Dear all,

Today, for our last EXRE Session, we will have the pleasure of hearing Pauline on E. J. Lowe’s seriousness as an essentialist.

Looking forward to seeing you all one last time before the summer break!

Best,

Samet

Dear all,

Please find the link for Simon’s handout for today’s talk:

https://www.swisstransfer.com/d/94be1a12-b61e-4bdf-92a1-c9fa8aa4e629

Looking forward to seeing you all later!

Best,

Samet

Dear all,

Alex Moran’s talk has been updated. You should have already received the notification and the new abstract and title.

The date and place remain the same (i.e. tomorrow, 5.15 pm, MIS02 2122).

Best
Samet

Hi everyone,

Just a reminder that Sharon’s talk is on later today (5.15 pm, MIS02 2122). I hope to see you all there.

Best
Julien

ABSTRACT

Our lives are valuable partly because we are moral agents. We can lead a morally good life because we can act, morally, in the right way, towards others and towards the world. I will argue that moral agency requires the capacity for consciousness, and therefore that consciousness is valuable. First, I will suggest that there can be no moral agency without intentional agency. While the non-intentional actions of an otherwise intentional agent can still be morally evaluated, the actions of an agent who is unable to act intentionally escape moral evaluation. Thus, moral agency requires intentional agency. Secondly, I will argue that intentional agency requires the capacity for consciousness. For one must know that one is F-ing in order to intentionally F, and this knowledge has a particularly special source: conscious awareness. I will conclude that consciousness is necessary for moral agency. There can be no morally evaluable action, no morally evaluable life, and therefore no morally good life, without consciousness. Thus, consciousness is valuable because moral agency necessarily depends on it, and moral agency is required for much of our life’s value.

Dear all,

This message to inform about the Colloquium’s SS2025 schedule.

12.03.25 Jason Day, Welcome to Hyperspace: A Phenomenology of the DMT Experience

19.03.25 Sharon Casu, Moral Value of Consciousness

26.03.25 Dirk Franken, Ontological Form

09.04.25 Alex Moran

07.05.25 Simon Morand

21.05.25 Pauline Sabrier

As per usual, it will take place in room MIS02 2122, from 5:15 to 7pm.

See you around,

Samet

Dear all,

Unfortunately, Anthony’s sick and has had to cancel his talk, so there will be no EXRE colloquium today.

See you all next week!

Best,

Sharon

Dear all,

Just a reminder that the next EXRE talk will take place on Tuesday, December 3 (instead of Wednesday), from 17:30 to 19:00 (instead of 17:15).

All the best,

Sharon

Dear all,

Thanks to Samet’s efforts, EXRE is back with its weekly colloquium. The colloquium will take place in room MIS02 2122, from 5:15 to 7pm.

Here is the schedule for this semester:

13.11.24 Giovanni Rizzotto, TBA

20.11.24 Will Moorfoot, TBA

04.12.24 Anthony Taylor, “Humanitarian Intervention, Revolution, and Collective Autonomy”

11.12.24 Dirk Franken, “Existence Originalism”

18.12.24 Patrik Engisch, “Creativity, Creative Processes, and The Fundamentality Question”

Transparency, Indexicality, and Consciousness

This conference, organised by the Collège de France and the University of Fribourg as part of the ANR-FNS project “Essential Indexicality and Thoughts about Experience” (ANR-22-CE93-0004, FNS 100012L_212635), will examine the relations between three major themes in contemporary philosophy of language and mind: the semantic problem that mental indexicality poses for a theory of thought, the metaphysical problem that phenomenal consciousness creates for materialism, and the various epistemic transparency theses regarding self-knowledge and first-person access to mental content.

Attendance: The conference will be an in-person meeting with no remote attendance options (though, if participants agree, the talks will be filmed and the videos be made accessible on the website of the Collège de France shortly after the event). Attendance is free but registration is required at the following address: phenomenal.transparency.2024@gmail.com

12:50-14:20 Lunch break

Afternoon session (Chair: Rachel Goodman)

14:20-16:00 Marie Guillot (Université de Nanterre)

Inserted Thought and the Phenomenal-Concept Approach to De Se Thoughts

16:00-16:20 Coffee break

16:20-18:00 Julien Bugnon (Université de Fribourg & LOGOS)

9:10-10:50 Katalin Farkas (Central European University)

A Moderate Proposal for Privileged Access

11:10-12:50 Giovanni Merlo (Université de Genève)

Transparency and Solipsism

12:50-14:20 Lunch break

Afternoon session (Chair: Julien Bugnon)

14:20-16:00 Philip Goff (Durham University)

A Conceivability Argument for Atheism

16:00-16:20 Coffee break

16:20-18:00 Aidan Gray (University of Illinois, Chicago)

Externalism, Transparency, and the (In)transitivity of Coordination

9:10-10:50 Martine Nida-Rümelin (Université de Fribourg)

The Argument from Understanding for Dualism about Experiential Properties

10:50-11:10 Coffee break

11:10-12:50 David Papineau (King’s College London)

Problems with Revelation

12:50 End of the conference

Organisers: Gregory Bochner (Collège de France), Julien Bugnon (Université de Fribourg), François Recanati (Collège de France).

Dear all

I kindly remind you that tonight Julien will present his paper called “Welfare Subjectivity and the Unifying Power of Consciousness“.

This session will be entirely ONLINE, since Julien is not in Fribourg.

Here is the link to join the meeting: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_NGNlZGEyYmEtYTcwYi00MTg5LTg1ODQtMTM2ODZjZDQ1MzRj%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2288c9873b-3065-42a0-9f3c-ac864c0ac788%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e8e5a850-ee90-45f0-bdd9-078ee4474914%22%7d

And the abstract:

I present an argument based on the unifying power of consciousness in favour of what Bradford (2022) has termed “the View”: the view that consciousness is necessary for being a welfare subject. Welfare subjects are bearers of welfare goods and bads: things that affect the well-being or welfare of these subjects, things that are good or bad for them. While determining what exactly should count as welfare goods and bads is a fiercely contested issue, there is a temptation to believe that we should focus on the nature of welfare goods and bads to explain the truth of the View (see van der Deijl 2020, Lin 2020) or its falsity (see Bradford 2022). Contrary to this, I suggest that we should not focus primarily on the nature of welfare goods but rather on the nature of their bearer to evaluate the View.

