Alice Murphy: Aesthetics and Agency in Experiments
Alice Murphy (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) Aesthetics and Agency in Experiments ONLINE TALK! Zoom link: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/92122588367 ABSTRACT: We place agency front-and-center in the aesthetics of science, in particular, in the aesthetics of experiments. We consider how elements of experimental design serve to generate aesthetic experiences in those carrying out the experiment. Our argument is grounded in an analogy between experiments and games (as understood by Suits and Nguyen): both involve artificial practical environments designed to give participants an aesthetic experience of their own agency. We apply the account to Newton’s optical work, and contrast this with contemporary experimental practices, where significantly more ‘experimental distance’ holds between the experimenter and the result. Taking the agency of experimental practice seriously enables a richer account of the role of aesthetic values, sensibilities, and judgments in science. Based on joint work with Adrian Currie and Kirsten Walsh.
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Vladislav Suvák: Socratic dialogue as a genre
Vladislav Suvák (University of Prešov) Socratic dialogue as a genre The talk will be in the Slovak language. ABSTRACT in Slovak: Zámerom prednášky je pozrieť sa na sókratovský dialóg ako na literárny žáner. V nadväznosti na práce Michaila Bachtina venované románom Dostojevského sa pozrieme na sókratovský dialóg a menippovskú satiru ako na bezprostredných predchodcov európskeho románu. Pokúsime sa o charakteristiku základných rysov sókratovského dialógu a Bachtiniove úvahy doplníme o poznámky, ktoré sa opierajú o texty a fragmenty sókratovských autorov, s kterými Bachtin pracuje minimálne alebo s nimi nepracuje vôbec. Sústredíme sa na niekoľko bodov: (1) na dialogickú povahu pravdy a ľudského premýšľania o pravde; (2) na základné postupy rozvíjajúce diskusiu (synkrisis a anakrisis); (3) na ideologický charakter sokratovského dialógu; (4) na sujetovú situáciu, ktorá posilňuje charakter diskusie. Výsledkom našich exkurzov po textoch sókratovských dialógov by mohlo byť lepšie porozumenie tomu, čo vlastne sledujú sókratovskí autori svojím písaním.
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Ivan Koniar: On the definition of autonomous weapon systems
Ivan Koniar (Catholic university in Ružomberok) On the definition of autonomous weapon systems The talk will be in the Slovak language. ABSTRACT in Slovak: Prednáška sa zameria na prebiehajúcu diskusiu o definícii autonómnych zbraňových systémov. Táto diskusia bude predstavená pomocou dvoch prístupov k definícii autonómie: (1) autonómia ako vzťah človek – stroj a (2) autonómia ako komplexnosť rozhodovacích schopností stroja. Cieľom je kriticky zhodnotiť súčasný stav diskusie o definícii autonómnych zbraní a analyzovať kľúčové otázky súvisiace s jednotlivými prístupmi k definovaniu takýchto zbraní. Tvrdím, že v súčasnom diskurze ani jeden z prístupov neposkytuje dostatočný základ pre definovanie autonómnych zbraňových systémov.
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Tomasz Żuradzki: Who are the worst off? Well-being and time
Tomasz Żuradzki (Jagiellonian University) Who are the worst off? Well-being and time ABSTRACT: A seminal presentation of prioritarianism states that “Benefiting people matters more the worse off these people are” (Parfit 1997). However, there is no agreement on who counts as ‘the worst off’. The dimension on which I concentrate in this paper is the dynamic aspect, that is, different ways one can conceptualize someone (or a group) as the worst off over time. While some assume that expected benefits matter more the worse off the recipient is in the world such-as-it-is (input prioritarianism, see Segall 2016), others argue that what matters is the distribution that is relatively the best (in comparison with other possible distributions resulting from other possible interventions) for those who are worse off in that distribution while ignoring the situation of the worst off in the world such-as-it-is (output prioritarianism, see Eyal, Herlitz 2023). Moreover, some argue that a decision-maker should categorize the worst off by referring only (or primarily) to their entire lifetime, others that only (or primarily) to some part of their lifespan. The first view (Adler 2019), which is dominant among philosophically oriented scholars (as well as some versions of the […]
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Lee McIntyre: The Nexus of Post-Truth, Disinformation, and AI: A Problem from Hell
Lee McIntyre (Boston University) The Nexus of Post-Truth, Disinformation, and AI: A Problem from Hell ONLINE TALK! Zoom link: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/97898079568 ABSTRACT: The recent appearance of ChatGPT and other Large Language Model (LLM) AI platforms threaten to overwhelm the information sphere with disinformation, fake news, and plagiarism, thus plunging us even deeper into the “post-truth” era. Given the prior scope of the problem — with politicians lying, fake news run rampant, social media platforms amplifying disinformation for profit, and governments afraid to fight back for fear of accusations of political bias — some wonder if we now find ourselves on the verge of collapse. Certainly, many of our truth-telling institutions are at least threatened by these challenges. Denialism about vaccines, climate, and other topics has damaged trust in science and put lives in peril. Denialism about the outcome of a free and fair presidential election in the USA puts the oldest democracy in the world at risk of slipping into authoritarianism. And disinformation — from both foreign and domestic sources — lies at the heart of it. In this talk I will explore the nature of the challenges we face today and the prospects for any solutions we […]
