2021
CPS Lunch Forum: Camilo Rodriguez Ronderos
Camilo Rodriguez Ronderos (IFIKK, UiO) will present on "Processing English imprecise absolute adjectives: role of context and linking hypotheses".
Time and place: Oct. 4, 2021 12:00 PM–1:00 PM, Georg Morgenstiernes hus, Seminarrom 203
Welcome to CPS Lunch Forum. It will be a hybrid meeting taking place at Blindern, and it will also be possible to follow the lecture through Zoom. To receive the zoom-link, send an e-mail to ingvihar@uio.no.
The meaning of absolute adjectives such as 'full' or 'straight' has been claimed to be based around relating objects to maximal degrees of their described property: A full cup of water is only full if it contains the maximal amount of water in it (see Kennedy, 2007). However, these adjectives are often used imprecisely to mean 'almost full' or 'straight-ish'. What are the repercussions of imprecision for sentence processing?
One straight-forward hypothesis, put forth by Syrett et al. (2010), is that even though imprecise usages might be tolerated, they come at a processing cost relative to precise usages, resulting in longer processing time for understanding imprecise vs. precise usages of absolute adjectives.
An alternative hypothesis, suggested by Aparicio et al. (2016), is that a precise interpretation of absolute adjectives could be costlier to process than an imprecise interpretation given that, in general, there are more contexts that support an imprecise vs. precise interpretation. According to this view, contextually licensed imprecise interpretations should be generally preferable and less costly than precise ones, a view similarly advocated by Krifka for the interpretation of round numbers (2002).
Finally, a further possibility, argued for by Van der Henst et al. (2002) as well as Gibbs and Bryant (2008) for the production of round numbers, is that processing cost of precision will be mediated by considerations of relevance, as defined by Relevance Theory (Sperber & Wilson, 2002).
The current work in progress is an investigation on the processing cost of contextualized imprecise adjectives. I will be presenting preliminary results from 3 pilot studies, showing how comprehension rate and processing cost of imprecise absolute adjectives is mediated by context.
CPS Lunch Forum: Yael Friedman - "The concept of recovery" NB Change of room
Yael Friedman (CPS/IFIKK) presents on the concept of recovery in the philosophy of medicine.
Time and place: Sep. 13, 2021 12:00 PM–1:00 PM, Georg Morgenstiernes Hus, seminarrom 204
Welcome to our first CPS Lunch Forum this fall. It will be a hybrid meeting taking place in Georg Morgenstiernes hus at Blindern, and it will also be possible to follow the lecture through Zoom. Please let us know if you plan to attend in person as there is a limit to how many people can be in the room. To receive the zoom-link, send an e-mail to ingvihar@uio.no.
On recovery: re-directing the concept by differentiation of its meanings
Recovery is a commonly used concept in both professional and everyday contexts. Yet despite its extensive use, it has not drawn much philosophical attention. In this paper, I question the common understanding of recovery, show how the concept is inadequate, and introduce new and much needed terminology.
I argue that recovery glosses over important distinctions and even misrepresents the process of moving away from malady as "going back" to a former state of health. It does not invite important nuances needed to distinguish between biomedical, phenomenological, and social perspectives. In addition, I claim that there are many conditions where we are making use of the concept of recovery, although the person recovered from the condition in question, has not regained the same degree of soundness. I show how the concept of recovery leads to conceptual discrepancies that can result in worsening patients' conditions.
To gain a fuller understanding, I propose to rethink the direction of the process in question. I define the process of moving away from malady as a move forward towards a new state of soundness. I also suggest three terms, corresponding to different perspectives, to describe this movement forward: 'curing' (biomedical perspective), 'healing' (first-person perspective), and 'habilitating' (social perspective). This new terminology provides a more nuanced understanding of the states of both malady and soundness and an attentiveness as to how they differ and relate.
CPS Lunch Forum: Øystein Linnebo
Øystein Linnebo (IFIKK, UiO) presents "Core Constructional Ontology (CCO): a Constructional Theory of Parts, Sets, and Relations".