The first premise of my argument for the View builds on the idea that welfare subjects are not mere locations where we find alleged welfare value. Things are not just good or bad in them, but good or bad for them (compare McDaniel 2014, Orsi 2015). I argue that we should account for this intuitive difference between welfare subjects in a genuine sense as opposed to a mere locational sense in terms of how unified they are. Genuine welfare subjects are individuals unified in a non-arbitrary manner, while mere locations of alleged welfare value are not. There is a non-arbitrary answer to the question of how many genuine welfare subjects there are in a given region of space R, which is not deducible from mere information that there is some welfare value instantiated in R. Yet individuating welfare subjects non-arbitrarily is crucial to uphold some intuitive ethical principles, for instance that when it comes to compensating something being bad for x by something being good for y, whether or not x=y will have ethical significance.

My second premise argues that having consciousness is necessary to be unified in the way required to be a genuine welfare subject. There is an objective fact of the matter as to how many conscious subjects there are in a given region of space R. Once we take the conscious perspective of such a subject seriously, the question of whether it is identical to another subject cannot be given an arbitrary answer. In contrast, any alternative unifying principle, whether functional, biological, or otherwise, will leave room for arbitrariness and fall short of providing sufficiently sharp individuation conditions.

I conclude that the problem with attributing welfare goods to entities without consciousness is not that we cannot make sense of the value of these goods without presupposing that consciousness is a constitutive part of them. We can indeed make sense of a state of affairs A being good for an entity E in a way that A’s goodness for E does not require any conscious experience for E. However, we cannot make sense of a state of affairs being bad for entity E if E is not an entity sufficiently unified to make it appropriate for us to take its valenced point of view.

I wish you all a wonderful day and hope to see many of you later for the last session of the semester!

Best

Elisa

Dear all

Tomorrow, in our EXRE colloquium, we are welcoming Claire Field, from the University of Zürich (https://claire-field.com/). Her talk is called “The Value of Incoherence” and here is the abstract:

I argue that level-incoherence has distinctive epistemic value in a specific set of epistemic environments: those in which it is easy to acquire justified false beliefs about normative requirements of epistemic rationality. I argue that in these environments level-incoherence is the rationally dominant strategy. Nevertheless, the idea that level-incoherence is always irrational has proved resilient. I evaluate three candidate explanations for the intuitive pull of level-coherence requirements of rationality, only one of which is the traditional view that epistemic level-coherence is a requirement of rationality. I argue that, instead, level-incoherence is a defeasible reason to undertake further inquiry and reexamine one’s beliefs, and this can explain why it has often been mistaken for a requirement of epistemic rationality.

If you would like to join online, here is the link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_Yjc0NjlhMWQtYmUxYi00ZTNhLWJkYjctZWUwNjhkNGQyM2My%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2288c9873b-3065-42a0-9f3c-ac864c0ac788%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e8e5a850-ee90-45f0-bdd9-078ee4474914%22%7d

Best

Elisa

Dear all

As you know, we’ll have a workshop this weekend (Friday, 3^rd – Saturday, 4^th) with Elijah Chudnoff from the University of Miami, and you are all welcome to attend (programm on exre.ch).

Elijah Chudnoff has kindly offered to add an activity to the program, namely, to go and visit the photography museum (https://elysee.ch/) in Lausanne, on Sunday, 5^th. It would also be an opportunity to discuss some work with him and he would be happy to provide some feedback on any work in a more informal way.

If you are interested in taking advantage of this opportunity by participating in this visit, please email me at elisa.bezencon@unifr.ch, ideally until tomorrow evening, so that I can put you in contact with Elijah Chudnoff. Of course, everyone is welcome, also from outside the department!

I hope this offer will be of interest to some of you!

Best

Elisa

Dear all

Tomorrow, we’ll listen to Bruno Cortesi’s (UNIFR/Pavia) talk called “On the Supposed Metaphysical Neutrality of the Phenomenological Approach” (abstract below).

I remind you that this talk will be only ONLINE, since Bruno is in Italy.

Here is the link to join the Teams Room: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ODdiZGRiM2MtMTE1Zi00ZmU2LTlhZmYtZWYzYTAzMDQ0ODEw%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2288c9873b-3065-42a0-9f3c-ac864c0ac788%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e8e5a850-ee90-45f0-bdd9-078ee4474914%22%7d

See you tomorrow!
Elisa

Abstract:

My talk will be about phenomenology understood as a discipline, an enterprise or an inquiry in philosophy, rather than as a movement in the history of philosophy: as the title suggests, it will be about the (so-called) phenomenological approach and not – or not just – about the (so-called) phenomenological tradition. To be even more precise, a discipline or an enterprise may be defined in terms of three facets: (1) its domain of study, (2) its methodology and (3) its main results (Woodrof-Smith, 2018). My talk will be concerned with (1) and possibly (2), but I won’t say much on (3). If one has a look at the Stanford Encyclopedia entry on phenomenology (Ibid.), in the very first few lines of the introduction one finds: «The discipline of phenomenology may be defined initially as the study of structures of experience, or consciousness. […] Phenomenology studies conscious experience as experienced from the subjective or first-person point of view.». There’s a widespread tendency to assume that the phenomenological approach so understood is metaphysically neutral (Siewert, 2007 and Kriegel, 2015, among many others, are particularly explicit on this point). The idea seems to be that an effort to describe the way given (kinds of) experiences are experienced firsthand as accurately as possible does not imply, per se, any commitment about the ontological/metaphysical status of those experiences. I will try to make a case that the latter assumption, intuitive and prima facie appealing as it may be, is nonetheless misguided. For, as I will suggest, phenomenology is in the business of describing the core essence or nature of experiences. In turn, the latter implies that the essence of experiences is immediately and directly presented to subjects in the very having of those experiences: we are immediately and directly presented with (or aware of) what it is for our own experiences to exist or to be part of reality. As I will argue, this is incompatible with (almost) any coherent form of physicalism about the mind (that I know of), at least given how the latter view (or family of views) is conceived in the contemporary debate in philosophy of mind. In fact, I will argue that given certain minimal and rather widespread assumptions, physicalism turns out to be a much more radical view than one might think, for it commits one to at least one of the following claims if not, possibly, to a combination of them: (I) there is nothing it is like for a subject to undergo certain experiences: an experience makes no difference whatsoever for the subject who has it in virtue and only in virtue of its occurring; (II) we have no cognitive access whatsoever to the way it is like for us to undergo given experiences: no way to think about our experiences in terms of the way it is like for someone to have them, no grasp of the latter …; (III) it is not essential to an experience that it is experienced precisely in the way it is experienced rather than in another way. Hence, experiences may keep on being the entities they are without being experienced in the way they are experienced. There is a very strong prima facie case that (III) is false, and embracing a phenomenological – hence eminently first-personal – standpoint in the study of consciousness commits one to deny both (I) and (II).

Dear all

On Wednesday (April 24th), Anthony Taylor, postdoc in the chair for ethics and political philosophy, will present his paper called “Usurping Official Power”.

