Sommerschule mit Kornblith in Köln

6.-10. August, Universität zu Köln

mit Hilary Kornblith (UMass Amherst, USA)

"Knowledge and its Place in Nature:
Psychologism - Externalism – Intuitions"

Was ist Wissen und wie gelangen wir in seinen Besitz? Diese und ähnliche Fragen versucht die philosophische Erkenntnistheorie seit alters her vom Schreibtisch aus durch reines Nachdenken zu beantworten. Begriffsanalyse und philosophische Intuitionen sollen dabei entscheidend weiterhelfen. Der neuerdings aufblühende erkenntnistheoretische Naturalismus hält das für eine fatale Sackgasse. Nach seiner Auffassung müssen sich die Philosophen endlich aus ihrer Stube hinaustrauen und die Phänomene selbst untersuchen, anstatt sich allein mit ihrem müden Abglanz in unseren Begriffen und Intuitionen zu beschäftigen. Kein Naturwissenschaftler käme je auf die Idee, unseren Begriff des Aluminiums zu untersuchen, um herauszubekommen, was Aluminium seiner Natur nach ist. Genauso sollten die Erkenntnistheoretiker Wissen rein empirisch untersuchen und dabei auch die Ergebnisse der Psychologie und Biologie berücksichtigen. Naturalisten fordern also nichts weniger als einen radikalen Methodenwandel in der Erkenntnistheorie. Traditionelle Erkenntnistheoretiker empfinden diese Forderung nicht nur als Provokation, sondern halten den naturalistischen Zugang zur Erkenntnistheorie auch für eine grandiose Verfehlung ihres eigentlichen Themas. Viel Sprengstoff also für eine interessante Debatte!

Mit Prof. Kornblith ist einer der weltweit renommiertesten Naturalisten für eine Woche zu Gast an der Universität zu Köln. Eine internationale Gruppe von Studierenden und Lehrenden wird Gelegenheit haben, sich intensiv und kritisch mit ihm und seinen Thesen auseinanderzusetzen. Es sind nicht nur Fachphilosophen, sondern ganz besonders auch Psychologen, Biologen und andere Interessierte herzlich willkommen. Für Nichtphilosophen wird während der Sommerschule eine besondere Betreuung durch fortgeschrittene Philosophiestudenten angeboten. Da die Veranstaltung in der Teilnehmerzahl beschränkt ist, ist eine vorherige Anmeldung obligatorisch.

Am 7. August wird Prof. Kornblith zudem einen öffentlichen Abendvortrag zum Thema "Belief in the Face of Controversy" halten.

Ausgewählte Publikationen:
Inductive Inference and its Natural Ground, MIT Press, 1993
Knowledge and its Place in Nature, OUP, 2002

Leitung der Summer School: Prof. Dr. Thomas Grundmann (Philosophisches Seminar, Universität zu Köln) in Kooperation mit dem Kölner Gymnasial- und Stiftungsfonds.

Allgemeine Fragen zur Summer School an:
summerschoolphilosophy@uni-koeln.de

Conference on the Value of Knowledge

The Value of Knowledge

August 27-29, 2007
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
http://www.knowledgebeliefnormativity.org

Conference Theme
After decades of discussion about the proper analysis of knowledge, epistemologists have started working on questions concerning the value of what they so eagerly have analyzed: knowledge. The rubric of “The Value of Knowledge” covers such questions and topics as:

- Why is knowledge supposed to be more valuable than true belief (the 'Meno problem')?
- What sorts of values accrue to knowledge?
- Is there any value to ignorance?
- What, if anything, accounts for forbidden knowledge?

Keynote Speakers
Alvin Goldman (Rutgers University)
Ernest Sosa (Rutgers University)
Jonathan Kvanvig (Baylor University)
Duncan Pritchard (University of Stirling)

Call for Abstracts
Abstracts of at most 300 words are invited on any topic that is relevant to the conference theme. Abstracts should be submitted by e-mail or regular mail to the conference organizers by March 31, 2007. Notification of acceptance/rejection: April 15, 2007.

