Epistemic Value

CFP: 6th Annual Edinburgh Graduate Epistemology Conference

2015-11-11T12:45:00.003+00:00

Call For Papers

Sixth Annual Edinburgh Graduate Epistemology Conference

The 6th Annual Edinburgh Graduate Epistemology Conference will take place 6th-7th June 2016 at the University of Edinburgh. This year’s keynote speakers will be Carrie Ichikawa Jenkins (British Columbia) and Alan Millar (Stirling). All graduate presentations will have respondents from faculty members at Edinburgh or a neighbouring university.

We invite graduate students to submit essays within any area of epistemology (broadly construed). Essays should be under 4000 words, and should be anonymised for blind review.

We would really like the conference to be representative of the graduate community and so we strongly encourage submissions from anyone working on epistemology who is a member of an under-represented group.

We will be happy to help arrange free childcare for any attendees who would find it helpful. Please feel free to get in touch to discuss this, or any accessibility requirements you may have.

The deadline for submissions is 16th February, 2016, 00:00 GMT. For more information, including details of how to submit, please visit our conference page:

http://www.ppls.ed.ac.uk/events/view/sixth-annual-graduate-epistemology-conference

This conference is generously sponsored by the Eidyn Research Centre, the University of Edinburgh, and is supported by the Edinburgh Women in Philosophy Group.

CFP: Conference “Science versus Common Sense?”

2015-10-29T20:35:00.000+00:00

Conference “Science versus Common Sense?”
February 25-27, 2016, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Conference theme
This conference seeks to address the nature, limits, and value of common sense, especially in relation and possibly in contrast to science and scientific knowledge.
It is often claimed that science debunks common sense: much of our naïve physics, chemistry, and biology has been replaced by superior scientifically informed accounts of physical, chemical, and biological phenomena. In recent years, various bits of our commonsensical self-understanding as free, rational, moral, and self-knowing beings has also come under attack from science. Various kinds of scientific debunking arguments are flourishing.
At the same time, it seems obvious that we cannot do without common sense. Arguably, science and the scientific method itself was built on, and continues to depend on, common sense and common sense still plays an important role as a touchstone in much philosophical theorizing.
All of this raises questions about the nature of common sense, its relation to science and philosophy, and its tenability in the face of various kinds of attacks from science and philosophy.

Key questions include:
· What is common sense? A source of knowledge, a fixed body of knowledge, an approach to knowledge, or something else?
· What is the nature of scientific knowledge? How does it differ from commonsensical knowledge?
· How are common sense and science related? Is science best thought of as ‘the long arm’ of common sense or are they more discontinuous? To what extent does science gives us reason to become skeptical about common sense (e.g., through debunking arguments)?
· How are common sense and philosophy related? What role ought common sense to play in philosophy? Are there philosophical reasons to distrust common sense?
· What are suitable epistemological pictures / models to think about the relations between science, common sense, and philosophy?

Keynote Speakers
· Russ Shafer-Landau (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
· Katia Vavova (Mount Holyoke College)
· Duncan Pritchard (University of Edinburgh)
· Noah Lemos (College of William & Mary)

Deadline Abstract & Notification
· Send an abstract of at most 500 words to Irma Verlaan by December 5, 2015: g.h.verlaan@vu.nl

· Notifications of acceptance will be sent by December 10, 2015.

Organizing committee
René van Woudenberg
Jeroen de Ridder
Rik Peels
Irma Verlaan

www.abrahamkuypercenter.vu.nl

The workshop is part of the research program Science Beyond Scientism (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam). The organizers gratefully acknowledge the support of the Templeton World Charity Foundation.

2015 Tennessee Value and Agency (TVA) Conference

2015-06-15T16:35:00.002+01:00

2015 Tennessee Value and Agency (TVA) Conference
Knowledge and Agency
September 4 & 5, 2015
1210 McClung Tower, University of Tennessee
http://web.utk.edu/~philosop/TVA/conference.html

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 4

9-9.30: Breakfast (provided on site)

9.30-11: Sharon Mason (Indiana University), “Externalism for Doxastic Agents?”

11-12.30: Reza Hadisi (University of Illinois-Chicago), “Doxastic Voluntarism as Epistemic (But Not Practical) Agency”

12.30-1.30: Lunch (provided on site)

1.30-3: Suzy Killmister (University of Connecticut), “How Does Ignorance Affect Autonomy?”