Abstract: Public officials—such as legislators, judges, and law enforcement officers—sometimes make mistakes. The question that this paper focusses on is whether the individuals who make these mistakes, by virtue of occupying their official role, sometimes possess a right against interference or harm that a private individual who made the same kind of mistake would not possess. Those who defend the possibility of legitimate injustice argue that public officials sometimes have more extensive rights against interference with their mistaken decisions than those held by equivalently situated private individuals. I consider and reject a recent attempt to vindicate the possibility of legitimate injustice, and defend an alternative approach. 

This session will be held in person, in the Salle Jaeggi, but if you want to attend online, here is the link:

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZjA0NDZjYWUtMzRiYS00MzlmLTgwMzQtNWM0YThkMWZiZjU0%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2288c9873b-3065-42a0-9f3c-ac864c0ac788%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e8e5a850-ee90-45f0-bdd9-078ee4474914%22%7d

Have a nice week!
Best

Elisa

Dear all

On Wednesday 17th April, Mario will talk about Kant on merely possible objects (abstract below).

I remind you that this session of the colloquium will be held only online. Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_YmRiYWFlOTYtMTY3OC00OTE5LTljODktZjA0ZTgzNjQ1MTAx%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2288c9873b-3065-42a0-9f3c-ac864c0ac788%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e8e5a850-ee90-45f0-bdd9-078ee4474914%22%7d

Best

Elisa

Abstract:

It is commonly held that Kant’s account of existence foreshadows Frege’s, Russell’s, and Quine’s disdain for non-existent objects. This interpretation has consequences for the interpretation of Kant’s modal metaphysics because it excludes attributing an ontology of merely possible objects (possibilia) to Kant. Consequently, it has become standard in the literature to deflate Kant’s talk of merely possible objects, reducing them to features of the content of judgments. I oppose this line of interpretation and attribute a pivotal role to an ontology of possibilia beyond mere intentional objects to Kant. In this talk, I’ll offer a negative and positive argument for my interpretation. The negative argument criticises the claim that Kant’s account of existence implies the impossibility of non-existent objects. The positive argument shows that Kantian possibilia exceed our representational capacities in determinacy, which is why they cannot be mere intentional objects.

Dear all,

I kindly remind you that tomorrow (April, 10th), we’ll have the pleasure to listen to Prof. Vera Hoffmann-Kolss, from the University of Bern, about “Degrees of Causation” (abstract below).

As always, you can also join online, in case you cannot come to Fribourg.  Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_OGZjMDdkMjktMGY0MC00MWFkLTkzMzUtNDMzOTAwNmY1NjEx%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2288c9873b-3065-42a0-9f3c-ac864c0ac788%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e8e5a850-ee90-45f0-bdd9-078ee4474914%22%7d

See you tomorrow!
Elisa

Abstract:

There is a growing consensus that causation can come in degrees. For instance, if two companies both emit effluents into a river, the degree to which they should be held responsible for the resulting damage depends on the degree to which they causally contributed to it. In general, if an event e has two contributing causes, c1 and c2, the causal contribution of c1 to the occurrence of e may be greater than the causal contribution of c2.

In this paper I investigate what a theory of degrees of causation should look like. Most theories currently on the market are quantitative and measure closeness to necessity: they assign a concrete numerical value to each cause in a given causal structure, and assume that this values depends on how close the cause comes to providing a necessary condition for the effect. However, I argue that a theory of graded causation should be comparative and measure closeness to sufficiency: it should only rank causes according to their relative contribution to a given effect, and assume that this ranking depends on how close the cause comes to providing a sufficient condition for the effect. My argument is based partly on the relationship between degrees of causation and degrees of responsibility mentioned above, and partly on more general considerations about the role of degrees of causation in scientific and everyday contexts.

Dear all

Next Wednesday (March, 6th), we’ll have the pleasure to listen to Prof. Simon-Pierre Chevarie-Cossette (UniNe) about “Two Problems with Bullshitting”.

Remember that you can also join us online, in case you’re not in Fribourg.

For those who will come in person, we will as usual go for a drink and dinner after the colloquium, and everyone is welcome!

A nice weekend to all of you!

Best

Elisa

Dear all,

Below you will find the program of EXRE weekly colloquium for the spring semester.

I remind you that from now on the colloquium will again be on Wednesdays (5:15-7pm), in the Salle Jaeggi (MIS04 4112).

All the talks will be accessible online, via MS Teams. Links will soon be shared in the description of the events on our website. Feel free to share them with anyone potentially interested. Of course, where possible, it’s still preferable to attend in person, so as not to lose the social aspect of these moments.

Two talks will be given online only (Mario’s and Bruno’s, for they are not in Fribourg), and I suggest that we all meet online on those occasions (and not in presence), so that the speaker can see and hear everyone better.

—-

SP24 Program:

6th March – Prof. Simon-Pierre Chevarie-Cossette (UNINE): Two Problems with Bullshitting

13th March – Miloud Belokoniene (UZH): Moral Intuitionism: Between Reasons and Inclinations

20th March – Léna Mudry (UZH): Suspension of Judgment, Inquiry and High Stakes

10th April – Prof. Vera Hoffmann-Kolss (UNIBE): Degrees of Causation

17th April – Mario Schärli (Princeton): Kant on Merely Possible Objects (ONLINE!)

24th April – Anthony Taylor (UNIFR): TBA

1st May – Bruno Cortesi (UNIFR/Pavia): On the Supposed Metaphysical Neutrality of the Phenomenological Approach (ONLINE!)

8th May – Claire Field (UZH): The Value of Incoherence

—

I hope to see many of you at these events and wish you all a great start to the new semester!

Elisa

Dear all,

First of all, I wish you all a wonderful year 2024.

Here are some information about EXRE’s weekly colloquium:

Henceforth, our colloquium will again take place on Wednesdays, from 5.15pm to 7pm.

It will still be held in the Jaeggi room, in a hybrid mode, so it will remain possible to attend online.

The program is still under construction and will be communicated as soon as it is ready.

If you’re interested in presenting something next semester, there are still a number of dates available, so do not hesitate to contact me! Please do so before the end of next week (26 January).

I remain at your disposal for any question and wish you all a nice semester break.

Elisa

Dear all,

We still have a few slots available for our CUSO Workshop “Normativity and Reasons”, which will take place in Crêt-Bérard from 28 January to 31 January 2024. We’d like to invite post-docs from Universities associated with the CUSO (Fribourg, Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchâtel) to present something. If you are interested, please contact me (sharon.casu@unifr.ch) before 5 January and let me know what you would like to present.

Best,

Sharon

Dear all,

The Chair for Ethics & Political Philosophy of the University of Fribourg is hosting a Workshop on Partiality.

