LTT: Colin Allen
Title: How much are large language models narrowing the gap to human intelligence? Abstract: ChatGPT was released in late October 2022. It is a public interface to GPT-3, an artificial […]
Annual Lecture Series (in-person)
Lunchtime Talks (in-person)
Conferences (in-person)
Online-Only Events
Title: How much are large language models narrowing the gap to human intelligence? Abstract: ChatGPT was released in late October 2022. It is a public interface to GPT-3, an artificial […]
Title: "A quantitative field theoretical for spontaneous collapse" Abstract: Any model of spontaneous collapse of the wave function in quantum mechanics must involve alterations of the standard Schrödinger equation to […]
Title: From Epistemology to Quantum Mechanics: A Phenomenological Proposal Abstract: Contemporary epistemology is dominated by externalist approaches. In this picture, evidence is not constituted by our experiences but by facts […]
Title: The RCT is dead. Long live the RCT. Abstract: First introduced in the 1940s, the randomized clinical trial, or RCT, revolutionized medicine. Today, all new therapies must show efficacy […]
Title: The Sense of Commitment in Joint Action: Towards a Comparative Perspective Abstract: Recent research provides evidence that, in the context of joint action, individuals’ sense of commitment sustains their […]
Title: Inductive Risk and Value Freedom, Revisited Abstract: Work on the role of values in science has grown and diversified dramatically in the 21st century. But there is a near-consensus […]
The 22nd Annual Pitt-CMU Graduate Student Philosophy Conference will occur Saturday, March 4th at the Cathedral of Learning. Please see the attached flyer for information about the speakers and schedule. All are welcome to attend, […]
Title: The Wordly Infrastructure of Causation Abstract: This talk is based on joint work with Naftali Weinberger and Porter Williams. It will describe an alternative to currently dominant philosophical approaches […]
Title: Replacing STEM with Natural Philosophy: Reconfiguring the Science/Philosophy Relationship Abstract: The idea of this project is to seek to replace the current notions of STEM with the classical ideal […]
Title: Spacetime, functionalism, and inertial frames Abstract: I advocate a form of spacetime functionalism that identifies spacetime with whatever picks out a structure of inertial frames. In this talk, I’ll […]
Friday 3/24 3:30PM - 5:30PM CL 1008 Title: Starting Points in Ohio: A pragmatist account of the asymmetry of explanation Abstract: Recent discussions around explanation have concerned the issue of […]
Title: A Novel Perspective on Pluralism in Climate Modeling Abstract: Modeling the mass-extinction event at the Permian Triassic Boundary (PTB), which is believed to have followed a warming event triggered by […]
Title: Renormalization group explanations in particle physics Abstract: Despite the highly analogous forms that renormalization group methods take in particle physics and condensed matter physics, there are key modal differences […]
Spacetime Functionalism Conference Cathedral of Learning 1008, April 1st-2nd Spacetime Functionalism holds that spacetime is spacetime by virtue of the role it plays with respect to other physics. It promises […]
Title: Validity drifts in psychiatric research Abstract: I develop the notion of validity drift and apply it to psychiatric research. A validity drift occurs when, in the course of developing […]
Title: Crafting Scientific Narratives Abstract: How do particular sets of experimental data become evidence for particular scientific claims? In this talk I call attention to the narrative constraints that shape […]
Title: Where the Philosophy of Cognitive Science Went Wrong Abstract: One can hardly overestimate the influence of Jerry Fodor on the philosophy of cognitive science. Fodor has left us two […]
Title: Expectation and exception: expertise as an epistemic constraint Abstract: I document historical cases of anomalies that resulted in theory changes, with an eye to the course of their reception […]
Dan Burnston (Center for Philosophy of Science, Philosophy Department at Tulane University) and Wayne Wu (Philosophy and the Neuroscience Institue CMU) to participate. Intention and Agency in Mind and Brain! […]
The 2023 meeting of SPP will be held at the University of Pittsburgh on June 20-23. Registration for the conference is here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/society-for-philosophy-and-psychology-annual-meeting-2023-registration-616545753947 Registration includes an option to add a pre-conference, […]
This talk has unfortunately been cancelled. Title: Philosophy of Science comes to California Abstract: The talk describes how 20th Century philosophy of science migrated from Europe to the Los […]
Title: The Model View Meets Quantum Ontology Abstract: What is here called the “model view” of science is a distinct perspective advanced by Ronald Giere and Paul Teller, which places […]
Title: The World Crisis – And What To Do About It Abstract: Humanity faces two fundamental problems of learning: learning about the universe, and learning how to become civilized. We […]
Title: How, in a field rife with controversy, some neuroscientific models become generally accepted as good models? Abstract: There is much disagreement in Neuroscience. Many highly regarded and high-impact findings […]
Title: Mathematics and Society Reunited: The Social Aspects of Brouwer’s Intuitionism Abstract: Brouwer’s philosophy of mathematics is usually regarded as an intra-subjective, even solipsistic approach, which also underlies his mathematical […]
Title: Epistemic Diversity, Ethics, and the Optimal Timing of Clinical Trials Abstract: Ethically acceptable research with human participants should satisfy at least two ethical criteria: it should produce sufficient social […]
Title: Voicing disagreement in science: Missing women Abstract: This paper examines the authorship of post-publication criticisms in the scientific literature, with a focus on gender differences. Bibliometrics from journals in […]
Godel Meets Laplace There’s an understanding of what determinism entails illustrated by the familiar image that Laplace gave us of a demon that can predict everything that will happen in […]
Title: Understanding Integration: Lessons from Integrative Modeling in Structural Biology Abstract: Although the value of integrative research has been widely acknowledged, philosophers have yet to develop a comprehensive understanding of […]
Title: Why Natural Social Contracts are Not Fair Abstract: Many theorists have employed game theory to model the emergence of stable social norms, or natural “social contracts”. One branch of […]