Time and place: May 3, 2021 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, zoom
To receive the zoom-link, send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(at)ifikk.uio.no.
Core Constructional Ontology (CCO): a Constructional Theory of
Parts, Sets, and Relations (joint with Salvatore Florio and Martin Pleitz)
The UK has initiated a program to build a National Digital Twin, and there is a suggestion that its Foundational Data Model be built on a top-level ontology. This project develops a unified formalization of three core components of this ontology, namely sets, mereological sums, and n-tuples. Our formalization uses a constructional approach inspired by work of Kit Fine.
CPS Lunch Forum: Karen Crowther
Karen Crowther (IFIKK, UiO) presents "Fundamentality in Physics".
Time and place: Apr. 26, 2021 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, zoom
To receive the zoom-link, send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(at)ifikk.uio.no.
Fundamentality in physics
I explore some different ideas of relative fundamentality in physics, and how these compare to ideas of relative fundamentality in metaphysics.
CPS Lunch Forum: Olav Gjelsvik
Olav Gjelsvik (IFIKK, UiO) presents "On evolutionary theory, morality, and rationalism"
Time and place: Apr. 19, 2021 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, zoom
To receive the zoom-link, send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(at)ifikk.uio.no
This talk addresses some aspects of the relationship between evolutionary theory and moral (and related) knowledge.
I shall basically maintain that there is no real opposition between evolutionary theory and moral knowledge, and show that some recent arguments (especially by S. Street) in support of the opposite view are not successful, as they generalize to several unwanted cases. The paper it builds from also has a positive part, and this points to a type of epistemological rationalism regarding abstract truths, an approach that is quite compatible with Darwinism.
CPS Lunch Forum: Keith A. Wilson
Keith A. Wilson (IFIKK, UiO) presents work in progress.
Time and place: Mar. 29, 2021 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, zoom
To receive the zoom-link, send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(at)ifikk.uio.no
Title and abstract TBA.
CPS Lunch Forum: Joanna Pollock
Joanna Pollock (IFIKK, UiO) presents work in progress.
Time and place: Mar. 22, 2021 12:00 PM–1:00 PM, zoom
To receive zoom-link, send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(at)ifikk.uio.no
Title and abstract to be announced.
CPS Lunch Forum: Francesca Secco
Francesca Secco (IFIKK, UiO) presents work in progress.
Time and place: Mar. 8, 2021 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, zoom
To receive the zoom-link, send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(at)ifikk.uio.no.
Title and abstract TBA.
CPS Lunch Forum: Gry Oftedal
Gry Oftedal (IFIKK, UiO) presents
Are SNPs causes of happiness? Proportionality of cause and effect in GWAS
Time and place: Mar. 1, 2021 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, zoom
Are single nucleotides in the DNA causes of happiness? Of cancer? Of TV-watching-habits? New quantitative genetics methods aim to show that many traits are influenced by variation in single nucleotides (SNPs) in our genetic material, each nucleotide contributing to a very small proportion of the effect. However, for most characteristics investigated, it is difficult to locate stable causal relations, and results typically show a much lower heritability of traits compared to the more traditional twin-studies. How should we understand causality tracked by new quantitative genetics methods? In philosophical debates on causality, ideas of proportionality of cause and effect suggest that causes may be more or less proportional to their effects, and that we should seek to arrive at proportionality of causal relata. I will investigate causal claims in GWAS studies in the framework of the philosophical discussion of proportionality, and then ask more specifically, are single nucleotides in the DNA proportional causes of happiness? Of cancer? Of TV-watching habits?
