1st Epistemology of Metaphysics Workshop (EMW 1)

1st Epistemology of Metaphysics Workshop (EMW 1)
University of Helsinki
May 8, 2015

Keynote Speaker: Daniel Nolan (ANU): "Theoretical Conservatism in Metaphysics"

Your host: Tuomas E. Tahko (Helsinki)

Description
Even a cursory glance at recent literature in contemporary analytic metaphysics will reveal that epistemic and methodological issues have gained a central position – to the extent that talk of a new sub-discipline is not out of place. This sub-discipline is typically called metametaphysics. The focus of this workshop is on an area of metametaphysics that could be termed "the epistemology of metaphysics". On one hand, the epistemology of metaphysics deals with topics that are fully established, such as modal epistemology. On the other hand, it deals with topics such as grounding and fundamentality, which – despite having roots going as far back as Aristotle – are at the cutting edge of metaphysics. A third topic which certainly ought to be discussed under this rubric is the relationship between science and metaphysics – especially regarding the extent to which metaphysics can, or should, be naturalised. There is also a natural overlap with epistemic questions, such as the use of intuitions as evidence in metaphysics and the role of a priori (armchair) methods vs. a posteriori (empirical) elements in metaphysics.

The workshop is organized by the Academy of Finland project The Epistemology of Metaphysics led by Tuomas Tahko, in collaboration with Dynamis: The Finnish Network for Metaphysics.

http://ttahko.net/essential-knowledge/