Background
This is the first event in a series to be organized in the Knowledge, Belief, and Normativity project run by René van Woudenberg (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Duncan Pritchard (University of Stirling), and Igor Douven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven). The conference is held directly prior to the Social Epistemology Conference in Stirling, see http://www.philosophy.stir.ac.uk/postgraduate/SocialEpistemologyConference.php. It is funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.

Registration
When paid before June 1, 2007 the conference fee is 125,- euros (and 90,- euros for PhD students). After June 1, 2007 the fee becomes 175,- euros (125 euros for PhD students). The fee includes coffee/tea, lunches, and dinners. To register, use the registration form on the website or send us your full contact details including e-mail address. Also let us know of any special dietary requirements you may have.

Contact Details
The conference organizers, Jeroen de Ridder and René van Woudenberg, can be reached at the following email address: g.de_ridder@ph.vu.nl

Conference on Concepts in Copenhagen

Conference: "Concepts - Content and Constitution"

May 11-12 2007, University of Copenhagen (DK)

Speakers:

F. Gregory Ashby: "Separate Systems (and their Neural Substrates) for Conceptual and Non-Conceptual Category Learning"

José Luis Bermúdez: "Concepts in philosophy and cognitive science"

Daniel C. Dennett: "Varieties of content"

Peter Gärdenfors: "The convexity of concepts and the meeting of minds"

Ruth G. Millikan: "The Vital Role of Useless Concepts (and Other People)"

Jesse J. Prinz: "Picture This: Concepts Are Constituted By Percepts"

More info: www.selskabetfp.dk

Conference on the Square of Opposition

The Square of Opposition - International Congress
Montreux, Switzerland, June 1-3, 2007

This will be the first international congress dedicated entirely to the square of opposition, considered in its various aspects.

There will be talks by the best specialists of the square and this will be also an interdisciplinary event gathering people from various fields : logic, philosophy, mathematics, psychology, linguistics, anthropology, semiotics. Visual and artistic representations of the square will also be presented.

Invited speakers include Pascal Engel, Laurence Horn,
Saul Kripke, Terence Parsons, Pieter Seuren, Jan Wolenski.

The extended deadline for submission of contributed papers is March 1st 2007. Any contribution related to the square is welcome.

For further information, visit the website below:
http://square-of-opposition.org

Are Naturalism and Evolution Incompatible?

In his new Stanford article "Religion and Science" (section 5), Alvin Plantinga discusses and endorses an argument to the effect that naturalism and evolution are rationally incompatible. Interesting stuff!

Intuitions and Philosophical Methodology

Two very interesting discussions on intuitions and philosophical methodology, prompted by Jonathan Ichikawa and hosted by The Splintered Mind:

• What Do Analytic Philosophers Analyze?
• Why Do People Worry about Whether Intuitions Are Evidence?

New Paper "In Defense of Metaphysical Analyticity"

A new paper by Frank Hofmann and me is now online. Here's an abstract:

According to the so-called metaphysical conception of analyticity, analytic truths are true in virtue of meaning (or content) alone and independently of (extralinguistic) facts. Quine and Boghossian have tried to present a conclusive argument against the metaphysical conception of analyticity. In effect, they tried to show that the metaphysical conception inevitably leads into a highly implausible view about the truthmakers of analytic truths. We would like to show that their argument fails, since it relies on an ambiguity of the notion of ‘independence of (extralinguistic) facts’. If one distinguishes between variation independence and existence independence, the unwelcome view about the truthmakers of analytic truths no longer follows. Thus, there is at best a challenge, but no conclusive argument. The door to the metaphysical conception of analyticity is still open.

Fundstücke

Fodor macht sich über Wittgenstein lustig (was, zugegeben, nicht übermäßig schwer ist).

Schöne Fotos in Schwarzweiß von bekannten und weniger bekannten Philosophen (u.a. Habermas, Kripke, Lewis, Quine).

Alles über Filme mit philosophischem Inhalt.