CPS Lunch Forum: Sebastian Watzl
Sebastian Watzl (CPS/IFIKK, UiO) presents his new ERC- and NRC-projects: "Good attention: attention norms and their significance”
Time and place: Feb. 15, 2021 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, Zoom
The seminar is open. To receive the zoom-link, send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(at)ifikk.uio.no
Abstract
At a time dominated by mass information and social media, questions about what we should attend to are central. Attention framing and misdirection threaten social trust and security, and the complex dynamics of the attention economy are both difficult to understand and ethically challenging. We face challenges about how to organize information and how to decide—individually and collectively—what deserves our attention. The internet troll knows how get your attention and keep it. Spin doctors and the advertisement industry attentionally engineer our environment. In the public sphere, misplaced salience and the wrong distribution of attention can make common engagement and collective action impossible. In this talk I will provide an overview of the projects GOODATTENTION and SALIENT SOLUTIONS. The first will provide a systematic study of attention norms – norms that speak to patterns of good, correct, or rational attention. While entire fields of philosophy investigate the normative assessment of other aspects of the mind, the normative structure of attention remains largely unstudied. This project will change that. We will investigate the function of attention in our individual cognitive architecture, the function of attention sharing and coordination in social interaction, and the role of attention norms in the theory of rationality, epistemology, ethics and political philosophy. The second project will be more applied. We will look at the role of attention in shaping digital communities, the role of attention and salience for collective action, the ethics of nudging and misdirection, and will consider attention framing from an international policy perspective. The two projects work together to study good attention - in both theory and practice.
CPS Lunch Forum: Vincenzo Politi
Vincenzo Politi (IMB(IFIKK), UiO) presents "The distribution of ethical labor in interdisciplinary groups: a case study from personalised medicine".
Time and place: Feb. 1, 2021 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, Zoom
The seminar is open. To receive the zoom-link, please send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(at)ifikk.uio.no.
Abstract
Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is an emerging science policy framework which seeks to engage publics and science & technology stakeholders in a responsible, multi-dimensional dialogue on five RRI ‘keys’ (ethics, science education, open access, gender equality and societal engagement) and through four ‘dimensions’ (reflexivity, anticipation, inclusion, and responsiveness). What is meant by ‘ethics’, in the context of RRI, is neither research ethics nor scientific integrity, but rather a form of ethical reflection about the potential impacts of science & technology on society. The problem is that, ethical reflection being a subjective activity, it is not entirely clear how to implement it at the collective and institutional level.
After defining RRI, in this talk I will present the hypothesis of the ‘distribution of ethical labor’ (DEL), recently formulated by Politi and Grinbaum (2020). For DEL, like the cognitive labor studied in social epistemology, so the whole ethical labor of a research group is distributed across its different members, who engage in ethical reflection in different ways. In this talk I will also present the preliminary results of the qualitative study of DEL and of the level of individuals’ engagement with ethical reflection within an interdisciplinary research project on innovative precision targeted cancer therapies - PINpOINT at UiO. I will conclude with a brief discussion on the relation between science and ethics.
CPS Lunch Forum: Yael Friedman
Yael Friedman (CPS/IFIKK, UiO) presents "Who is the biological patient? A gradual, dynamic model of organism-environment" at our first CPS Lunch Forum this semester.
Time and place: Jan. 25, 2021 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, zoom
The seminar is open. Send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(at)ifikk.uio.no to receive the zoom-link.
Abstract
Western physicians traditionally describe the biological aspect of the human being as an individual organism. Simultaneously, in public health, epidemiology, and ecological medicine, one can detect wider scopes of biological patients, as populations and ecosystems. The growing literature on symbionts also contributes to the variety of patient definitions, for example, by seeing human beings as holobionts, together with our microbes. While there is a lively discourse in the life sciences about different forms of (humans and non-humans) living beings concerning various scientific contexts, everything outside of them is often understood simply as 'environment,' a broad concept that has stayed as a relic from the exclusively organism-focused past. On the backdrop of current life sciences discussions, I suggest to rethink the traditional dichotomic model of organism-environment, which was introduced by Herbert Spencer in 1855. The paper presents a new gradual model of the living being and its exterior, i.e., the different ways of ´being outside the organism´ that correspond to various living beings. The model is formed as nested domains that create a spectrum of boundaries between the living being and its exterior, which are part of the same whole. The model allows a dynamic understanding of life in general and a more precise definition of the biological patient depending on the scientific context.
