Summer school "Concepts, Normativity, and Cognition: Philosophical and Empirical Perspectives"

The summerschool "Concepts, Normativity, and Cognition: Philosophical and Empirical Perspectives" will take place in Pärnu, Estonia, from August 26 to August 30. The summer school is aimed at graduate students of philosophy, linguistics and psychology who are interested in the interdisciplinary study of concepts, normativity, and cognition. The school is organized by the projects "Understanding the Normative Dimensions of Human Conduct: Conceptual and Developmental Issues (NormCon)" and "Communication in Context: Shared Understanding in a Complex World (CCCOM)" of the EUROCORES program "EuroUnderstanding" of the European Science Foundation.

Topics of the school include:

• How can semantic externalism be reconciled with the psychology of concepts and reference?
• Are semantic theories of concepts empirically testable?
• The ontogenetic development of concept use - philosophical and psychological aspects
• Is metacognition necessarily bound to language abilities?
• Counterfactual reasoning – a developmental challenge of knowing what to change and what to hold constant
• Generics – a default mode in children’s counterfactual world?
• Taking another’s perspective: Definition, operationalization and findings from empirical psychology.
• What is (the functional core of) theory of mind?
• When is protesting  a sign of normative understanding?
• No reason to compete? Young children's difficulties with competition and sabotage.

Board and lodging will be covered by the school, however students have to fund their own travel expenses. The school is limited to 20 participants. If you'd like to attend, please send us a short CV and the topic of your graduate research to [email protected] by July 10. You will be informed about acceptance by July 15. For more information, see