'Nothing Over and Above' Workshop

August 30, 2017
University of Helsinki

Unioninkatu 40 A
Helsinki
Finland

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Sponsor(s):

  • Academy of Finland

Speakers:

Arianna Betti
University of Amsterdam

Organisers:

Donnchadh O'Conaill
University of Helsinki
University of Bristol

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3rd Epistemology of Metaphysics Workshop (EMW 3) & ‘Nothing Over and Above’ Workshop

These two sister workshops with two separate CFPs will take place at the University of Helsinki, Finland, August 30-31, 2017.

August 30: ‘Nothing Over and Above’ Workshop keynote speaker: Arianna Betti (University of Amsterdam)

August 31: EMW 3 keynote speaker: Alyssa Ney (UC Davis): “Physics and Fundamentality”

Call For Papes
Three slots are open for submitted papers for each part of the event. Abstracts of no more than 500 words (suitable for a max. 40min presentation) may be submitted by 4pm GMT, April 1, 2017. Notification of decisions is expected by mid-April.

Please send your abstract to sanna DOT mattila AT Helsinki DOT fi in PDF or DOC(X) format. The subject line should read “SUBMISSION: NOTHING OVER AND ABOVE” or “SUBMISSION: EMW 3”, depending on which part of the event you’d like to submit to. Only one paper per author will be considered for the two events. Submissions are especially welcome from graduate students and early-career researchers. Submissions should be blinded and include the following in the body of the e-mail:

Author(s)

Event (EMW 3 OR Nothing Over and Above)

Paper title

Affiliation

Contact e-mail

‘Nothing Over and Above’ Workshop (August 30)

The phrase ‘nothing over and above’ has become a familiar one across a range of philosophical discussions. It has been used to state a core commitment of physicalism in the philosophy of mind, and the relation which ontologically reducible entities bear to their reduction base; it has been referred to in debates concerning facts, mereology, constitution and grounding. This workshop will investigate these different uses of the term in different contexts. Questions which submissions might consider include: is there a core sense in which something can be said to be nothing over and above some entity or entities; can this sense be analysed or explained in more familiar theoretical terms; can this term help to clarify other contested notions such as reduction, entities being wholly distinct from each other, entities being essentially related, etc.; is this term useful or can it ultimately be dispensed with? Papers are welcome addressing these questions or any use of this term, particularly in metaphysics or philosophy of mind.

 

EMW 3 (August 31)

The focus of this workshop is on an area of meta-metaphysics that could be termed “the epistemology of metaphysics”. On one hand, the epistemology of metaphysics deals with topics that are well established in their own right, such as modal epistemology. On the other hand, it deals with topics related to the “toolbox” of metaphysics, such as theoretical virtues and various dependence relations (realization, ontological dependence, grounding etc.) that connect different “levels” of reality. One pressing question is how these dependence relations relate to the notion of fundamentality. There is also a natural overlap with more epistemically oriented topics, such as the use of intuitions and thought experiments in metaphysics and the role of a priori (armchair) methods vs. a posteriori (empirical) elements in metaphysics. Submissions engaging with any of these topics are welcome.

Practical Information

We expect to provide accommodation in Helsinki for accepted speakers for up to three nights, with the hope that participants will attend the whole event. Unfortunately, we cannot cover travel costs.

‘Nothing Over and Above’ Workshop is coordinated by Donnchadh O’Conaill and EMW 3 is coordinated by Tuomas Tahko.

For general inquiries regarding ‘Nothing Over and Above’ Workshop, contact donnchadh DOT oconaill at the domain Helsinki DOT fi.
For general inquiries regarding EMW 3, contact tuomas DOT tahko at the domain Helsinki DOT fi.

The events are organized by Tuomas Tahko’s Academy of Finland Project The Epistemology of Metaphysics.

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