Conceptions of unstructured content take contents to be sets of possibilities, or circumstances, or conditions (or functions from such things to truth values). In recent years, a great variety of new conceptions of unstructured content have been developed and applied, often with great formal ingenuity. Debates on relativism and context-sensitivity more generally, on expressivism, de se attitudes, counterfactual attitudes, vagueness, truthmaker semantics, and many more bear witness to these developments. At the same time, not as much attention has been paid to the philosophical foundations of unstructured conceptions.
In sharp contrast, proponents of structured propositions have recently spent a great amount of their time developing and clarifying the foundations of their conceptions in metaphysics and the philosophy of mind. This conference encourages new reflexion on the foundations of unstructured conceptions of content, the availability of existing foundational stories to new technical conceptions, the competitiveness of unstructured conceptions vis-a-vis structured conceptions as well as the relationship between the two conceptions. It also aims to establish renewed dialogue between, on the one hand, proponents of structured conceptions and of unstructured conceptions and, on the other hand, between proponents of the various conceptions and applications of unstructured content.
Speakers:
In addition to invited talks, there will be a CFA for 2-4 further talks.
(Non-exhaustive) list of topics:
- Foundations in philosophy of mind of conceptions of unstructured content
- Kinds of unstructured content \& the nature of representation
- Philosophical and / vs formal motivations for unstructured content
- What are the relationships between structured and unstructured conceptions of content? Competition? Complementation?
- Promiscuity on permissible sets of n-tuples: anything goes? (worlds-hyperplans, worlds-languages, worlds-standards of taste, …)
- What is it that gets characterised, or modelled, by a set of possibilities, or circumstances, or conditions?
- What are outstanding problems of fineness of grain?
- What progress has been made on the the problems of deduction / logical omniscience as they arise for unstructured content?
- The role of (unstructured) content in semantic theory
- Truthmaker semantics
- Notions of hyperintensionality with unstructured content
- Mental fragmentation/compartmentalisation
- Metaphysical foundations of unstructured content
- Possible worlds/points in the possibility-space: primitive or construed (e.g. out of structured things/sentences)?
Organisers: Andy Egan (Rutgers), Dirk Kindermann (University of Graz)
Please direct all queries to dirk.kindermann@uni-graz.at. If you’d like to attend the event, please informally register at dirk.kindermann@uni-graz.at.
The Rutgers Philosophy Department, in partnership with Oxford University Press, is pleased to present the second annual Rutgers Lectures in Philosophy! This annual series brings some of the world’s greatest living philosophers to Rutgers University–New Brunswick where they present three original lectures to be published by Oxford University Press. The lectures are free and open to the public.
Last year, the inaugural series featured Kit Fine on a novel approach to the problem of vagueness. This year, Rutgers is hosting Sir Richard Sorabji[na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com] for three lectures on the history of free speech. Here are the details:
Lecture I – Freedom of Speech for all: the gradual discovery, East and West.
Date/Time: Monday Oct. 30th, 2017, 3:00-5:00pm (reception to follow)
Location: Alexander Library, Teleconference Room (Room 403) (https://rumaps.rutgers.edu/location/alexander-library[na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com])
Lecture II – Freedom of speech: voluntary boundaries when it stops discussion and the art of continuing discussion by other means
Date/Time: Thursday Nov. 2nd, 2017, 3:00-5:00pm (reception to follow)
Location: Alexander Library, Teleconference Room (Room 403) (https://rumaps.rutgers.edu/location/alexander-library[na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com])
Lecture III – Freedom of Speech: Difficulties in framing and policing legal boundaries
Date/Time: Friday Nov. 3rd, 2017, 3:00-5:00pm (reception to follow)
Location: Rutgers Academic Building, Room 2125 (https://rumaps.rutgers.edu/location/rutgers-academic-building[na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com])
All three lectures are free and open to the public. Please see the attached posters for more details. Abstracts for the talks are available here[na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com].
About The Rutgers Lectures in Philosophy:
In the Fall of 2016, The Rutgers Philosophy Department in partnership with Oxford University Press were pleased to announce the launch of The Rutgers Lectures in Philosophy[na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com]. This annual series brings some of the world’s greatest living philosophers [na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com]to Rutgers University–New Brunswick where they present three original lectures to be published by Oxford University Press. The lecturers also hold workshops with faculty and graduate students, and meet with undergraduates. The lectures are free and open to the public.
The Rutgers Philosophy Department, in partnership with Oxford University Press, is pleased to present the second annual Rutgers Lectures in Philosophy! This annual series brings some of the world’s greatest living philosophers to Rutgers University–New Brunswick where they present three original lectures to be published by Oxford University Press. The lectures are free and open to the public.
Last year, the inaugural series featured Kit Fine on a novel approach to the problem of vagueness. This year, Rutgers is hosting Sir Richard Sorabji[na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com] for three lectures on the history of free speech. Here are the details:
Lecture I – Freedom of Speech for all: the gradual discovery, East and West.
Date/Time: Monday Oct. 30th, 2017, 3:00-5:00pm (reception to follow)
Location: Alexander Library, Teleconference Room (Room 403) (https://rumaps.rutgers.edu/location/alexander-library[na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com])
Lecture II – Freedom of speech: voluntary boundaries when it stops discussion and the art of continuing discussion by other means
Date/Time: Thursday Nov. 2nd, 2017, 3:00-5:00pm (reception to follow)
Location: Alexander Library, Teleconference Room (Room 403) (https://rumaps.rutgers.edu/location/alexander-library[na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com])
Lecture III – Freedom of Speech: Difficulties in framing and policing legal boundaries
Date/Time: Friday Nov. 3rd, 2017, 3:00-5:00pm (reception to follow)
Location: Rutgers Academic Building, Room 2125 (https://rumaps.rutgers.edu/location/rutgers-academic-building[na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com])
All three lectures are free and open to the public. Please see the attached posters for more details. Abstracts for the talks are available here[na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com].
About The Rutgers Lectures in Philosophy:
In the Fall of 2016, The Rutgers Philosophy Department in partnership with Oxford University Press were pleased to announce the launch of The Rutgers Lectures in Philosophy[na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com]. This annual series brings some of the world’s greatest living philosophers [na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com]to Rutgers University–New Brunswick where they present three original lectures to be published by Oxford University Press. The lecturers also hold workshops with faculty and graduate students, and meet with undergraduates. The lectures are free and open to the public.