The Center Debates

“The Center Debates” is a new initiative of the Center for Philosophy of Science. Our goal is to promote serious, but respectful and constructive exchanges about controversial topics of interest to historians and philosophers of science, scientists, and the lay public. Typically two speakers with a different perspective on a given topic are invited to debate; each gives a 20-minute presentation, followed by two 10-minute responses to the other’s speaker presentation. This exchange is then followed by a 30 minute Q&A.

Episode 1: "The Center Debates: Fake News" will take place on Tuesday, October 6th at 12PM Eastern Time.

Cailin O’Connor (UC Irvine), author of The Misinformation Age: How False Beliefs Spread, and Hugo Mercier (Jean Nicod Institute, CNRS), author of Not Born Yesterday: The Science of Who We Trust and What We Believe, will debate the impact of “fake news” and conspiracy theories.

Why should we care about having true beliefs? And why do demonstrably false beliefs persist and spread despite consequences for the people who hold them?

Or, on the other hand, are humans not as gullible as we think?

For more information and a registration link, please visit our event page (linked below).

https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/event/debates-fake-news/

The Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh