coloured and non-coloured panels within single strips.
