7-9 May 2008
Tilburg, The Netherlands
Call for Papers: Members of this list are invited to participate in the following two events at the Tilburg Center for Logic and Philosophy of Science (TiLPS). A. The Ren Descartes Lectures (7-9 May 2008) Each year, a well-known philosopher visits Tilburg University for one week to present the Ren Descartes Lectures. It is a great pleasure to announc e the first speaker, Professor Huw Price from the University of Sydney, who will speak on 'Three Themes in Contemporary Pragmatism'. For more information, including the abstracts of all three lectures, visit: http://www.tilburguniversity.nl/tilps/DescartesLectures/ B. Pragmatism and Naturalism Workshop (7 - 9 May 2008) Many views are gathered under the banner of naturalism. What all of them share is a dismissal of aprioristic, high-brow philosophy, prior to all epistemic practices. This view raises major challenges that must ultimately be dealt with, such as whether naturalism allows for the formulation of norms by which our beliefs about the world can be assessed. One option that may be explored in this context is to ask whether a return to pragmatism offers a viable way out of the problems that confront naturalists more generally. Pragmatists have claimed that although all scientific statements are of a hypothetical character, intended to bring us to a state of thought at rest, they are our best guesses at the entities, processes, and structures of the universe. The aim of this workshop is to seek a better understanding of the core meaning and reach of both naturalism and pragmatism. Papers on naturalism, pragmatism and the relation between naturalism and pragmatism are invited. The workshop also offers the opportunity to discuss Huw Price's Descartes Lectures in more detail. URL: http://www.tilburguniversity.nl/tilps/DescartesLectures/PragNat/ ORGANISERS: Stephan Hartmann and Maurice Schouten (Tilburg) PROGRAMME COMMITTEE: Jos Luis Bermdez (St. Louis), Robert B. Brandom (Pittsburgh), Ronald Giere (Minnesota), Jonathan Knowles (Trondheim), Hilary Kornblith (Massachusetts - Amherst), Danielle Macbeth (Haverford), Pirmin Stekeler-Weithofer (Leipzig), Mauricio Surez (Madrid), and Michae l Williams (Johns Hopkins University) Please submit extended abstracts of 1000 words through our abstract submission system (see website) by 15 March 2008; decisions will be made by 1 May.