DAVID PAPINEAU -- VARIETIES OF NATURALISM
Tartu's "Gottlob Frege Lectures in Theoretical Philosophy" will in 2011 be delivered by David Papineau (King's College, London). The title of this year's lecture series is "Varieties of Naturalism". Professor Papineau is an internationally renowned philosopher, well known for his work on various topics, including metaphysics, philosophy of science, and the philosophy of mind and psychology. We are happy to have him in Tartu for a three day workshop, JUNE 29-JULY 1. Everyone interested is invited to participate
Wednesday, June 29, 14:00-16:00 Metaphysics Thursday, June 30, 16:00-18:00 Methodology
Friday, July 1, 14:00-16:00 Morality
All lectures take place in Domus Dorpatensis, Ülikooli 7. Participants are responsible for making their own travel and accommodation arrangements. For registration and further information please email: cohnitz@ut.ee and visit our website http://daniel.cohnitz.de/index.php?frege THE LECTURERDavid Papineau was educated in Trinidad, England, and South Africa. He has a BSc in mathematics from the University of Natal and a BA and PhD in philosophy from the Cambridge University. He has lectured at Reading University, Macquarie University, Birkbeck College London, and Cambridge University, and since 1990 has been a Professor at King's College London. His books include For Science in the Social Sciences (1978), Theory and Meaning (1979), Reality and Representation (1987), Philosophical Naturalism (1993), Introducing Consciousness (2000), Thinking about Consciousness (2002) and The Roots of Reason (2003). He was President of the British Society for the Philosophy of Science from 1993 to 1995 and Editor of the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science from 1993 to 1998. In 1999-2000 he was a Leverhulme Research Fellow and in 2007 a Mind Fellow. He was President of the Mind Association in 2009-10.THE TOPICOver the past fifty years philosophy has increasingly taken a naturalist turn. However, many different philosophical positions have enrolled under the banner of naturalism, not all of them compatible with each other.One strand in naturalism is methodological, asserting that the investigative methods of philosophy are continuous with those of the natural sciences. Methodological naturalists of this kind deny that philosophy depends on conceptual analysis or any other special method of investigation. This raises questions about existing philosophical practice and its frequent appeal to 'intuitions'. A further issue raised by this species of naturalism is whether the same methodological principles apply in all branches of philosophy, including ethics and philosophy of mind.A distinct strand in naturalism is concerned with ontological issues. Ontological naturalists assert that there is nothing in reality beyond the kind of entities studied by science. For many contemporary naturalists, this involves a commitment to materialism or physicalism. However, materialism comes in many different strengths, and so it is a matter of debate what this commitment amounts to. There are also questions about the implications of materialism for such realms as morality, mathematics and mind.These lectures will explore the different varieties of naturalism and assess their strengths and weaknesses.For further information, please visit our website at
http://daniel.cohnitz.de/index.php?frege
The Gottlob Frege Lectures in Theoretical Philosophy are named in honour of the German mathematician and philosopher Friedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege. We have chosen Frege as the patron for our lecture series as he is widely recognised for his clarity and unpretentious, no-nonsense style of dealing with philosophical problems. So are the lecturers we are honoured to host in Tartu.