When: Monday, 27 November 2023

Where: Université de Fribourg (Miséricorde), Av. de l’Europe 20, 1700 Fribourg (in person)

Programme:

Room: Salon des Professeurs MIS02 2113

9.15-10.45: Jakob Werkmäster (Lund University): “Fitting for Whom? Love, Blame and Relational Values”

11.00-12.30: Anna Goppel (University of Bern): “Wronging Friends” (pre-read)

12.30-13.30 Lunch Break

Room: Salle Jaeggi MIS04 4112

13.30-15.00: Oded Na’aman (Hebrew University of Jerusalem): “A Problem for Relationship Accounts of Partiality”

15.15-16.45: Ralf Bader (University of Fribourg): “Partiality and Agent-Relativity”

All are welcome. If you would like to attend, please register via sarah.koeglsperger@unifr.ch

Dear all,

The Kolloquium in Ancient philosophy of the University of Fribourg will soon host Kathrin Koslicki, with a talk titled “Artifact Kinds, Functions, and Capacities”.

The talk will take place on Tuesday November 28, from 3pm to 5pm, in the room MIS 10 01.04.

Dear all,

We hope you’ve all had a great start into the new semester!

EXRE’s colloquium sessions are also about to start again, with a few changes:

From now on, sessions will take place on Mondays from 5.15pm to 7pm, to avoid overlapping with the colloquia of other research groups in Switzerland close to EXRE, and thus to enable more people to take part in our colloquium.

All the talks will also be accessible online, via MS Teams. Links will soon be created and shared, so please feel free to share them with anyone potentially interested. Of course, where possible, it’s still preferable to attend in person, so as not to lose the social aspect of these moments.

To ensure the quality of online access, sessions will now be held in the Salle Jaeggi (MIS04 4112), which is fully equipped to host hybrid events.

One talk will be given online (since Mario is not in Switzerland), but we’ll still meet in person in the Salle Jaeggi for this session to listen to him.

Here is the program for this semester:

9^th October – Mario Schärli (Princeton University, online): Possibility, Actuality, and Determinacy: Baumgarten’s Theory of Ontological Status

16^th October – Davide Dalla Rosa (unifr): A Kantian account of the relationship between believing and judging

23^rd October – Basil Müller (unibe): Bad Beliefs and Social Epistemic Norms

30^th October – Ursula Renz (Universität Graz): What’s the Point of Kant’s Second Maxim? Perspective-Taking as a Norm of Doxastic Rationality

13^th November – Paul Keller (unifr): Secession and Annexation: Structural Symmetry and its Implications

27^th November – Vera Hoffmann-Kolss (unibe): Counterpossibles and Causal Exclusion

4^th December – Roberto Keller (unige): Wrong-Kind-of-Reason Skepticism Strikes Back

11^th December – Léna Mudry (UZH): Pragmatic Encroachment and Suspension of Judgement

We look forward to seeing you on October 9, and do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions in the meantime!

A pleasant day to you all!

Elisa & Sharon

Dear all,

A Workshop on Contemporary Philosophy will take place on July 10-11 at the University of Fribourg, room MIS04 4122. Here’s the program:

Monday 10.07

9:30-11:00 Arnaud Dewalque (University of Liège)

11:00-12:30 Rory Madden (University College London)

12:30-14:00 – Lunch break –

14:00-15:30 Mark Textor (King’s College London)

15:30-17:00 Kevin Mulligan (USI Lugano)

Tuesday 11.07

9:30-11:00 Guillaume Fréchette (University of Zurich)

11:00-12:30 Davide Dalla Rosa (Goethe University Frankfurt)

12:30-14:00 – Lunch break –

14:00-15:30 Gianfranco Soldati (University of Fribourg)

15:30-17:00 Mario Schärli (Swiss National Science Foundation)

If you’re planning on participating, please contact me at sharon.casu@unifr.ch.

Best,

Sharon

Dear all,

This is a quick reminder that if you would like to present something at our EXRE weekly colloquium next semester, you are invited to register using the following Google doc until June 30: https://docs.google.com/document/d/165vbTJrpFclEWWle8Z1r1XuuP82x17vbAfjaKx-c9xo/edit

So far, not many people have signed up, so do not hesitate to do so, even if you do not yet know exactly what you want to present (this can be determined later). Presentations of work in progress are of course welcome. This colloquium is also the place to discuss projects in their early stages, and to get formative feedback, so it is not necessary to have something fully developed in order to present.

Until June 30, you can also write in the Google doc the names of people you would like us to invite to give a talk during the colloquium. Thank you for your suggestions!

Best,

Elisa

Dear all,

If you would like to present something during the next academic year, you can now register on the following Google Doc until June 30: https://docs.google.com/document/d/165vbTJrpFclEWWle8Z1r1XuuP82x17vbAfjaKx-c9xo/edit?usp=sharing

There, you can also specify whether you need to present during the autumn semester (AS23) or whether you’d be okay with presenting during the spring semester (SS24). There’ll be a “second round” for the spring semester, so if you’re not sure whether you want to present then, you don’t have to register right away.

Since we’d like to include more people from other Swiss universities and abroad, we’ve added a second section where you can write the names of the people you’d like to invite for an EXRE talk (also until June 30).

Best,

Sharon

P.S.
If you’d like to join us for some of the meals, please put your name in there until Monday, May 22nd: https://framadate.org/wTs7C2Fc4hH8Chr4

Best,
Julien

Hey everybody,

The workshop “The Nature of Conscious Subjects and Their Experiences” will take place next week on May 25th & 26th, and the symposium with Robert Howell on his book “Self-Awareness and The Elusive Subject” on May 27th.

The schedules of the two events are available here. You can find the abstracts of the talks below (as well as a PDF with the proofs of Robert’s book in the files section of the EXRE webpage). Please note that all three days will take place in the salle Jäggi (contrary to previous announcements).

Hope to see many of you in Fribourg next week!

All the best,
Julien

Abstracts

Hagit Benbaji ‘The Double Transparency of Emotions’

Transparency is the intuition that self-knowledge is achieved by an “outward glance”. The transparency of experience is the claim that “when we try to introspect the sensation of blue, all we can see is the blue” (Moore 1922, 25). The transparency of belief is the claim that when we try to introspect the belief that p, all we can see is the reasons for p. I will argue that emotions are transparent in two ways, both like experiences and like beliefs. I then argue that the fact that an emotion is doubly transparent testifies to it being both an awareness of and a response to values (sec. 3).

