"Skeptics who reportedly can't imagine, for instance, that the God of traditional monotheism exists need remedial work in the area of imagining circumstances"

While driving Izzy and friend to see Disney on Ice I overheard the following conversation from the back-seat.

Ellery: What does your daddy do?

Izzy: He's a philosopher.

Ellery: (long pause) What do philosophers do?

Izzy: They grade papers... oh and think about stuff. Mostly they just grade papers though.

I had to laugh because there are those days when what Izzy said seems all too true.

August 18-20, 2009
VU University Amsterdam
the Netherlands

Keynote Speakers
Robert Audi (University of Notre Dame)
Richard Feldman (University of Rochester)
Bruce Russell (Wayne State University)

Conference Theme
The ethics of belief and the phenomenon of disagreement are two epistemological topics that show an interesting revival during the last few decades. This conference aims to draw the two issues together: What is it to acquire or hold responsible belief on some issue if that issue is the subject of (fierce) controversy? How does the existence of (known) disagreement affect the epistemic status of our beliefs? And what sort of cognitive response is appropriate when one is confronted with opposed views on a subject matter considered?

Background
This is the second Amsterdam-based conference organized by the Knowledge, Belief, and Normativity project run by René van Woudenberg, Duncan Pritchard, and Igor Douven. The first conference in Amsterdam was held in 2007. The project is funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).

I've often been disposed to think that most people are natural dualists when it comes to the mind/body question. My daughter, at the tender age of four, is proving to be something of a natural materialist. Her materialism frequently results in humorous remarks. Consider this nugget. Yesterday my daughter was extolling the virtues of several recipes I could prepare for a visit from the grandparents. To close the conversation she chirped "So keep those recipes in your brain Dad!" Of course, the common saying is to "keep in mind" but she's apparently decided to dispose with such folk concepts as the mind!

It's the time of year when I start getting emails from prospective grad students asking about Northwestern's Philosophy department. While I typically don't mind replying to the emails, it is a busy time of year right now. In an attempt to save my self some time I thought I'd post my replies to some of the typical questions that I get. It should go without saying, but the views expressed below are my own and should in no way be seen as being endorsed or approved by the department or university.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about peer disagreement. Basically the question to be answered is; what does rationality require when we come to find out that we disagree with someone who we take to be our epistemic peer? There are two prevailing ways in which philosophers have responded to this question. There are the conformist who recommend that we adjust our beliefs in the direction of our peers, and the non-conformist who insist that no adjustment is required. It will come as no surprise to those that know me, but I'm a non-conformist. Of course, all of this is simply a setup for me to point out that Dave Mason has been a non-conformist for years! In fact, he may have written non-conformism's theme song "We Just Disagree".

So let's leave it alone, 'cause we can't see eye to eye.
There ain't no good guys, there ain't no bad guys.
There's only you and me and we just disagree.
Ooo - ooo - ooohoo oh - oh - o-whoa

Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. Rank open, tenured or tenure-track, beginning fall quarter, 2009. Multiple positions possible. 4 courses/year spread over 3 quarters, undergraduate and graduate Thesis supervision. Usual non-teaching duties. AOS: Metaphysics or Epistemology or Philosophy of Language or Philosophy of Mind (including Philosophy of Cognitive Science). AOC: Open.Salary Competitive. AA/EOE. Women and members of minority groups are encouraged to apply. Junior candidates should submit complete CV, three letters of recommendation, and writing sample; senior candidates should submit complete CV along with list of references. Send application materials to Search Committee 1, Department of Philosophy, Northwestern University, Kresge 2-335, 1880 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208. Candidates whose materials are received by November 15, 2008 will get primary consideration.

http://www.wcas.northwestern.edu/epistemology/employment.html

Getting through graduate school with a child presents some unique challenges, but it also has a few great upsides. One of those upsides is the amount of time you get to spend with your child in comparison to your friends doing the daily grind of a 9-5. The area where we live has a walk score of 85, which my daughter Izzy and I take advantage of most days. I've learned this year that, apparently, one of the favorite occupations of four-year-olds is near constant conversation. Sometimes these conversations are a bit one sided, stream of consciousness, affairs. However, she can also be very introspective and earnest. Almost always, though, she talks with the gesturing habits of an Italian butcher.

One of the things that's interesting about talking to a four-year-old is that they can hit on some philosophically interesting topics. For example, there was the discussion that come out of Izzy's proclaiming that God couldn't exist because he doesn't have a body. I'm constantly amazed at how much of a materialist she can be. This afternoon, as we walked a couple of blocks to meet my wife, Izzy began talking to me about her brain. Specifically about how her memories are in her brain. I don't know why, but I was a bit surprised that she said 'brain' and not 'mind'. So, I began asking her questions like "Are all your thoughts in your brain?" Her response was a seemingly certain yes. She said some part were for memories, but other parts did other work. I tried to ask her about qualia. She thought it was just to have your brain be a certain way, though she confessed to not really understanding how.

I was having a good deal of fun with the philosophy of mind discussion, so I thought I'd push on the personal identity. I asked her, "What would happen if we switched our brains? That is, what would happen if we put your brain in my body and my brain in your body?" Her response... "That's absurd!" (I'm always surprised by some of the words she uses.) I told her that probably more than a few philosophers agreed with her, but to try and imagine it in any case. We had to set a side the fact that her brain is smaller than mine, and that mine wouldn't fit in her body. In the end she concluded that she'd see out of my body and I'd see out of hers. I wanted to press her on fission cases, but sadly we'd arrived at her mother's hair salon. Apparently hair products and chocolates are serious distractions to doing philosophy.

This term I've been TAing for a modern philosophy course and its had me thinking a fair bit about the mind/body problem. This has been floating around the Internet for years, but one of my colleagues pointed me to Terry Bisson's Nebula nominated short story "They're Made Out Of Meat" which is a stitch to read. If you don't want to read the story you can watch the well produced short film based on the script.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln will be hosting the second annual Midwest Epistemology Workshop. The workshop is an annual event where epistemologists present and discuss recently completed work or work in progress that is close to completion. All epistemologists (regardless of geographical location) are welcome to attend.

It will take place October 17-18, 2008, on the campus of UNL. Tyler Burge (UCLA) will be giving the keynote address.

The second workshop consists of eight nonconcurrent sessions, each involving a presentation of approximately 40 minutes followed by 40 minutes of discussion. Workshop papers will be made available to participants in advance of the workshop. Other than Burge, this year's presenters included Mike Bergmann (Purdue), Andy Egan (Michigan), Adam Leite (Indiana), Peter Markie (Missouri), Brit Brogaard (Missouri-St. Louis), Jonathan Weinberg (Indiana), Juan Comesaña (Wisconsin).

MEW2 is supported by the Chambers Research Fund, the UNL College of Arts and Sciences, the UNL Philosophy Department, and the Cedric Evans Memorial Lecture Fund.

The conference website for the second annual Midwest Epistemology Workshop.

Information from the first MEW (which took place November 2007 at Northwestern University) can be found here. (A forthcoming edition of Philosophical Studies is being devoted to the talks given there.)