MIND Kick-Off Conference
Conference. University of Liège, Sept. 12-13, 2024
Organized as part of the Creph ARC research project: MIND - The British Sources of Philosophy of Mind 1888-1949
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Conference announcement
We are delighted to announce the two-day kick-off conference of the project MIND - The British Sources of Philosophy of Mind 1888-1949.
MIND is a collaborative research project that aims to investigate the sources of present-day philosophy of mind in British analytic philosophy. According to a standard narrative, philosophy of mind was officially kicked off as a full-blown research program in the 1950s with the rise of the mind-brain identity theory (Place, Feigl, Smart) and its subsequent functionalist criticism.
A closer look at the history of analytic philosophy, however, reveals that this narrative is fraught with problems. Among other things, it overlooks the fact that most groundbreaking intuitions that later became game-changers in the field—such as the transparency intuition, the zombie intuition or the intuition underlying the knowledge argument—can in fact be traced to a family of British philosophers—the 'Cambridge family'—who published quite extensively on the nature of the mind before 1950. This intellectual family includes most notably G.F. Stout, the editor of Mind from 1892 to 1920, his two outstanding students in Cambridge, G.E. Moore, and B. Russell, and his assistant at the University of St. Andrews, C.D. Broad.
MIND's primary objective is to put those authors on the map by reconstructing their original views on the relation between (1) mind and consciousness, (2) mind and body, and (3) mind and matter. Its secondary objective is to assess the potential of these views to advance current-day discussions relating to these topics.
Invited speakers
- Giulia Felappi (University of Southampton)
- Rory Madden (University College London)
- Maja Spener (University of Birmingham)
- Mark Textor (King's College London)
- Maria Van der Schaar (Leiden University)
Call-for-Papers
- Where: University of Liège (in person)
- When: September 12th-13th, 2024
- Submission deadline (extended): May, 28th
- Notification of acceptance: June, 1st
We invite proposals (title and abstract, max. one pag., anonymized) from academics, young and senior researchers, as well as graduate students to be sent to by May 15th.
Contributions should be suitable for a 40/45-minute presentation + approx. 20-minute Q&A. The talks should fit the topic of the project. Here is a non-exhaustive list of possible topics:
- The philosophical foundations of scientific psychology in early analytic philosophy;
- Intentionality and the Brentanian legacy in the 'Cambridge family';
- The method of analysis: the Cambridge approach to the mind;
- The origin of contemporary pathbreaking intuitions in the 'Cambridge family', such as the transparency of experience, the zombie intuition or the knowledge argument;
- Theoretical claims: the relation between mind, body, consciousness, and matter in the 'Cambridge family';
- Stout's philosophical views and his significance.
Selected speakers are expected to cover their own travel and accommodation costs. Information on accommodation options is available upon request.
Permalink: http://www.pheno.ulg.ac.be/go?u=80
Organizing committee
- Arnaud Dewalque (Univ. of Liège)
- Bruno Leclerq (Univ. of Liège)
- Valentina Martinis (Univ. of Liège)
- Denis Seron (Univ. of Liège)
Contact
For inquiries please contact:
