September 05, 2008
Philosophy Speaker Series continues with "Mind as Matter"
Lecture
"Mind as Matter: The New Physicalism"
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Dana Commons, second floor, corner of Maywood and Florence Streets
4:30 p.m.
Reductive physicalism – the theory that mind simply is matter – has recently gained popularity in the Philosophy of Mind against its longstanding rival, functionalism. The principal reason for this new trend is that contemporary neuroscience seems to have provided the data needed to make feasible reductive links between mind and brain. Reductive physicalists, however, still face two major philosophical hurdles. The first is Putnam’s argument from multiple realizability. The second is the irreducibility of the qualitative features of our conscious experience.
Jacqueline Sullivan '95, assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, investigates the strategies that reductive physicalists have advanced to solve these two problems. Using case studies from neuroscience, she demonstrates precisely how such strategies fail. This event is offered as part of the Philosophy Series at Clark. It is sponsored by the Jefferson Fund, the philosophy department and the Higgins School of Humanities. For more information, call 508-793-7479.
Lecture
"Expression Between Self and Other"
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Dana Commons, second floor, corner of Maywood and Florence Streets
7:30 p.m.
In discussions concerning the classical problem of intersubjectivity – how we come to know minds other than our own – the notion of expression has come to play a part of increasing significance and prominence. Being embedded in the same expressive space, both self and other share the emotions which saturate this space. What we do not share, however, is the perspective from which these emotions are embodied. The reciprocity of our relation lies in the fact that we both have immediate access to the expression of emotion while the asymmetry is due to our embodiment of separate perspectives.
Lisa Folkmarson Käll holds a Ph.D. in Women's Studies from Clark University (2004) and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Copenhagen University (2007). She is a research associate at the Center for Gender Research at Uppsala University and is involved in the recently established Nordic Network for Research on Gender, Body, and Health which is based at the Center for Gender Research in Uppsala. This event is offered as part of the Philosophy Series at Clark and is sponsored by the Higgins School of Humanities. For more information, call 508-793-7479.