Matt Duncan ‘Consciousness as a Cross-Temporal Tapestry’

There are good reasons to think that all experiences are temporally extended. For example, the physical correlates of experiences are all temporally extended, and the phenomenology of duration and change suggests temporal extendedness. However, in a recent paper, David Builes and Michele Odissea Impagnatiello (forthcoming) argue that if all experiences are temporally extended, and some other very plausible premises hold, then we can infer that each conscious subject has been conscious forever, infinitely into the past. Thus, we have a dilemma: Give up the well-motivated claim that all experiences are temporally extended or accept the absurd conclusion that we’ve all been conscious forever. In this paper, I chart a course through the horns of this dilemma. That is, I offer a way of maintaining that all experiences are temporally extended that does not imply that we’ve been conscious infinitely into the past. The first step along this path is the claim that we are not conscious right now, at this instant. This is not eliminativism or illusionism about consciousness. On the view that I’ll introduce, consciousness is very real, it’s just not something that ever happens at an instant. Finally, I draw out some implications this view has on the nature of conscious subjects–on what they are, in and through time.

Robert Howell ‘Pro-Self or No-Self: Arguments for and against the existence of a subject’

In this paper, I want to consider several arguments for the conclusion that there is no self or subject of experience, and then evaluate an argument for the existence of the subject.  In the end, I think there is excellent reason to reject the negative arguments.  Even at their best, they seem to make substantive metaphysical assumptions about what the self has to be.  The positive argument, on the other hand, does establish that there must be a “place for thoughts” but it falls short of establishing the existence of a robust subject of experience.

Léa Salje ‘Remember Me?: memory and the first person concept’

According to a widely accepted view, the first person concept refers systematically to its thinker. This rule seems to capture neatly the basic pattern of our first person representations; indeed, in certain lights its truth can seem utterly obvious. In this talk I explore the elasticity of the rule by thinking about its application in the context of Shoemakerian ‘Q-memory’ cases. Here we find a somewhat disrupted relationship between the experienced first person contents and the metaphysics of the self they refer to. I use this discussion to argue that our first person thoughts are much less determinate – much richer, and more interesting – than the simple, widely accepted rule suggests.

Charles Siewert ‘The Experience of Self-Expression’

It has been argued that occurrent thought does not “unfold in time,” but experience does, and that this shows cognitive activity should be banished from our conception of the phenomenal character of experience. I will argue that this is not so, based on a phenomenology of unpremeditated verbal self-expression, according to which speech and thought commonly unfold in time together in experience. Acknowledging this not only blocks certain objections to the very idea of cognitive experience, but makes conspicuous an important dimension of it. What it’s like for us to “say what we have to say” commits us to, and make us responsible for what we say, so that we thereby not only express—and thereby reveal—ourselves, but establish our claim to a basic kind of respect as thinkers. In this way, I propose, the character of experience implies it has an active self-responsible subject.

Henry Taylor ‘Experiences are subjects instantiating properties at times’

I outline an argument for the view that conscious experiences are events constituted by subjects instantiating properties at times. This picture rejects the traditional view that conscious experiences as the primary bearers of phenomenal properties, arguing instead that subjects are the bearers of phenomenal properties. I draw out the consequences of this view for various questions concerning the ontology of consciousness.

Dear all,

I regret to inform you that Samet Sulejmanoski, who was scheduled to present his talk tomorrow, has fallen sick and unfortunately, we have to postpone his talk to next semester. As a result, there will be no EXRE colloquium on May 3.

We will keep you informed about the rescheduled date of Samet’s presentation and look forward to seeing you at our next EXRE event.

Thank you for your understanding.

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

On May 25th and 26th, there will be a two days conference in Fribourg entitled “The Nature of Conscious Subjects and Their Experiences”, organised by Donnchadh, Martine, and myself as part of our SNSF project.

Speakers will include:
-Hagit Benbaji (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev)
-Matt Duncan (Rhode Island College)
-Robert Howell (Southern Methodist University)
-Léa Salje (University of Leeds)
-Charles Siewert (Rice University)
-Henry Taylor (University of Birmingham)

Recent decades have seen intensive work on the metaphysics of consciousness, but the scope of this work has been limited in two respects. First, it has tended to focus on conscious experiences and phenomenal properties, with less attention paid to subjects of experience, entities which can have or undergo experiences. Second, this work has tended to be organized around debates concerning physicalism and various non-physicalist positions, with less discussion of more general ontological questions concerning experiences or their subjects.
To address these limitations, this workshop will explore three basic questions:
-which ontology of subjects of experience should be adopted (e.g., are they substances, processes, bundles of properties, etc.?)
-which ontology of conscious experiences should be adopted (e.g., are they identical with instantiations of phenomenal properties by the subject, or do they themselves instantiate phenomenal properties?)
-what implications, if any, do either of these ontologies have for the other (e.g., do certain ontologies of experience rule out the possibility of reducing subjects to their experiences?)

More details will follow in due time.

All the best,
Julien

Hello all,

On Saturday, May 27th, there will be a one-day symposium with Robert Howell on his book “Self-Awareness and The Elusive Subject” (forthcoming with OUP). You can find a PDF with the proofs of the book in the files section of the EXRE webpage.

We will have five sessions, one for each chapter (not counting the introduction), of roughly an hour. For each, Robert will briefly state the main claims and themes of the chapter, with the remainder of the session being devoted to a discussion of that chapter.

You’re all welcome to attend, ask questions, and make observations, even if you haven’t read the chapter(s) in question. Do get in touch with me if you have further questions.

All the best,
Julien

Dear all,

Please find below the program of EXRE Colloquium this semester. I’ll update you with more information about each slot (the title, etc.) as it’s available.

Very best,
Davood

Wed., 1 Mar 2023— Giuliano Torrengo
Wed., 15 Mar 2023— Patrik Engisch
Wed., 29 Mar 2023— Bruno Cortesi
Wed., 19 Apr 2023— Sarah Koeglsperger
Wed., 3 May 2023 — Samet Sulejmanoski
Wed., 10 May 2023— Antoine Bonzon
Wed., 31 May 2023— Sharon Casu

Dear all,

I hope your new year is off to a good start.

If you’re interested in giving a talk in the EXRE colloquium this semester, please let me know by the 25th of January. If necessary, priority will be given to people who haven’t spoken during the last semester.

We warmly encourage those who have not yet/recently presented something in EXRE to do so and share their thoughts with the group. In addition, you are welcome to send me your suggestions about external people we could invite.

Thank you!

Best regards,
Davood

Dear all,

Just a quick update: Samet Sulejmanoski’s talk is rescheduled for next semester! There will be no EXRE colloquium on 7 December.

Thanks for your attention!

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

Just a quick update: Mate Herner’s talk is cancelled! There will be no EXRE colloquium on November 23rd.

Thanks for your attention!

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

Please find below the program of EXRE Colloquium this semester. I’ll update you with more information about each slot (the title, etc.) as it’s available.

