SAPoLSN 2025 Graduate Summer School: Cognition Across the Tree of Life

Cognition Across the Tree of Life

Time:

August 10th-16th, 2025 (check in on August 10th)

Location:

Fudan University, Shanghai, China

Organizers:

Sino-Australian Philosophy of Life Sciences Network (SAPoLSN)

● School of Philosophy at Fudan University (FDU)

● Department of Philosophy at Peking University (PKU)

● Department of Philosophy at Macquarie University

● Institute of Philosophy at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CASIP)

Main Instructors:

● Marta Halina (Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, UK)

● Susana Monsó (Department of Logic, History, and Philosophy of Science of UNED, Madrid, Spain)

Other Instructors:

● Alan Love (University of Minnesota, US)

● Luke Kersten (University of Alberta, Canada)

● Matthew Sims (University of Cambridge, UK)

● Miguel Segundo-Ortín (University of Murcia, Spain)

● And more …

About the Summer School

This summer school is a yearly event jointly sponsored and organized by the Sino-Australian Philosophy of Life Sciences Network (SAPoLSN), which was initiated by the School of Philosophy at Fudan University, the Department of Philosophy at Peking University, the Department of Philosophy at Macquarie University in Australia, and the Institute of Philosophy at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CASIP). Its purpose is to introduce the most important recent developments in the philosophy of life sciences to graduate students and young scholars, and to promote research and educational cooperation between Chinese and international philosophers of science. The inaugural SAPoLSN Summer School was successfully held at Peking University in Beijing, 2024.

This year’s summer school will be held from August 10th-16th, 2025, and will be hosted by the School of Philosophy at Fudan University in Shanghai. The theme is: Cognition Across the Tree of Life.

Though humans have historically been regarded as the only species with sophisticated cognitive abilities, today this vision is no longer plausible, and the study of cognition spans the whole tree of life. In this summer school, we will delve into contemporary debates on cognition beyond humans. We will address the extent to which nonhuman animals can be said to possess psychological characteristics that have traditionally been thought of as uniquely human, such as consciousness, theory of mind, causal reasoning, morality, or a concept of death. We will also examine whether non-animal forms of life, such as plants and slime mould, are best understood as cognitive. Finally, we will consider different conceptual and methodological approaches to the study of cognition, from more orthodox computational models to embodied, embedded, and enactive cognition.

In addition to traditional lectures, this summer school will involve diverse activity formats, including but not limited to interviews with invited scholars, academic development panels, brainstorming sessions (e.g., for identifying PhD thesis topics), group presentations, organized dinners, and (fun!) excursions. Students will have the opportunity to interact with and learn from world-famous philosophers in person, as well as to communicate and cooperate with their peers in depth. Following the summer school, Peking University will host an international workshop on the same theme from August 18th–19th in Beijing, where students are warmly encouraged to participate.

Registration

Registration is required for all students who want to participate in the summer school. However, registration does not guarantee enrollment in this summer school. Due to limited capacity, we will select participants based on their registration information. There is no registration fee. We can provide free shared accommodations (hotel rooms with two separate beds) for students in need, and other expenses will be the responsibility of the participants.

Requirements:

1. This summer school will be conducted entirely in English. Participants should ensure that they have a good level of English proficiency.

2. This summer school is open to postgraduate students from around the world.

3. Participants are required to participate offline for the entire duration of all programs. Additionally, they should ensure that they have a basic understanding of and sufficient interest in the summer school.

Deadline for registration: May 5th, 2025 (Beijing time)

Registration link:

https://www.wjx.top/vm/YbkWugM.aspx#

Contact

For further information about the summer school, please contact:

LI Xingyi (李星熠)

Email: [email protected]