Formal Epistemology Workshop (FEW) 2017
Tentative Schedule
Friday May 26th, 2017
- 3:30PM. Keynote Address: Not so Phenomenal!
Speaker: Maria Lasonen-Aarnio (Michigan)
[Handout]
This talk is based on a paper co-authored with John Hawthorne. In the paper we formulate the basic tenets of a
position that has become known as phenomenal conservatism, and argue against each of these. We express
skepticism about the existence of a sui generis class of conscious mental states, seemings (the ontological
thesis), and argue that our ordinary talk of how things seem doesn't report such states (the semantic thesis),
offering an alternative semantics on which seems-constructions are part of a larger class of hedge expressions.
To get clearer on the core theses that seemings provide some prima facie justification to believe their contents
(Minimal Phenomenal Conservatism), or enough justification for a belief to be prima facie justified (Standard
Phenomenal Conservatism), we embed these theses, first, in a probabilistic framework in which updating on new
evidence happens by Bayesian conditionalization, and second, a framework in which updating happens by Jeffrey
conditionalization. We spell out problems for both views, and then generalize some of these to non-probabilistic
frameworks. We argue that little hope is left for the view that seeming-states have special and unique epistemic
powers, either by having a special kind of epistemic import, or by acting as the foundations of all
justification and knowledge.
[Talk Abstract]
Saturday May 27th, 2017
Location: Communications Building. Room 202.
Speakers and commentators may download all of the contributed
papers here.
- 8:30AM - Registration. Coffee and pastries
Morning Session Chair: Cailin O'Connor
- 9:00AM - "Externalism and the Value of Information"
[Paper] [Handout]
Speaker: Nilanjan Das (UNC Chapel-Hill, NYU Shanghai)
Comments: Kenny Easwaran (Texas A&M)
- 10:15AM - "Avoiding Risk and Avoiding Evidence."
[Paper] [Slides] [Handout]
Speakers: Catrin Campbell-Moore (Bristol) and Bernhard Salow (Cambridge)
Comments: Chris Stephens (British Columbia)
- 11:30AM - "Believing Epistemic Contradictions."
[Paper] [Comments]
Speakers: Simon Goldstein (Rutgers) and Robert Beddor (Singapore)
Comments: Mike Raven (Victoria)
- 12:45PM - Catered lunch onsite
Aftenoon Session Chair: Hanti Lin.
- 1:45PM -"Beliefs, Propositions, and Definite Descriptions."
[Paper] [Comments]
Speakers: Wesley Holliday (Berkeley) and Eric Pacuit (Maryland)
Comments: Sean Donahue (Southern California)
- 3:00PM - Logic and Topology for Knowledge, Knowability, and Belief
[Paper] [Handout]
Speakers: Adam Bjorndahl (Carnegie Mellon) and Aybuke Ozgun (ILLC Amsterdam)
Comments: Fenrong Liu (Tsinghua, ILLC Amsterdam)
- 4:15PM. Keynote Address: Implicit and Explicit Stances in Logic
Speaker: Johan van Benthem (Stanford, ILLC Amsterdam)
[Handout]
We identify a pervasive contrast between "implicit" and "explicit" stances in logical system
design. To study new topics, implicit stances change meanings of logical constants and
consequence, explicit stances extend classical logics with new vocabulary. We discuss the
contrast in intuitionistic vs. epistemic logic, default reasoning, information dynamics, and,
tentatively, in hyperintensional logic, discuss translations and merges between stances, and
explore concrete consequences of seeing things this way.
[Abstract]
- 7PM - Conference Dinner
Location: Cultivate. 1218 NE Campus Parkway.
Sunday May 28th, 2017
Location: Communications Building. Room 202.
- 8:30AM - Coffee and pastries
Morning Session Chair: Kenny Easwaran
- 9:00AM - "Expertise versus Diversity across Epistemic Landscapes."
[Paper] [Comments]
Speakers: Patrick Grim (Stony Brook), Dan Singer (Penn), Aaron Bramson (Riken), Bennett Holman
(Yonsei), Sean McGeehan (Penn) and William Berger (Penn)
Comments: Conor Mayo-Wilson (Washington)
- 10:15AM - "Discrimination and Collaboration in Science."
[Paper] [Slides]
Speakers: Hannah Rubin (Irvine, Groningen) and Cailin O'Connor (Irvine)
Comments: Liam Kofi-Bright (London School of Economics, Carnegie Mellon University)
- 11:30AM - "Evidence: A Guide for the Uncertain."
[Paper]
Speakers: Kevin Dorst (MIT)
Comments: Hanti Lin (UC Davis)
- 12:45PM - Catered lunch onsite
Afernoon Session Chair: Catrin Campbell-Moore
- 1:45PM - "Bayesianism Coherentism."
[Paper] [Handout]
Speakers: Lisa Cassell (UMass)
Comments: Bill Talbott (Washington)
- 3:00PM - "A Puzzle about Probabilism."
[Paper] [Handout] [Comments]
Speakers: Nick Leonard (Northwestern)
Comments: Nevin Climenhaga (Notre Dame)
- 4:15PM - "Cheating Death in Damascus."
[Paper]
Speakers: Nate Soares (MIRI) and Ben Levinstein (Urbana-Champaign)
Comments: Rachael Briggs (Stanford)