3-4.30: Samuel Murray (University of Notre Dame), “Awareness and Vigilance”

4.30-6: Keynote #1 -- John Schwenkler (Florida State University)

6-6.30: Reception (on site)

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 5

9-9.30: Breakfast (provided on site)

9.30-11: John Hurst (Ohio State University), “Believing You’ll Act as Intended”

11-12.30: Gregory Antill (UCLA), “Belief, Intention, and Deliberation”

12.30-1.30: Lunch (provided on site)

1.30-3: Jeremy Fix (Harvard University), “Intellectual Isolation”

3-4.30: Jennifer Frey (University of South Carolina), “Agency, Practical Knowledge, and the Good”

4.30-6: Keynote #2 -- Candace Vogler (University of Chicago)

6-6.30: Reception (on site)

All lectures are free and open to the public.
For further information, contact EJ Coffman: ecoffma1@utk.edu

Edinburgh 5th Annual Graduate Epistemology Conference

2015-04-30T10:49:00.002+01:00

Registration for the University of Edinburgh 5th Annual Graduate Epistemology Conference is now open (27th-28th May 2015). Our keynote speakers this year will be Elizabeth Fricker (Oxford) and Jennifer Nagel (Toronto). Attendance is free and includes lunch and refreshments on both days. There will also be an optional conference dinner for an additional £20.

Please register online here in order to help us make appropriate catering arrangements.

Further details can be found on the conference webpage.

This conference is generously sponsored by the Eidyn Research Centre, the University of Edinburgh, the Scots Philosophical Association, the Mind Association and the Analysis Trust, and is supported by the Edinburgh Women in Philosophy Group.

Final CfP: 5th Annual Edinburgh Graduate Epistemology Conference

2015-02-11T13:24:00.001+00:00

Final Call For Papers:

The 5th Annual Edinburgh Graduate Epistemology Conference will take place 27th-28th May 2015. The keynote speakers will be Elizabeth Fricker (Oxford) and Jennifer Nagel (Toronto). All graduate presentations will have respondents from faculty members at Edinburgh or a neighbouring university.

We are inviting graduate students to submit essays within any area of epistemology (broadly construed). Essays should be approximately 4000 words, and should be anonymised for blind review.

We would really like the conference to be representative of the graduate community and so we strongly encourage submissions from anyone working on epistemology who is a member of an under-represented group. We will be happy to help arrange free childcare for any attendees who would find it helpful. Please feel free to get in touch to discuss this, or any accessibility requirements you may have.

The deadline for submissions is 1st March 2015. For more information, including details of how to submit, please visit our conference page.

This conference is generously sponsored by the Eidyn Research Centre, the University of Edinburgh, the Scots Philosophical Association and the Mind Association, and is supported by the Edinburgh Women in Philosophy Group.

X-Phi Survey: Volunteers Wanted

2015-02-11T13:20:00.002+00:00

Eidyn's own J. Adam Carter and Duncan Pritchard (along with Josh Shepherd at Oxford) are looking for volunteers to take this X-Phi survey:

https://oxfordpsych.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_b3nGteYG9OzHWDj

CFP: Fourth Annual Tennessee Value and Agency (TVA) Conference

2015-02-04T16:38:00.002+00:00

Call for Abstracts

Fourth Annual Tennessee Value and Agency (TVA) Conference

September 4-5, 2015 // The University of Tennessee-Knoxville

Theme: Knowledge and Agency

Keynote Speakers: Candace Vogler (David B. and Clara E. Stern Professor of Philosophy, University of Chicago) and John Schwenkler (Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Florida State University)

Abstracts (of 2-3 double-spaced pages, prepared for blind review) due by May 15, 2015 by e-mail to EJ Coffman (ecoffma1@utk.edu)

Much important and influential recent work in analytic philosophy lies at the intersection of epistemology, ethics, and philosophy of action and explores some or other of the following broad questions:

- Are action-theoretic concepts central to the nature of knowledge?

- What must you know in order to act (rationally, intentionally, freely, accountably)?

- How can you know about what you do (rationally, intentionally, freely, accountably)?

Abstracts that engage these and allied questions concerning the relationships among knowledge and agency will be considered for the 2015 TVA Conference. Sessions will be 75 minutes long, with roughly 40 minutes for the presentation and 35 minutes for group discussion.

We aim to notify authors of selected abstracts by June 1, 2015. If your abstract is selected and childcare duties render your attendance difficult, conference organizers will try to find a way for your childcare needs to be met.

The TVA conference (http://web.utk.edu/~philosop/TVA/conference.html) is an annual event aimed at encouraging philosophical conversation about topics pursued by established research clusters at the University of Tennessee Department of Philosophy.

