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LTT: R. Pennock
February 11, 2022 @ 12:10 pm - 1:30 pm EST
Robert Pennock, Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy, Michigan State University
Curiosity Systematized: Virtue Philosophy of Science and the Philosophy of Mind
ABSTRACT: I have argued for a virtue philosophy of science as a normative reconstruction of the mindset and characteristic practices of scientists—a peculiarly curious population of knowledge-seekers. Arising in relation to the scientific task of discovering the causal structures of the natural world, curiosity and other scientific virtues provide a value structure in relation to which scientists’ practices and methods may be explained, evaluated, and improved. Viewing science as systematized curiosity not only allows us to examine some old philosophical issues in a new light, but also opens interesting new lines and modes of inquiry, including what may be thought of as experimental epistemology. In this talk, I’ll briefly review a few of the elements of this vocational virtue account of science and then highlight a few connections between it and some broader issues in cognitive science and philosophy of mind, with special mention of my debts to Sellars, Salmon, and Simon.
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Zoom registration: https://pitt.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SNrIQe5WRw6EkReQljDlrw