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Martina Číhalová: Categories of concepts from the point of view of logic and natural language
Martina Číhalová (Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci) Categories of concepts from the point of view of logic and natural language The talk will be in the Czech language. ABSTRACT IN CZECH: Problematika konceptuální analýzy a klasifikace pojmů se dotýká nejen filozofie a logiky, ale také informatiky a umělé inteligence. Klíčovým problémem je identifikace hlavních ontologických kategorií a určení logického typu příslušné kategorie, tj. zda se jedná o individuum, vztah, atribut, ale také například individuový úřad vyjadřující určitou deskripci apod. V příspěvku bude představena metoda pro identifikaci základních kategorií a přiřazení jejich logického typu. Autorka vychází z přístupu Johna Sowy, lingvistické teorie valenčních rámců sloves, rozlišování sloves epizodických a atributivních (Tichý 1980), a také přístupu k určitým deskripcím založeném na rozlišování tzv. strong “the” a weak “the” (Prior 1960). Nástrojem konceptuální analýzy a specifikace pojmů je Transparentní intenzionální logika (TIL) se svou procedurální sémantikou, která umožnuje postižení všech sémanticky významných rysů přirozeného jazyka. V příspěvku bude také představena konkrétní aplikace navrženého postupu konceptuální analýzy na problematiku multiagentních systémů a nástroje pro zpracování přirozeného jazyka.
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Juan Franck: The individuality and relationality of persons
Juan Franck (Austral University) The individuality and relationality of persons ABSTRACT: The concept of person has made a long journey in history and gathers dramaturgical, juridical, theological, philosophical, and psychological information. My presentation aims specifically to highlight two essential aspects of persons that are handed down to us in this rich concept: individuality and relationality. Despite their apparent opposition, these two dimensions are realized in persons in a way proper to them. Their individual character demands being related to other persons, and their essential relationality does not suppress, but rather enhances individuality. Several psychological theories verify and reflect this fine balance, which has also been theorized in 20th century philosophy. There appears to be a very interesting convergence between psychology and philosophy in this respect.
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Miroslav Karas: Russia and its worldview
Miroslav Karas (Journalist, Czech Television) Russia and its worldview The talk will be in the Czech language. ABSTRACT in Czech: Co považuje Rusko za sféru svého vlivu a zájmu? Jako roli má propaganda? Kdo jsou spojenci Ruska?
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Francesca Michelini: Heidegger’s Shadow: Comparing Plessner and Jonas’ Ideas of Life
Francesca Michelini (University of Kassel) Heidegger’s Shadow: Comparing Plessner and Jonas’ Ideas of Life ABSTRACT: The purpose of my talk is to show why, despite the clear convergences between Plessner’s and Jonas’ philosophy of organism, the latter never mentions Plessner’s philosophy of nature as one of the antecedents to his project. My main claim is that Jonas’ silence can be explained based on one fundamental difference between the two approaches: the fact, in short, that Jonas’ proposal, before being ‘anthropological’, is first and foremost ‘ontological’. Jonas aims to establish a doctrine of living beings to answer the fundamental metaphysical question of modernity: «why is there something rather than nothing?». Conversely, Plessner’s philosophy of nature serves above all the purpose of understanding the eccentricity of humans and their relationship to the other living beings. This difference can be clearly outlined through an analysis of Plessner and Jonas’ dissimilar approaches to Heidegger’s ontology and particularly to his concept of ‘existentials’, to which the central sections of my account is dedicated.
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Practical Reality and the Scientific Image: Workshop with Willem A. deVries
LMS Centre cordially invites everyone to a two-day interactive workshop with Willem A. deVries (University of New Hampshire) Practical Reality and the Scientific Image Confirmed participants: Stefanie Dach Luz Christopher Seiberth Jaroslav Peregrin Ladislav Koreň Preston Stovall Michal Hubálek The program of the workshop can be found here: https://uni.uhk.cz/lms/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/deVries_Schedule.pdf Everyone welcome!
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