The sessions take place on Wednesdays from 17:15 till 19:00 in Room MIS02 2120 unless explicitly announced otherwise.

Very best,
Davood

Date-Speaker-Title
Wed, 28 Sep 2022— Alfonso Hoyos: “A phenomenological perspective of natural beauty from the perspective of the concept of the model of Robert Bresson”
Wed, 26 Oct 2022 —TBA: TBA
Wed, 9 Nov 2022—Jason Day: TBA
Wed, 23 Nov 2022— Mate Herner: TBA
Wed, 7 Dec 2022— Samet Sulejmanoski: TBA
Wed, 21 Dec 2022 — Patrik Engisch: “Real Philosophy of Creativity”

Dear all,

I hope you are doing well!

If you are interested in giving a talk in EXRE Colloquium this semester, please let me know by the 1st of September.
 If necessary, priority will be given to those who have not spoken in the last semester.

We warmly encourage those who have not yet/recently presented something in EXRE to do so and share their thoughts with the group. Even if they feel that they are not yet sufficiently advanced in their current work, they should know that it is a pleasure for us to hear their presentation.

In addition, you are welcome to send me your suggestions about external people we could invite.

Thank you!

Best regards,
Davood

Dear all,

This email is to inform you that Taylor Carman’s talk on “Heidegger on Death, Dying and Being Dead”, scheduled for June 22, is unfortunately canceled.

Best regards,
Davood

Monday, May 23rd, 5pm-7pm, Mis02 2112

R.G. Collingwood in the Twenty-First Century
Talk with Christopher Mole (University of British Columbia, Vancouver)

In the preface to his The Principles of Art, R.G. Collingwood tells us that “Everything written in this book has been written in the belief that it has a practical bearing, direct or indirect, upon the condition of art in England in 1937. (p. vi)”. Those conditions are not ours, and so one might think that his book is now of only historical interest. This talk will make the case for the contrary position, arguing that Collingwood’s book can contribute to our understanding of certain philosophical questions that emerge from contemporary social issues.

Organized by
SNF-PRIMA Research Group Aesthetics and Ethics of Attention

To view the poster please click here!

Dear all,

We’d like to invite you to an afternoon workshop with Taylor Carman, Columbia University, on the topic of

Heidegger on Death, Dying, and Being Dead

June 22, 2022; starting at 1.30pm
University of Fribourg – MIS08 0101 (Espace Güggi)

If you wish to participate, please send an email to isabel.kaeslin@unifr.ch

Best,
Isabel

Dear all,

I hope you are well!

Unfortunately, I have just been informed that Emmanuel Baierlél has fallen ill and that we have to cancel his EXRE talk.
The next session of EXRE colloquium will take place on Wednesday, 18 May 2022, and we will have the pleasure of hearing Sharon Casu’s talk.

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

I hope you are well!

Unfortunately, I have been informed that Anna Bloom Christen has fallen ill, probably with COVID-19, and that we have to cancel her EXRE talk.
The next session of EXRE colloquium will take place next week, on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, in which Francesco Praolini will present his talk on “The Revenge Lottery Paradox”.

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

Please find below the program of EXRE Colloquium this semester. I’ll update you with more information about each slot (the title, etc.) as it’s available.

Very best,
Davood

Date-Speaker-Title
Wed, 16 Mar 2022-Anna Bloom Christen: “Divided Attention: Perceptual Habits in Anthropological Fieldwork Practice”
Wed, 23 Mar 2022-Francesco Praolini: TBA
Wed, 13 Apr 2022-Olivier Massin: TBA
Wed, 27 Apr 2022-Jason Day: TBA
Wed, 4 May 2022-Emmanuel Baierlé: TBA
Wed, 18 May 2022-Sharon Casu: TBA
Wed, 25 May 2022-Miloud Belkoniene: TBA

Dear all,

I hope your new year is off to a good start.

This is just a quick note to say if you’re interested in giving a talk in the EXRE colloquium this semester, please let me know by the 30th of January.

If necessary, priority will be given to people who haven’t spoken during the last semester.

Very best,
Davood

Dear all,

Just a quick reminder that there is no EXRE talk today.

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

I hope this email meets you well.

This email is to inform you that the EXRE meeting scheduled to hold on the 1st of December has been canceled.

I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Regards,

Davood

Workshop on Kant’s Political Philosophy & Talk: “Moral responsibility for acts of negligence” in NOVEMBER:

Workshop on Kant’s Political Philosophy:

Monday, November 22nd 2021

Fribourg University

Room: Beauregard BQC 13 2.412

 9.30-10.45: Marie Newhouse (Surrey)

Actions on lawbreaking maxims

10.45-12.00: Paola Romero (Fribourg)

What is wrong with the state of nature?

12.00-13.00: Lunch

13.00 – 14.15: Micha Gläser (Zürich)

A Kantian interpretation of justice as fairness

14.15 – 15.30: Ralf Bader (Fribourg)

Kicking things into infinity: Kant on the priority of land ownership.

Organised by: Ralf Bader & Paola Romero

Please register by email: paola.romero@unifr.ch 

_______________________________________________

Talk: “Moral responsibility for acts of negligence”

Philipp Schwind

University of Zurich 

Thursday, November 25th 2021

Time: 15:15 – 17:00

Espace Guggi, University of Fribourg

Organized by Ralf Bader and Maude Ouellette-Dubé

The talk is in person. Everybody is welcome, but registration is necessary by email: maude.ouellette-dube@unifr.ch

Organized by Ralf Bader and Maude Ouellette-Dubé

The talk is in person. Everybody is welcome, but registration is necessary by email: maude.ouellette-dube@unifr.ch

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8pp5dt5jh3no3it/Fribourg_Context%20and%20Content.pdf?dl=0

Dear all,

In addition to his talk today, Gregory agreed to lead a seminar on the topic above, discussing Stalnaker’s famous paper “Assertion”.

The meeting will be on

Friday 05.11.2021 at 13h30

in room MIS 04 4118

Hope to see you there,

Gianfranco

Dear all,

I’m writing to you again on behalf of the research project The Phenomenology of Mental States (in collaboration with Liège (Belgium). Next summer, we are organizing a 3-day workshop from June 28 to July 1 2022 in Bigorio, Ticino (with accommodation on site). We will have the opportunity of hearing Maja Spener present her current work and discuss it with her.

As places are limited, I invite you to write me if you are interested in participating before Monday, November 1 at samet.sulejmanoski@unifr.ch. 

See you,

Samet

Dear all,

In the context of the research project The Phenomenology of Mental States (in collaboration with Liège (Belgium), we are organising a series of online seminars to which you are all invited. For more information on the program, you can visit the following webpage: Liège-Fribourg Brainstorming Sessions

In case you are interested in participating in and/or receiving updates and reminders about the sessions, please send me an email at samet.sulejmanoski@unifr.ch. This goes as well if you are interested in presented something next semester.