CFP: 5th Annual Edinburgh Graduate Epistemology Conference

2014-11-13T11:48:00.001+00:00

The University of Edinburgh is pleased to announce a call for papers for the 5th Annual Edinburgh Graduate Epistemology Conference (27th-28th May 2015). Our keynote speakers this year will be Elizabeth Fricker (Oxford) and Jennifer Nagel (Toronto). All graduate presentations will have respondents from faculty members at Edinburgh or a neighbouring university.

We are inviting graduate students to submit essays within any area of epistemology (broadly construed). Essays should be approximately 4000 words, and should be anonymised for blind review.

We will be happy to help arrange childcare for any attendees who would find it helpful. Please feel free to get in touch to discuss this, or any accessibility requirements you may have.

The deadline for submissions is 1st March 2015. For more information, including details of how to submit, please visit our conference page.

This conference is generously sponsored by the Eidyn Research Centre and the University of Edinburgh, and is supported by the Edinburgh Women in Philosophy Group.

How The Light Gets In Philosophy Festival

2014-04-09T13:27:00.000+01:00

The annual How The Lights Gets In philosophy festival will soon be coming around again. Here are some highlights:

24th May - The Limits of Logic
Logicians don’t rule the world or get the most done. Could it be that a logically-consistent world view is neither desirable nor achievable? Would abandoning the straightjacket of rationality lead to a more exciting future, or simply to madness? With Simon Blackburn, Iain McGilchrist, Beatrix Campbell.

27th May - New Gods
Evidence and reason are supposedly the basis of our beliefs. Yet religion continues to flourish, and new gods conquer even the most rational minds. Is unjustified, groundless belief an essential part of human nature? Or can we banish faith forever? American anthropologist Scott Atran, Cambridge philosopher Simon Blackburn and human rights advocate Peter Tatchell examine the foundations of thought.

31st May - The Ultimate Proof
We think evidence decides the matter. Yet even suicide bombers think they have evidence to support their cause. Should we see independent evidence as an illusion? Would this lead to a chaotic world without foundations or constraint? Or open us to the richness of reality? Laurie Taylor asks philosopher Nancy Cartwright, Templeton Prize-winning cosmologist George Ellis and American anthropologist Daniel Everett to consider the evidence.

IJSS: New Issue

2014-02-23T22:04:00.001+00:00

The new issue of International Journal for the Study of Skepticism is now out.

CFP: 2nd Midsummer Philosophy Workshop

2014-02-12T11:38:00.002+00:00

There's a call for papers for the 2nd Midsummer Philosophy Conference. This event alternates between the Eidyn research centre in Edinburgh and Cambridge, and this year it's in Cambridge. Last year's event was a great success, and I'm sure this year's one will be too, so I encourage you all to submit something, particularly if you are an early career researcher.

New Volume Series: Brill Studies on Skepticism

2013-12-18T09:25:00.003+00:00

I'm going to be co-editing (with Diego Machuca) a new volume series for Brill on scepticism, entitled Brill Studies on Skepticism. This series is affiliated with the journal International Journal for the Study of Skepticism, which I also co-edit with Diego. We will publish high-quality monographs and edited collections on any topic related to scepticism, broadly construed, including its history. Inquiries about the series should be addressed to either myself or Diego.

Eidyn-Led Online MSc in Epistemology, Ethics and Mind

2013-12-09T14:02:00.000+00:00

We're launching a new Eidyn-led online MSc programme next autumn, in Epistemology, Ethics and Mind. More details here.

6th Annual Edinburgh Xmas Epist-Fest

2013-12-09T14:00:00.002+00:00

This is happening on Wednesday (December 11th), more details here. As always, all welcome!

CFP: 4th Annual Edinburgh Graduate Epistemology Conference

2013-11-22T10:37:00.000+00:00

The University of Edinburgh is pleased to announce a call for papers for the 4th Annual Edinburgh Graduate Epistemology Conference. Our keynote speakers this year will be Professor Sanford Goldberg (Northwestern/Edinburgh) and Professor Susanna Siegel (Harvard). The conference will take place in Edinburgh from 27th-28th June 2014.

This is an intimate event with only a few high-quality papers chosen from graduate students around the world. A distinguishing feature of this conference is that all graduate presentations will have respondents from faculty members at Edinburgh or a neighbouring university.

We're inviting graduate students to submit essays within any area of epistemology (broadly construed). Essays should be of high quality, approximately 4000 words, and should be anonymised for blind review.

Submissions from under-represented groups in philosophy are strongly encouraged. We will be happy to help arrange childcare for any attendees who would find it helpful, so please feel free to get in touch to discuss this, or any accessibility requirements you may have.

The deadline for submissions is 14 March 2014. For more information, including details of how to submit, please visit our conference page.

