Workshop on Acquaintance

Acquaintance Workshop at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Trondheim, Norway, 24th-25th April 2014 Keynote speakers: John Campbell (UC Berkeley), Bill Brewer (KCL) speakers from project group(provisional): Thomas Raleigh (NTNU), Jonathan Knowles (NTNU), Anders Nes (CSMN Oslo), Jessica Pepp (CSMN Oslo), Solveig Aasen (CSMN Oslo/UCL).

Having fallen out of favour during the latter part of the 20th century, the notion of acquaintance seems recently to be enjoying a revival of fortunes in philosophy. In the philosophy of perception, naïve realists have claimed that we are consciously acquainted with external features in our environments. A number of theorists, both physicalists and non-physicalists, working on the ‘hard problem’ of consciousness have appealed to the idea that we are acquainted with the phenomenal properties of experience. Some kind of acquaintance relation is also often adduced as a necessary condition for singular thought. Finally, acquaintance features in some recent epistemological debates about the nature of self-knowledge.

Of course, as ever in philosophy, there is much disagreement over the nature of acquaintance. Is acquaintance a non-representational relation or is it just a special kind of representation? Is acquaintance in itself a form of knowledge, as Russell originally held, or does it enable knowledge? If the latter, does it enable a special kind of knowledge? Is acquaintance a ‘brute’ relation between subject and object or can more be said about it? Is appealing to an acquaintance relation acceptable for physicalists? Is any notion of acquaintance bound to be a form of the ‘Myth of the Given’?

This workshop aims to cast some light on some of these issues as well exploring the motivations for and possible arguments against the various acquaintance-based theories.

Organised by Representationalism or Anti-representationalism? Perspectives on Intentionality from Philosophy and Cognitive Science, see http://www.ntnu.no/ifr/representationalism-or-anti-representationalism.

If you wish to attend the workshop please contact [email protected] or [email protected]. Norwegian master students can apply for a stipend to support travel/accommodation.