Cheers,

Samet

Dear all,

Please find below the program of EXRE Colloquium this semester. I’ll update you with more information about each slot (the title, etc.) as it’s available.

Best,

Davood

Talks take place on Wednesdays from 17:15 till 19:00 in Room MIS02 2122 unless explicitly announced otherwise.

Dear all,

Just a quick note to let you know that Matthew Liao (NYU) will be giving a talk in Fribourg on Wednesday 15th September 14.00-15.30 in MIS02:2122. The title is “Lives, Limbs, and Liver Spots: The Threshold Approach to Limited Aggregation”. Please pass along this information to anyone you think might be interested in attending.

Hope to see you there.

All the best
Ralf

Dear all,

This is just a quick note to say if you’re interested in giving a talk in EXRE Colloquium this semester, please let me know by the 20th of August.
If necessary, priority will be given to people who haven’t spoken during the last semester.

Very best,
Davood

Dear all,

I suggest for those who are interested to meet during the summer for chalk talks.

I have created a moodle for those meetings.

https://moodle.unifr.ch/course/view.php?id=9797

Please enroll in case you are interested. We may decide about schedule and venue there.

Best wishes

gf

[Apologies if you receive this twice – there seem to be some issues with the distribution of this message.]

Hi all,

the last session of our EXRE colloquium this term will exceptionally take place at 6.15 pm on Wednesday, May 26th – we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Frederic on “Latent Powers and Property Reduction”. The talk will be shorter than usual and the session is expected to finish around 7.30 pm.

Venue: the colloquium takes place again in room MIS11 2.102 Laure Dupraz (Kinderstube, Miséricorde 11, see map here: https://www.unifr.ch/map/de/ortsplan/misericorde.html).

Zoom: please do bring along your laptop and connect on Zoom, especially for the Q&A, so as to make this comfortable for the people who will attend online (link below).

Food & drinks: let’s see what the weather is like on Wednesday and decide accordingly.

Best,

Julien

Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89459837659?pwd=V0o4dmFUMGFFZ0NpY1Jlay9lK3BCUT09
Meeting ID: 894 5983 7659
Passcode: 642190

Hello all,

the next session of our EXRE colloquium takes place tomorrow Wednesday, 5.15 pm – we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Paola on “What is (or should be) the basic question of a theory of property?”

Venue: the colloquium takes place again in room MIS11 2.102 Laure Dupraz (Kinderstube, Miséricorde 11, see map here: https://www.unifr.ch/map/de/ortsplan/misericorde.html).

Zoom: please try to bring along your laptop and to connect on Zoom, especially for the Q&A, so as to make this comfortable for the people who will attend online (link below).

Food after the colloquium: given the fine weather expected here in Fribourg, I’m happy to invite you over to my place and order pizzas!

Best,

Julien

Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89459837659?pwd=V0o4dmFUMGFFZ0NpY1Jlay9lK3BCUT09
Meeting ID: 894 5983 7659
Passcode: 642190

Hello all,

the next session of our EXRE colloquium takes place tomorrow Wednesday, 5.15 pm – we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Davood on “Phronesic Rule of Transparency”.

**NOTE THE CHANGE OF VENUE** from now on talks will take place in room MIS11 2.102 Laure Dupraz (Kinderstube, Miséricorde 11, see map here: https://www.unifr.ch/map/de/ortsplan/misericorde.html).

It will also be possible to attend the talk online, via the usual Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89459837659?pwd=V0o4dmFUMGFFZ0NpY1Jlay9lK3BCUT09
Meeting ID: 894 5983 7659
Passcode: 642190

Given the weather forecast and current limitations in restaurants, I’d like to suggest that we order food (i.e. pizza) and eat it at my place (chemin Monséjour 8).

See you tomorrow,

Julien

Dear all,

I’m writing to inform you that Golnar Narimani, unfortunately, decided to cancel her talk for personal reasons. So, there is no EXRE colloquium next week.

The next session of EXRE colloquium will take place on the 12th of May, in which I will present my talk on “Phronesic Rule of Transparency for Intention.”

Furthermore, now that the university policies regarding COVID19 have changed, we would like to hold the remaining sessions both in-person and online. The future meetings will take place in room MIS02 20122, and those who would like to join us online can follow the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89459837659?pwd=V0o4dmFUMGFFZ0NpY1Jlay9lK3BCUT09

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

I hope you have enjoyed the Easter holidays!

Unfortunately, I learned that Paola Romero has been tested positive for Covid and cannot present her talk on Wednesday!
We decided to postpone her talk to Wed, 19 May 2021, so that we don’t miss the chance of hearing her presentation this semester.

Have a nice weekend,
Davood

Dear all,

It was supposed that Paola Romero’s talk in EXRE takes place on April 7th. But this date lies in the University’s Easter Holidays, and some people may not be able to attend the meeting. Therefore, we decided to move the date of her talk to April 14th. Please mark your calendars with the new date.

I apologize for this inconvenience.

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

Please find below the program of EXRE Colloquium this term. I’ll update you with more information about each slot (the title, etc.) as it’s available.

Best,
Davood

Wed, 3 Mar 2021— Isabel Kaeslin: “Hermeneutic Attention”
Wed, 24 Mar 2021— Emanuela Carta: TBA
Wed, 7 Apr 2021— Paola Romero: TBA
Wed, 14 Apr 2021— TBA: TBA
Wed, 28 Apr 2021— Golnar Narimani: TBA
Wed, 12 May 2021— Davood Bahjat: TBA
Wed, 26 May 2021— Frederic Auderset: TBA

Hello all,

This conference may be of interest to some of you.

The CoRReA (Collectif Romand de Recherche en Argumentation – Universities of Fribourg, Lausanne and Neuchâtel) in collaboration with the Università della Svizzera Italiana (IALS), organises every three years, since 2015, a conference specifically devoted to the question of argumentation approached from the perspective of language. The 3rd edition of the conference will take place in Neuchâtel in November 2021.

Here are the details regarding submissions:

Individual presentation

Individual presentations will last 25 minutes, followed by a 5 minute question session. Contributors will need to tie their presentation with one or two of the conference themes. The deadline for submission is April 15th, 2021.

Abstracts should not be more than 400 words; they must

• (i) clearly state the research question
• (ii) include a brief description of the theoretical framework and of the methodology adopted by the author and
• (iii) highlight the originality of the proposal

The submission link is the following:

https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=argage2021

Panel

Panels are 2 hour long thematic sessions. They are divided in three 20-minute presentations and are followed by a 30 minute discussion slot (to take place at the end of the panel or in its course). Panel convenors are responsible for the organisation of both the thematic coherence and the logistic articulation of the panel in order to ensure that it fits the general orientation of the conference.

