TFAP

Bamboos, Cicadas, and the Explanatory Argument for Mathematical Platonism

Speaker: Alan Baker
From: Swarthmore College
URL: https://www.swarthmore.edu/profile/alan-baker
Abstract: Arguments for platonism, the philosophical view that abstract mathematical objects exist, have centered in recent years around an explanation-based version of the Quine-Putnam indispensability argument. According to this argument, we ought to believe in mathematical objects because they play an indispensable explanatory role in science. However, if this argument is to be effective, convincing examples of mathematical explanation in science (MES) need to be found. For the past two decades, the philosophical discussion has revolved around the same handful of examples, many not particularly convincing. I hope to change this by introducing some new case studies, which I will present and then discuss the implications of.

Decentering: A neurophilosophical analysis

Speaker: Chris Letheby
From: University of Western Australia
URL: https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/persons/chris-letheby/
Abstract: The phenomenon known as “decentering” is a central and important effect of contemplative practices such as mindfulness meditation. In decentering, a person simultaneously (i) becomes aware of a mental state, such as a thought or feeling, and (ii) detaches from that mental state, decreasing its influence on their subsequent cognitive processing and behaviour. Victor Lange has recently argued that decentering poses a theoretical puzzle, which goes as follows: In decentering, it seems that we decrease the downstream effects of a mental state by paying more attention to it – but, according to standard assumptions, increasing attention to a state should increase its downstream effects. On this basis, Lange argues that decentering may constitute a counterexample to Wu’s influential Selection for Action theory of attention, and in any case merits further philosophical investigation. In this talk I propose a novel account of the mechanisms of decentering that can solve Lange’s puzzle. In my view, Lange is wrong in thinking that decentering involves increasing attention to an otherwise unaltered mental state. On the contrary, common varieties of decentering result from (a) attending to part of a complex mental state in isolation from the rest, or (b) attending to a mental state in a broader context. Either way, the mental state from which one decenters gets changed into a new and different state. Once we understand this, the puzzle of how decentering can induce detachment while increasing attention dissolves.

Bayesian Confirmation Without the Problems of Old Evidence and Circularity

Speaker: Frank Zenker
From: Nankai University
URL: https://phil.nankai.edu.cn/enn/2023/0301/c29847a505408/page.htm
Abstract: Bayesian Confirmation Theory faces two core challenges: the Problem of Old Evidence, where known data fails to incrementally confirm a hypothesis, and the Circularity Problem, where defining confirmation via posterior probabilities presupposes the very belief state being evaluated. This paper dissolves both problems by defining confirmation through the Likelihood Ratio, grounded in an agent’s hypothetical prior probability distribution—their evidence-independent reasoning commitments. Because contingent evidence has a probability between 0 and 1 in this prior distribution, the old evidence retains its actualized confirmational power without counterfactual assumptions. Furthermore, because LR relies exclusively on likelihoods, it avoids circularity by operating independently of posterior probabilities or initial priors. Beyond resolving historical paradoxes, this framework provides a principled criterion for scientific pursuitworthiness, allowing researchers to assess an experiment's potential epistemic value prior to gathering data.

TBA

Speaker: Diana Craciun
From: University College London & Human Abilities Center, Berlin
URL: https://www.dianacraciun.co.uk
Abstract: TBA

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Speaker: Gurpreet Rattan
From: University of Toronto
URL: https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/5751-gurpreet-rattan/about
Abstract: TBA

Speaker: Florian Marion
From: Tohoku University
URL: https://florianmarion.wordpress.com
Abstract: TBA

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Speaker: Sam Clarke
From: University of Southern California
URL: https://sampclarke.net/
Abstract: TBA