Have We Lost Our Minds? A Controversy Between Science And Philosophy

Have We Lost Our Minds?

A Controversy Between Science and Philosophy

Date and Venue

University of Zurich, Switzerland, November 14-15, 2014.

Keynote speakers 

José Bermúdez (Texas A&M University, USA)

Geert Keil (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany)

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.

Each of the four sessions of the workshop will be initiated by a lecture of one of the keynote speakers; the subsequent discussion on the lecture will be stimulated by two critical responses. The topics for the sessions are: “Mental Causation and Physicalism” & “Ownership and Knowledge Without Observation” by José Bermúdez and „What is Wrong With Naturalism in the Philosophy of Mind“ & „Implications of Naturalism for the Problem of Free Will“ by Geert Keil.

Attendance to the workshop is free for doctoral students from the University of Zurich, just register by writing an email to [email protected].

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