This conference is generously sponsored by the Scots Philosophical Association, the Eidyn Research Centre, the Mind Association, and is supported by the Edinburgh Women in Philosophy Group.

New Issue of IJSS

2013-11-07T22:08:00.002+00:00

The new issue of the International Journal for the Study of Skepticism is now out.

RFP: Science Beyond Scientism (Free University, Amsterdam)

2013-10-17T15:42:00.004+01:00

The Abraham Kuyper Center for Science and Religion, under the direction of René van Woudenberg, welcomes proposals to investigate scientism and its manifestations in research into free will, moral belief formation and moral character, rational decision-making, and religious belief. The research project Science beyond Scientism is embedded in the research of the Theoretical Philosophy section of the Department of Philosophy at VU University Amsterdam. VU University Amsterdam is an accredited research university with excellent library and other research facilities.

Click here for more details.

Issue 3/3 of IJSS

2013-08-11T19:11:00.004+01:00

Issue 3/3 of International Journal for the Study of Skepticism is now available online here. This issue includes articles on ancient and contemporary scepticism as well as reviews of books on ancient, medieval, and modern scepticism. (NB. The home page of the journal offers a link where you can recommend it to your librarian with one simple click).

New Eidyn Appointments

2013-07-09T22:45:00.001+01:00

See here for details. For the full list of Eidyn people, click here.

Fully funded PhD position in Philosophy – VU University Amsterdam

2013-06-18T11:14:00.004+01:00

http://www.vu.nl/nl/werken-bij-de-vu/vacatures/2013/118.asp
For 1.0 fte
Vacancy number 13184
VU unit: Faculty of Philosophy

The PhD student will work in the research project “Science Beyond Scientism” which investigates how scientism influences our thinking about rationality, free will, morality and religious belief and explores the way in which science can be taken seriously without succumbing to scientism. A description of the project, as well as of the PhD project can be found at www.abrahamkuypercenter.vu.nl/phdposition.

Tasks
The PhD student is expected to:
• write a PhD thesis;
• write at least 2 articles for international peer reviewed scientific journals;
• collaborate in a research group;
• participate in international conferences.

Requirements
• M.A. Philosophy or Theology and preferably also a Bachelor or Masters degree in one other field, such as biology or psychology;
• good English language skills.

Further particulars
The initial appointment will be for a period of one year. After satisfactory evaluation of the initial appointment, it can be extended for a total duration of four years. The starting date is March 2013, or as early as possible. Interviews are scheduled for Tuesday July 16, 2013. You can find information about our excellent fringe benefits of employment at www.workingatvu.nl like:
• remuneration of 8,3% end-of-year bonus and 8% holiday allowance;
• a minimum of 29 holidays In case of full-time employment;
• generous contribution (70%) commuting allowance based on public transport;
• discounts on collective insurances (healthcare- and car insurance).

Salary
The salary will be in accordance with university regulations for academic personnel, and amounts € 2.062,- gross per month in the first year up to € 2.664,- in the fourth year (salary scale 85) based on a full-time employment.

Information
For additional information please contact:

Prof. Dr. R. van Woudenberg
phone +31 20 5986678
e-mail: R.van.Woudenberg@vu.nl

Application
Applicants are requested to write a letter in which they describe their abilities and motivation, accompanied by a curriculum vitae with two references, a writing sample (ranging from 3-7.000 words) and a 2.000 word statement about the content of the PhD project. Written applications should be sent before July 4, 2013 to:

VU University Amsterdam
Faculty of Philosophy
Attn.: Mr. A.W. Mulder, managing director
De Boelelaan 1105
1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands

It is also possible to apply by e-mail to: secretaresse.thw@vu.nl

Please mention the vacancy number and the number of the subproject (PhD project 1, 2, 3 or 4) in the e-mail header or at the top of your letter and on the envelope.

The Philosophy and Theology of Intellectual Humility Project at Saint Louis University

2013-06-03T11:56:00.004+01:00

Call for Proposals and Applications: The Philosophy and Theology of Intellectual Humility Project at Saint Louis University

Saint Louis University announces a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation to explore the subject of intellectual humility. The project will focus on a variety of philosophical and theological issues relevant to the topic of intellectual humility, including: virtue epistemology; regulative epistemology; peer disagreement; intellectual humility, intellectual autonomy and deference to authority; religious pluralism; divine hiddenness; intellectual humility and theological method; biases, heuristics, dual-process theories and evolution; intersubjectivity and mind reading.

This project will fund a variety of activities, including a competition for up to 16 research grants in philosophy and theology, for research between June 2014 to May 2015.