2020
CPS Lunch Forum: Laura Crosilla
Laura Crosilla presents "Infinity - Again!"
Time and place: Nov. 16, 2020 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, zoom
The seminar is open. Send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(at)fikk.uio.no, and receive the zoom-link.
Abstract
Traditionally mathematical approaches to the infinite focused on the notion of potential infinity. A profound shift of perspective came with the deep methodological changes that took place in 19th century mathematics, culminating with Cantor’s set theory. While Cantorian set theory has flourished ever since, its treatment of infinity prompted criticism by some of the most influential mathematicians of the early 20th century, such as Henri Poincaré, L. E. J. Brouwer and Hermann Weyl. This criticism laid the seeds for a radically different form of mathematics, i.e. constructive mathematics, which is growing fast today under the stimulus of computer applications. Arguably, some of these new developments bring forward key aspects of the early 20th century’s criticism of Cantorian infinity. In this talk, I consider in broad terms some of the main steps of these developments and point to some of their implications for today’s philosophy of mathematics.
CPS Lunch Forum: Sebastian Watzl
Sebastian Watzl (CPS/IFIKK, UiO) presents "Salience plays a rational role"
Time and place: Nov. 9, 2020 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, zoom
The seminar is open. Send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(at)fikk.uio.no and receive the zoom-link.
Abstract
Salience is usually treated as either an irrational or as an a-rational influence. Salience based decision making, thus, is often described as “biased”. In this paper, I argue that it is a mistake to treat salience as either outside the scope of rational evaluation or as a distortion of rationality. I argue that there is an important species of rational warrant, a rational entitlement, that is distinct from possessing reasons. We have such a rational entitlement to rely on our psychological salience system. The relevant rational entitlement forms a basic attention norm, i.e. we have a basic rational entitlement to focus more attention on what is more salient to us in a specific situation. I provide three arguments for this conclusion: a pragmatic argument, an argument from the phenomenal force of salience, and an argument from the function of the salience system. These arguments are mutually re- enforcing. While there are, indeed, salience biases, an agent is rationally entitled to treat those cases as the exception rather than the rule. Salience biases in this sense are like perceptual illusions. Our rational entitlement to focus attention on what is salient to us is more fundamental than what is going on in cases where salience distorts rational decision making.The upshot of this paper forms part of a more general case for a right to have a basic level of trust in our own situated agency.
CPS Lunch Forum: Karen Crowther
Karen Crowther (CPS/IFIKK, UiO) presents "Interpretations of Infinity in Physics".
Time and place: Nov. 2, 2020 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, Zoom
The seminar is open. Send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(at)fikk.uio.no and receive the zoom-link.
Abstract:
I will explore some different possible roles and interpretations of infinitities in physical theories. Can singularities be explanatory? Can they act as predictions? Do they tell us something about unknown physics? How could they be used in developing new theories? Can they be taken seriously as features of the world? Or are they only artefacts of idealisations? I will focus mainly on the divergences in quantum field theory and spacetime singularities in general relativity.
CPS Lunch Forum: Øystein Linnebo
Øystein Linnebo (CPS/IFIKK, UiO) presents at CPS Lunch Forum
Time and place: Oct. 26, 2020 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, Zoom
The seminar is open. Send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(at)fikk.uio.no and receive the zoom-link.
Title: What is infinity?
Abstract: The answer we now give is relatively recent. The dominant view in mathematics and philosophy used to be that infinity can only be understood as potential, not actual. For example, while it is always possible to produce one more object, it is not possible for there to simultaneously exist infinitely many objects. This view was finally eclipsed by Georg Cantor’s discovery of modern set theory in the late 19th century. I describe, in a fairly accessible way, how our conception of infinity has developed. I also show how the pre-Cantorian conception admits of a sharp mathematical analysis, which can inspire mathematics that remains interesting today.
