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ALS: Denis Walsh

1008 Cathedral of Learning 4200 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

Being Human, Being Homo Sapiens Denis Walsh, University of Toronto ABSTRACT: Neo-Aristotelian ethical naturalism attempts to characterise human moral goodness as a natural phenomenon. It posits a substantive, essentialist, normative concept of human nature as an explanatory primitive. Human nature, according to neo-Aristotelianism, is an instance of a generalised organismal nature. Opponents object that no […]

ALS: Frances Egan

1008 Cathedral of Learning 4200 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

A Deflationary Account of Representation in Cognitive Science Frances Egan, Rutgers University ABSTRACT: Much of cognitive neuroscience construes cognitive capacities as involving representation in some way. Computational theories of vision, for example, typically posit structures that represent edges in the world. Neurons are often said to represent elements of their receptive fields. Despite the widespread […]

Michael Strevens, Grünbaum Memorial Lecture

1008 Cathedral of Learning 4200 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

Indirect Causation Michael Strevens, New York University   ABSTRACT: If scientists are to think intelligently and fruitfully about causation, then they need a vocabulary that directly represents causal relations. I will argue that they also need to represent what I call “indirect causal generalizations”, which mix causal relations with what I call relations of “entanglement”. […]

ALS: Wayne Wu

1008 Cathedral of Learning 4200 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

Does Anyone Know What Attention Is? Wayne Wu, Carnegie Mellon University Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition   ABSTRACT: Despite debate and confusion in the empirical and philosophical literature, we have always known the answer: attention is selection for the guidance of behavior.  I situate this proposal in light of a venerable schema for […]

ALS: Kerry McKenzie

1008 Cathedral of Learning 4200 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

Progress and its Problems: Coming to Terms with Theory Change in the Metaphysics of Science Kerry McKenzie, University of California, San Diego Abstract: Progress is often cited as definitive of science. Thinking about the sense, if any, that metaphysics progresses might therefore help us get a purchase on the demarcation between science and metaphysics and […]

CANCELLED – ALS: S. Ruphy

1008 Cathedral of Learning 4200 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

THIS TALK HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19 CONCERNS Science Policies and the Unpredictability of Scientific Inquiry Stephanie Ruphy, University Jean Moulin Abstract: What is the appropriate mode of setting the research agenda? The autonomy of science as regards the choice of its priorities is often defended on the ground that limiting scientists’ freedom to follow […]