Additional funding opportunities include:

• Two one-semester visiting faculty research fellowships at SLU, for one term in the 2014-15 academic year.
• Four one-year postdoctoral fellowships at SLU for the 2014-15 academic year.
• Four one-year dissertation research fellowships at SLU for the 2014-15 academic year.
• Five external cluster groups: interdisciplinary discussion/reading groups for regular conversation on the topic of intellectual humility during the 2014-15 academic year.
• Summer Seminar on Intellectual Humility, for 10 to 12 advanced graduate students and junior faculty (no more than 10 years past the Ph.D.) in philosophy and theology, to be held in Los Angeles, CA in the summer of 2015.

For more information on these funding opportunities, together with instructions for submitting proposals and applications, please visit The Philosophy and Theology of Intellectual Humility at Saint Louis University.

The Philosophy and Theology of Intellectual Humility project complements the activities and research occurring under Templeton’s Science of Intellectual Humility project at the Fuller Graduate School of Psychology.

The project is directed by John Greco and Eleonore Stump, both at the Philosophy Department at Saint Louis University.

Questions should be directed to: humility@slu.edu

Issue 3/2 of IJSS

2013-05-08T22:56:00.002+01:00

The latest issue of the International Journal for the Study of Skepticism is now available here.

Annual Edinburgh Graduate Epistemology Conference

2013-05-07T16:47:00.004+01:00

3^rd Annual Graduate Epistemology Conference

Eidyn, University of Edinburgh

Friday 31^st May - Saturday 1^st June

Registration for the University of Edinburgh’s 3^rd Annual Graduate Epistemology Conference is now open. The conference will comprise presentations on a range of epistemological issues from eight graduate speakers as well as two keynote addresses:

Jennifer Lackey (Northwestern University)

Linda Zagzebski (University of Oklahoma)

There is a £5 registration fee, which includes lunch and refreshments on both days. There will also be a conference dinner on Friday 31^st for an additional £20. Please register online (and select the appropriate option if you would like to join us for dinner).

For further details on the conference, including the programme of talks, please visit our conference webpage. For further information, including accessibility requirements, please email Lani Watson at

L.H.M.Watson@sms.ed.ac.uk.

This conference is generously sponsored by the Scots Philosophical Association, the Mind Association, the Analysis Trust and the Eidyn Research Centre and supported by the Edinburgh Women in Philosophy Group.

Summer Seminar in Science and the Big Questions

2013-05-07T09:15:00.001+01:00

Summer Seminar in Science and the Big Questions
August 19-23, VU University Amsterdam

The Abraham Kuyper Center for Science and Religion at VU University Amsterdam hosts a summer seminar on science and the big questions. Experts will give lectures and engage in debates in the following areas:

* cognitive science of religion
* free will and brain research
* evolution, morality and Christian belief
* cosmology, fine-tuning, and God.

Confirmed speakers include: Patricia Churchland (UCSD), David Lahti (Queens' College, CUNY), Rodney Holder (Cambridge), Jesse Bering (New York), Johan Braeckman (Ghent U), Herman Philipse (Utrecht U), Gijsbert van den Brink (VU University Amsterdam), Michiel van Elk (U of Amsterdam), Leon de Bruin (Radboud U/VU University Amsterdam) and Tim O’Connor (Indiana U).

The seminar is intended for two groups:
(1) (PhD) students/post-docs working in the natural sciences who have an interest in positively and intelligently relating the topics they cover in their fields of study to philosophical questions and (2) (PhD) students/post-docs in the fields of philosophy and theology who have an interest in speaking knowledgeably about the intersection between science and religion. The goal of the seminar is to create a learning environment for (PhD) students/post-docs in which they interact with highly qualified scholars on science/religion issues so as to move beyond the easy warfare rhetoric.

Dates: August 19-23, 2013
Location: VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Costs: The fee for the seminar is 100 euros for (PhD) students and 200 euros for others. This fee includes lunches and dinners and some surprise social activities in the beautiful old city of Amsterdam.
Application: The seminar has room for at most have 60 participants. Please send a brief statement of interest to abrahamkuypercenter@vu.nl by June 1, 2013.

More information and updates about speakers can be found on the seminar website:
www.abrahamkuypercenter.vu.nl/summerseminar

This seminar, as well as the Kuyper Center, are made possible by a grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation.

CFP: 2013 Midsummer Philosophy Workshop (Eidyn, Edinburgh)

2013-03-23T17:20:00.001+00:00

Nick Treanor (Edinburgh), Matthew Smith (Leeds) and Paula Silwa (Cambridge) are starting a regular series of 'Midsummer Philosophy Workshops', with the first one to be hosted by the Eidyn research centre in Edinburgh in 2013. More details, including a call for papers, can be found here.