Wittgenstien, Philosophy of Mind & Naturalism

Wittgenstein, Philosophy of Mind & Naturalism

It has become a commonplace to say that Wittgenstein was one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. While substantial numbers of articles and monographs on Wittgenstein continue to be produced, however, his thought (or Wittgensteinian philosophy more broadly) often seems absent from philosophical debates where the agenda has been set by various forms of scientific naturalism, especially in the philosophy of mind. This conference, “Wittgenstein, Philosophy of Mind & Naturalism” will bring together both leading thinkers and younger philosophers with the aim of remedying this situation by exploring the interface between Wittgenstein’s philosophy and central topics in contemporary philosophy of mind. Confirmed invited speakers are Charles Travis (Porto), Julia Tanney (Kent), Paul Snowdon (UCL), Bill Child (Oxford), Bjørn Ramberg (Oslo), Dorit Bar-On  (Connecticut), and David Finkelstein (Chicago), and Jonathan Knowles (NTNU Trondheim).

Those interested in presenting a paper should submit their complete draft to the address provided below by January 5, 2015. Papers should take no longer than 30 minutes to present. The word limit is 4000.

All submissions pertinent to the main theme of the conference are welcome. Especially welcome are papers exploring the relation between Wittgenstein’s work and contemporary debates concerning the following topics:

Phenomenal properties and/or phenomenal concepts         

Computational theories of mind and/or the “Language of Thought”   

Metaphysical Reduction and Fundamentality/Grounding

Physicalism

Ethical Naturalism

Naturalized Epistemology

Knowing-how vs. Knowing-that

Recent trends in Cognitive science & Neuroscience  

Perceptual experience

Propositional attitudes

Attempts to Naturalize intentionality

Realism, Anti-Realism and “Quasi-Realism”

Recent “Neo-pragmatist” approaches to linguistic and/or mental content

While exegetical discussions are welcome as a subordinate part of an overall argument, the focus of the papers should not be exegetical per se, since a primary aim of the conference is to facilitate contact between diverse philosophical viewpoints rather than to explicate Wittgenstein’s work. In this vein, the organizers wish to underline that there is no presumption that presentations take any particular philosophical position regarding Wittgenstein’s philosophy, Naturalism, or Philosophy of Mind. Critical perspectives are most welcome!

The principal organizers are Kevin Cahill (Bergen) and Thomas Raleigh (NTNU Trondheim).  

Dates and location for the conference are June 12-13, 2015 in Bergen, Norway.   

The registration fee of 500 Norwegian Crowns (approximately $70) covers lunch and coffee for two days.

Those interested in attending should direct their inquiries to [email protected] or [email protected]