CPS Lunch Forum: Paula Rubio-Fernández
Paula Rubio-Fernández (IFIKK, UiO) presents at the CPS Lunch Forum.
Time and place: Oct. 19, 2020 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, Zoom
The seminar is open. Send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(at)fikk.uio.no and receive the zoom-link.
Paula Rubio-Fernández (IFIKK/CPS, UiO) presents "Perspective taking in newly-sighted children: Do they orient towards an interlocutor’s face?"
The seminar is open. Send us a message, and you will receive the zoom-link.
Abstract
Both children and adults follow gaze to disambiguate reference. In a study with Prakash children (newly sighted children treated from congenital cataracts), we investigated perspective taking in referential communication, starting with their orientation towards people’s faces after bandages are removed post-surgery (Experiment 1), also during an interactive game with a peer (Experiment 2), and in a standard referential communication task that required following an experimenter’s head/gaze to disambiguate her instructions (Experiment 3). In all three experiments, Prakash children made fewer fixations on their interlocutor’s face than their neurotypical controls. Interestingly, directly asking children to focus on the experimenter’s face improved their gaze following, but this behavior needed to be prompted. The results of our first study on the pragmatic abilities of Prakash children suggest that after years of visual deprivation, orienting towards an interlocutor’s face may not come naturally, contrary to what the infancy and early childhood literatures show. The implications of these findings for pragmatic theories of communication will be discussed, in particular the informational efficiency and perceived relevance of communicative signals.
CPS Lunch Forum: Jack Wright
Jack Wright (Cambridge, guest researcher at CPS, UiO) presents at the CPS Lunch Forum.
Time and place: Oct. 12, 2020 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, Zoom
Title and abstract coming soon.
CPS Lunch Forum: Dragana Bozin
Dragana Bozin (CPS/IFIKK, UiO) presents "Philosophers and scientists: a collaboration to improve climate science communication"
Time and place: Oct. 5, 2020 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, Zoom
The seminar is open. Send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(at)fikk.uio.no and receive the zoom-link.
Abstract
Recently philosophy of science in practice, experimental philosophy and socially engaged philosophy of science have been on the rise. We argue that these new developments can be taken a step further through direct collaboration between philosophers and scientists to address a specific challenge for climate science by drawing on recent achievements in philosophy and epistemology of science.
One of the central challenges in the climate change debate is skepticism towards climate science often due to lack of understanding of how science works, implicit biases with regard to how we relate to information going against personal beliefs, or other complex mechanisms of knowledge resistance. This presents a challenge for institutions like the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (MET Norway) working with climate science communication with a mandate to provide decision makers with information relevant for climate change adaption.
Philosophers’ expertise regarding what knowledge is, how we acquire knowledge, how we understand the world, how we form beliefs and assign a level of trust to those beliefs, research in philosophy can contribute to new perspectives to climate science communication. In cooperation with MET Norway, the project will bring together perspectives and expertise of philosophers, climate scientists and communication experts to develop concrete strategies for communication of climate science that would moderate knowledge resistance/skepticism. The new communication strategies will be tested through MET Norway.
CPS Lunch Forum: Olav Gjelsvik
Olav Gjelsvik (CPS/IFIKK, UiO) presents at the CPS Lunch Forum.
Time and place: Sep. 28, 2020 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, Zoom
The seminar is open to everyone interested. Send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(at)fikk.uio.no, and you will receive the zoom link.
Towards a normative account of belief
ABSTRACT:
There has been a debate about normative accounts of belief for more than 15 years. This presentation presents some highlights of a quite long chapter on these issues, and focusses on my own normative approach, possibly with a critical light on Tim Williamson’s which may be the best in print.
