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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 […]

ALS: E. Schechter

Online Lecture

Elizabeth Schechter Indiana University, Department of Philosophy and the Cognitive Science Program Self-Consciousness After Split-Brain Surgery ABSTRACT:  In this talk, I first argue that the two hemispheres of a split-brain subject are associated with distinct conscious thinkers and, indeed, distinct thinkers of self-conscious thoughts, R and L. I then argue that the dynamics of self-conscious […]

ALS: S. Ruphy

Online Lecture

Stéphanie Ruphy Ecole Normale Supérieure - Université PSL Science Policies and the Unpredictability of Scientific Inquiry This talk will be online via Zoom and pre-registration is required. Register here: https://pitt.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HfaWE2RyQieV1M7pvqg0Gw   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 […]

ALS: M. Haber

Online Lecture

Matt Haber University of Utah, Department of Philosophy The Species Problem Problem and the No Solution Solution This talk will be online via Zoom and pre-registration is required. Register here:  https://pitt.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_REvgdYgITVSuQ0uSG-hPCw   ABSTRACT:  I propose that the species problem is a genuinely skeptical problem.  That is just to say that no single answer will resolve […]

ALS: L. Vesterlund

Online Lecture

CANCELLED Lise Vesterlund University of Pittsburgh, Department of Economics Gender Differences in Task Allocations: Competition and Volunteering This talk will be online via Zoom and pre-registration is required. Register here:  https://pitt.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kcq3bIaqTuaTtLgQE7rQ4A ABSTRACT:  Women and men are shown to hold different work assignments, with women spending less time on work that advances their careers (promotable work) […]

ALS: J. Ioannidis

Online Lecture

John Ioannidis Stanford University Reproducible and Useful Research: Changing Research Practices ABSTRACT: Multiple lines of evidence suggest that a substantial segment of published research yields results that are not credible and that among the results that are credible a large share are not useful. The lecture will assess the scope of this evidence, it will […]

ALS: E. Landry

Online Lecture

Elaine Landry University of California, Davis, Department of Philosophy As-ifism: Mathematics and Method without Metaphysics Zoom webinar.  Pre-registration is required.  Please register here: https://pitt.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iYWEBu-gRMCVQwzUtfYIDg ABSTRACT: I aim to carve out an as-if interpretation of mathematical structuralism by disentangling methodological considerations from metaphysical ones. I begin first with Plato and draw important lessons from his account […]