Perspectivism and Realism In Science and Mind
In different disciplines and fields, controversies surrounding the compatibility between “perspectivist” and “realist” approaches have been prominent in recent decades. Both in philosophy of science and in 4E cognition, for instance, different versions of the same general question have appeared, asking how, starting from a variety of different perspectives (similar and dissimilar in various respects and degrees) human communication and knowledge can be achieved. Disagreements concern not only ideas about what a perspective on reality is, but also about how to understand reality itself such that different perspectives on it can exist, as well as about how we can talk and learn about reality with others.
The goal of this interdisciplinary online workshop is to promote dialogue between different perspectives on “perspectivism” and “realism” with a particular focus on how they relate to the embodied and situated nature of mind/cognition and of scientific knowledge and scientific practices. The idea for the workshop arises from our reading group on the book Perspectival Realism by Michela Massimi (Oxford University Press, 2022), and given this, we would like to invite proposals for talks in philosophy of science that engage directly with ideas in the book. At the same time, we also strongly encourage submissions that approach questions about perspective and reality much more broadly, from different angles in philosophy of science as well as from perspectives in epistemology, philosophy of mind, cognitive science, psychology, and other fields.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of relevant keywords as they relate to perspectives and reality:
- objectivity / intersubjectivity
- epistemic identities
- situated knowledge
- indigenous knowledge
- multiculturalism
- explanation / understanding
- scientific representation
- scientific modeling
- idealization / misrepresentation
- standpoint theory
- personal knowledge
- naturalism
- empiricism
- 4E cognition
- enactivism and ecological psychology
- active inference / predictive processing
- pragmatism
- essentialism
- phenomenology (whether analytic or continental)
Where: ONLINE
When: the workshop is tentatively planned for June 4 and June 11, 2024 - each day from 9am to 12:30 Eastern US / 10am to 1:30pm Brazil / 3pm to 6:30pm Central European Time
Invited speakers: Michela Massimi (University of Edinburgh) and Michelle Maiese (Emmanuel College)
Attendance is free but prior registration is required. To receive the Zoom link, please fill out the following form: https://forms.gle/Hof6k7LYSgmEuu4i9
If you have any questions, feel free to contact the organizers: Gui (gui.cogsci@gmail.com) and Pedro (pedro.noguez@ufrgs.br)
Schedule
JUNE 4
| TIME | SPEAKER + TALK TITLE |
|---|---|
| 9:00 to 9:30 New York 10:00 to 10:30 Brasilia 14:00 to 14:30 UK 15:00 to 15:30 Berlin |
Michela Massimi (University of Edinburgh, UK) Perspectival Realism. An introduction |
| 9:35 to 10:05 New York 10:35 to 11:05 Brasilia 14:35 to 15:05 UK 15:35 to 16:05 Berlin |
M. Shane Li (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA) Perspectival Interdisciplinarity? |
| 10:10 to 10:40 New York 11:10 to 11:40 Brasilia 15:10 to 15:40 UK 16:10 to 16:40 Berlin |
Katrina Torsoe (University of Miami, USA) Looping Effects and Realism About Economics |
| 10:45 to 11:15 New York 11:45 to 12:15 Brasilia 15:45 to 16:15 UK 16:45 to 17:15 Berlin |
Juan A. Queijo Olano & María Laura Martínez (Universidad de la República, Uruguay) Is it time to give up with natural kinds? |
| 11:20 to 11:50 New York 12:20 to 12:50 Brasilia 16:20 to 16:50 UK 17:20 to 17:50 Berlin |
Ewout ter Haar (University of São Paulo, Brazil) Trading Perspectives |
| 11:55 to 12:25 New York 12:55 to 13:25 Brasilia 16:55 to 17:25 UK 17:55 to 18:25 Berlin |
Irene Senatore (Humboldt University, Germany) Mosaic Unity or Analogy-guided Enclosures? On the Role of Background Assumptions and Epistemic Interests in Cognitive Neuroscience Modeling |
JUNE 11
| TIME | SPEAKER + TALK TITLE |
|---|---|
| 9:00 to 9:30 New York 10:00 to 10:30 Brasilia 14:00 to 14:30 UK 15:00 to 15:30 Berlin |
Michelle Maiese (Emmanuel College, USA) Scientific Inquiry, Objectivity, and Embodied-Enactive Cognition |
| 9:35 to 10:05 New York 10:35 to 11:05 Brasilia 14:35 to 15:05 UK 15:35 to 16:05 Berlin |
Frank Hartmann (Radboud University, Netherlands) Accounting for Action: The Possibility of Knowledge-Based Agency |
| 10:10 to 10:40 New York 11:10 to 11:40 Brasilia 15:10 to 15:40 UK 16:10 to 16:40 Berlin |
Pedro Noguez (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) Enacting sense and reference within a divergent landscape of affordances |
| 10:45 to 11:15 New York 11:45 to 12:15 Brasilia 15:45 to 16:15 UK 16:45 to 17:15 Berlin |
Anastasija Filipovic (University of Belgrade, Serbia) Affectivity and Epistemic Cooperation: An Enactive Perspective on Epistemic Emotions |
| 11:20 to 11:50 New York 12:20 to 12:50 Brasilia 16:20 to 16:50 UK 17:20 to 17:50 Berlin |
Moritz Kriegleder (University of Vienna, Austria) How to Model the Model of an Active Inference Agent? |
| 11:55 to 12:25 New York 12:55 to 13:25 Brasilia 16:55 to 17:25 UK 17:55 to 18:25 Berlin |
Konrad Werner (University of Warsaw, Poland) Situated metaphysics and the enigma of enactment. Towards a new (or not new at all) conceptualization of one reality presenting itself in multiple ways |