I work with a clear difference between the normativity intentional action, including that of action of inquiry, and that of belief formation. I use a Fregean approach to belief content, and show that for a normativist account of belief we need a broader look at what is going on in both genuinely paradoxical beliefs and in the beliefs of Moore-type paradox. Any approach to belief needs to deal with both these cases, and my normative approach is able to do so. If I have time, I will show some of the extent to which Williamson’s approach, in my judgement, fails.
CPS Lunch Forum: Robin Solberg
Robin Solberg (Oxford, guest researcher at IFIKK) presents on: "Research programs in set theory".
Time and place: Sep. 21, 2020 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, zoom
Abstract: I wish to discuss the relationship between certain conflicting views in the philosophy of set theory, namely monism vs. pluralism about the set theoretic universe, and current projects in contemporary set theoretic practice. I want to investigate to what extent these philosophical positions are relevant to the mathematical practice. And how this again might be, if at all, relevant to the philosophical debate.
The meeting is open to everyone interested. Send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(at)fikk.uio.no to receive the zoom-link for the meeting.
CPS Lunch Forum: Gry Oftedal
Gry Oftedal (Senior Lecturer, CPS and IFIKK, UiO) presents work-in-progress on abstraction in the life sciences.
Time and place: Sep. 14, 2020 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, Zoom
The seminar is open. If you want to participate, send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(a)fikk.uio.no, and you will receive the zoom-link.
How abstract is “a cell”?
Implications of conflating abstraction with organizational level, idealization, and generalization of results in the life sciences.
Abstraction, idealization, and generalization are important ingredients in the scientific toolbox, also for biologists. Newer systems biology approaches are often seen as delivering science that is more holistic, more general (and at the same time more personalized with regard to medical applications), more abstract, higher-level and also multi-level/multi-scale. I will address the focus on higher levels of abstraction, explanation and organization in biology, contrasting molecular and systems biology, and point to some conflations of different types of level hierarchies and what implications such conflations may have for the science as well as for ideas of reduction and explanation.
CPS Lunch Forum: Ingrid Lossius Falkum
Ingrid Lossius Falkum (Associate Professor, CPS and IFIKK/ILN, UiO) will present her new ERC-project, "The Developing Communicator", at the first CPS Lunch Forum.
Time and place: Sep. 7, 2020 12:15 PM–1:00 PM, Zoom
The seminar is open. If you would like to participate, please send an e-mail to gry.oftedal(at)ifikk.uio.no, and you will receive the relevant zoom-link.
The Developing Communicator (DEVCOM)
Children are born communicators. A growing body of developmental evidence suggests that the cognitive abilities enabling the expression and comprehension of communicative intentions – so-called pragmatic abilities – which underlie language use and understanding, develop early. However, a puzzling feature of pragmatic development is children’s difficulties with non-literal uses of language (e.g., “I love you so much I could eat you up!”). How can children be early experts at a range of pragmatically complex tasks requiring attention to speakers’ intentions, but act like ‘literal listeners’ in other contexts? The ERC-project DEVCOM aims to provide an account of the stages and factors involved in children’s developing competence with non-literal uses of language, focusing, inter alia, on how children’s pragmatic reasoning with non-literal uses is influenced by their acquisition of the conventional meanings of words. The project will use a set of novel methodologies combining explicit and implicit measures, assuming that while children’s performance on explicit measures is liable to be affected by a growing sensitivity to sense conventions, implicit measures may be more revealing of their actual pragmatic abilities.
WEBINAR: First CPS Covid-19 Crisis Seminar
We are in the midst of a world-wide crisis. The Covid-19 pandemic affects us, our societies, and the world in many different ways. As we move forward, we need the clear-headed integration of a variety of perspectives. This Seminar is our small contribution and starting point.
Time and place: Apr. 15, 2020 4:15 PM–6:00 PM, Zoom
We are in the midst of a world-wide crisis. The Covid-19 pandemic affects us, our societies, and the world in many different ways.
The crisis intertwines – with extreme complexity – issues that range from, of course, epidemiology and virology, to ethics, health care allocation, economics, science communication, the use of expertise in policy making, legal issues of various kinds, and many more: how, if at all. to make scientifically based policy (in a case like this)?
