Somayeh Tohidi

I'm a research associate at the University of Bristol, working on the Foundations of Longtermism project, funded by the Leverhulme Trust and led by Richard Pettigrew. Previously, I was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Manchester (2025–2026), where I worked on misinformation. I completed my PhD in philosophy at the London School of Economics, and in 2023–24 I was a pre-doctoral fellow at MIT. Before transitioning to philosophy, I earned an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering and a master's in Islamic studies.

My areas of expertise include decision theory, formal social epistemology, and the philosophy of social sciences. In my PhD, I developed a norm for managing our awareness growth as bounded, inquisitive Bayesians and explored its implications for demographic profiling. I argued that we can rationally suspend judgment on demographic statistical evidence aligned with social stereotypes and ignore it in decision-making. In my postdoctoral work at Manchester, I turned to misinformation, arguing that our problematic engagement with it can stem from causes beyond a lack of critical thinking, and more specifically from uncongenial information environments. A common thread running through both lines of research is the finding that even slight suspicion towards scientific institutions can be remarkably consequential for our beliefs and decisions.

What draws me to philosophy is the way it lets me approach the difficult questions that arise from life with clarity and rigour.I value work that bridges formal methods and the messy realities of social and political life. For me, the best philosophy is not only technically precise but also personally and practically meaningful.

In the past, I co-organized the Choice Group at LSE.

CV

Email: s.tohidi [at] lse.ac.uk; ob26670 [at] bristol.ac.uk

Bluesky: @somayehtohidi.bsky.social