CFP: Have We Lost Our Minds? A Controversy Between Science and Philosophy

Recently, empirical disciplines like neuroscience or anthropology have approached phenomena such as knowledge or consciousness using empirical methods. As a consequence, they have challenged philosophy not only with regard to its traditional subject matter, but also concerning its methods of investigation.

The aim of this workshop is to allow for an exchange between philosophers and empirical scientists working on these topics. Such an exchange is doubly significant: On the one hand, it is of paramount importance that philosophers know what they are talking about when they address empirical research – be it in a critical or in an enthusiastic spirit. On the other hand, empirical disciplines must take into
account that their research inevitably incorporates specific, non-trivial conceptual presuppositions that are hotly debated in contemporary philosophy of mind.

The workshop will take place at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, on November 14-15, 2014. Keynote speakers are José Bermudez (Texas A&M University, USA) and Geert Keil (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany).

Each of the four sessions of the workshop will be initiated by a lecture of one of the keynote speakers, followed by a comment of approximately 30 minutes in length. The provisional topics for the sessions are: „Thinking” & „Consciousness” by José Bermúdez and „Critique of Naturalism“ & „Implications of Naturalism for the Problem of Free Will“ by Geert Keil.

We invite applications for these comments by PhD students or early postdoc researchers, in particular by empirical scientists working on the topics mentioned, but also from philosophers.

The deadline for applications is August 31, 2014. We kindly ask applicants to include an academic CV and a brief statement of interest (approximately 150 words). Please send your applications to [email protected] with the subject “Application: Mind-Workshop”.

Limited funding for travel costs is available.

For Inquiries, feel free to contact [email protected] or [email protected].

The workshop is funded by a generous grant from the University of Zurich's Graduate Campus.