How are different values to be balanced? How to make (political) decisions under (extremely) high uncertainty? How do facts and values interact? What legal and economic measures mechanisms are appropriate? How can scientists of various stripes cooperate to solve such pressing issues?
In a situation that is constantly evolving there are – at each time – many pressing issues that need to be solved right here and now, both within our local communities and in our countries. And much of what we each contribute and have to deal with falls outside the academic domain. Yet, as we move forward, there will also be a need for clear-headed and forward-looking thinking about all the relevant issues, and for exchange and integration of different perspectives. We at the Centre for Philosophy and the Sciences (CPS) in Oslo thus have put together a 2 hour long, “Covid-19 Crisis Seminar”, to be held on Zoom, to which we have invited academics from a variety of disciplines, from epidemiology, statistics, law, evolutionary biology, to ethics, and democratic theory. If the seminar goes well it could be the start of a series of events like it where we continue to together think about issues about science, society and values, as they arise in our present context.
The Seminar will take place on Zoom this Wednesday, April 15th, from 16:15-18:00 (CEST). The speakers and panel discussants are (some confirmation regarding the date missing from some)
- Cathrine Holst (sociology, democracy research)
- Arnoldo Frigessi (statistics, stochastic modeling)
- Hans Petter Graver (law)
- Gunnveig Grødeland (immunology, vaccines)
- Kalle Moene (economics)
- Katerini Storeng (global health)
- Henrik Syse (ethics, political philosophy)
- David Sloan Wilson (evolutionary biology) (tbc)
- Åsa Wikforrs (epistemology)
A brief introduction will be provided by Sebastian Watzl (philosophy). He will also moderate the discussion. For the first hour all speakers will provide a 5-7 min perspective. The second hour will feature a panel discussion.
We know that this is very short notice (much shorter than usual for an academic event). But given the dynamics of the situation, we thought we should get started quickly.
We would like to run this like an open academic workshop. Others than the speaker are welcome to join and listen, and there will also be time for questions from audience. Due to the technical and security limitations of Zoom, we ask everyone who would like join to send an email to sebaswat [at sign] ifikk.uio.no. An email with the Zoom link will then be send out to everyone who signed up by Wednesday at 15:00. Participants other than the speakers won’t be able to use video or audio, but will be able to listen and watch the discussion and will be able ask questions through Zoom’s the chat function.
2019
Discover the space where science meets philosophy at Forskningstorget
We explore the field between philosophy and the sciences with rubber hands and games with Moebius strips at Forskningstorget science fair.
Time and place: Sep. 20, 2019 9:00 AM–Sep. 21, 2019 5:00 PM, Universitetsplassen, Karl Johans gate 47
Take a journey into the wonderland between philosophy and science. Find out about the Moebius strip that connects back and front and where you can walk on a straight line and come back to where you came from. Make Moebius strips yourself, and discover the odd things that happen when you cut them and glue them together.
And feel how a rubber hand seems to become yours. Does it feel as real as the other parts of your body? What does is it feel like to be you? And what would it feel like to be an octopus or a bat? Can science find out?
Most of the event will take place in Norwegian, but we are happy to welcome also English speaking visitors.
About "Forskningstorget"
Forskningstorget is a science fair in the middle of Oslo and a part of the national Science Days, where hundreds of events take place all over the country between September 18-29. The science fair is free for everyone, requires no registration, and has something for inquisitive minds of all ages. The science fair expects about 10000-15000 visitors.
Workshop on “Second-order logic and the question of (im)predicativity”
Organized by ConceptLab (IFIKK).
Time: Aug. 20, 2019 9:00 AM–Aug. 21, 2019 6:00 PM
Speakers include Laura Crosilla, Peter Fritz, Øystein Linnebo, Agustin Rayo, Sam Roberts, Chris Scambler, Stewart Shapiro, Crispin Wright.