Panel proposals will contain a general description and the abstracts of the three papers to be presented. Panel proposals can be submitted until March 15th, 2021.

The general description of the panel and the abstracts should not exceed the 400 words limit each. As for individual presentations, these must

• (i) clearly state the research question
• (ii) include a brief description of the theoretical framework and of the methodology adopted by the authors and
• (iii) highlight the originality of the proposal.

Panel proposals can be submitted until March 15th.

The submission link is the following: 

https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=argage2021

Dear all,

I wish you all a very Happy New Year!
This is just a quick note to say if you’d like to give a talk in EXRE Colloquium in the spring semester, please let me know by the 25th of January.

If necessary, priority will be given to people who haven’t spoken during the last semester.

Very best,
Davood

Dear all,

Due to Corona’s limitations and concerns, some of you may wish to participate in the EXRE sessions online. Therefore, those who want to attend the meetings online have this opportunity via Microsoft Teams. We may switch to Zoom at a later date.

Of course, all in-person meetings still take place as scheduled. Hence, it would be nice if as many people as possible bring their laptop along to the meetings so that ‘virtual’ participants can be in contact with most or ideally all physical participants.

The link to attend the meetings:

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/team/19%3a90f05fccdaf145dfaa1045d8b0855ddf%40thread.tacv2/conversations?groupId=6f0092a2-8399-41bb-a4a5-49e2b3019c90&tenantId=88c9873b-3065-42a0-9f3c-ac864c0ac788

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

Please find below the program of EXRE Colloquium this term. I’ll update you with more information about each slot (the title, etc.) as it’s available.

Best,
Davood

23 Sep 2020— Ralf Bader (Fribourg): “Meta-ethical Robustness.”
7 Oct 2020— Maude Ouellette-Dube (Fribourg): “Moral Understanding as Understanding How.”
28 Oct 2020— Mario Schaerli (Fribourg): TBA.
11 Nov 2020— Gregor Kozlowski (Fribourg, Biology Department): “Why Should We Care about Biodiversity?”
2 Dec 2020— Franziska Poprawe (Zürich): TBA.
16 Dec 2020— Isabel Kaeslin (Fribourg): TBA.

Dear all,

I hope you are all well.
As you well know, our EXRE colloquiums last semester were not immune from COVID pandemic catastrophic consequences, and we were forced to cancel most of our sessions.
The fall semester is right around the corner, and we are trying to provide safe circumstances for holding our EXRE sessions. In this regard, we already reserved a big room with 40 seats, which accommodates up to 20 participants under current regulations. Therefore, we can move from the virtual ZOOM room to a real UNIFR room and have our Wednesday sessions like before.

Now that everything looks fine, if you’re interested in giving a talk at the EXRE colloquiums, please let me know by the 5th of September.

If necessary, priority will be given to people who haven’t spoken during the last two semesters.

Very best,
Davood

Dear all,

Save the date, again. Crispin Wright (NYU) will be joining our department for two talks and a workshop on basic a priori knowledge in autumn on the

23rd & 24th of November 2020

Your presence and participation would be very much appreciated.

Detailed announcement of topic and schedule to follow.

All the best,

Mario

Dear all,

Save the date: Adrian W. Moore (University of Oxford) will visit the University of Fribourg for a workshop organised around two talks of his on

March 15th & 16th 2021

Your attendance, participation, and debating spirit will be much appreciated.

Specifics concerning the schedule and topic will be provided by the end of September.

Best wishes,

Mario

Dear all,

I hope you are well.

I’m writing to inform you that we’re going to have an online meeting in Zoom to discuss the colloquium schedule and other things related to EXRE. Please fill in this doodle by Sunday to decide about the appropriate date for the meeting.

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

Gregor Kozlowski’s talk, which was supposed to be held on May 29th, has been postponed to the next semester, and we do not have EXRE colloquium anymore in the current semester.
It’s a pity that we couldn’t have dinner together due to the current situation, but I hope we find an excuse to gather together during the summer.
I’d like to express my thanks to all the participants and those who helped us organize the meetings.

Best wishes,
Davood

Dear all,

Here are my slides for the talk:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dpax5au8xt7yh3k/understanding%20%26%20knowledge-how%20%28dbahjat%29.pdf?dl=0

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

Just a quick reminder about the next session of our EXRE colloquium, which takes place on Zoom tomorrow: I’ll have the pleasure of giving a talk on “Understanding and Knowledge-How: the Minimal Requirements for Self-Knowledge and Practical Knowledge,” at 17:15.

To join the Zoom meeting, please click on the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5927153136?pwd=QU5oVzZubkV4cE1JaGFDYUZ4aGxYZz09

Meeting ID: 592 715 3136
Password: Exre

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

Here are the PowerPoint slides for Donnchadh O’Conaill’s talk:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vjne5iov2xeym27/revelation%20metaphysics%20of%20properties_exre.pptx?dl=0

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

Here is the abstract of Donnchadh O’Conaill’s talk:

The Argument from Revelation and the Metaphysics of Properties

A powerful argument against physicalism appeals to the special knowledge of phenomenal properties which one can have on the basis of having experiences. In a nutshell, the argument is that by having an experience one can come to know the nature or essence of certain phenomenal properties, and thereby learn that they are not physical. As Philip Goff summarises the basic line of thought, “we know what pain is through feeling pain, and hence if pain were c-fibers firing, we’d know about it. But we don’t, so it isn’t” (2017, 125).
The strength of this argument lies in its intuitive appeal. It appears obvious to many that a subject can enjoy special knowledge of her own experiences, including knowledge of their essence. But the argument relies on substantive assumptions, concerning how we discover which properties exist, how we determine the essence of a property, and the criteria of identity governing properties. And many of the critical responses to the argument involve questioning or denying some of these assumptions. By spelling out these assumptions and showing how they relate both to the argument from revelation and to criticisms of it, I shall clarify the deepest disagreements between proponents of the argument and its critics.

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

Just a quick reminder about the next session of our EXRE colloquium, which takes place on Zoom tomorrow: we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Donnchadh O’Conaill’s talk on “the Argument from Revelation and the Metaphysics of Properties,” at 17:15.
To join the Zoom meeting, you can click on the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89474004882

Meeting ID: 894 7400 4882
You don’t need to enter a password.

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

The PowerPoint of Glock’s presentation is here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5dml2ur2hepz5dz/pluralism%20about%20practical%20reasons%20__fribourg%2020_glock_final.pptx?dl=0

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

I’m writing to update you on tomorrow’s talk in EXRE: we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Hans-Johann Glock’s online talk on “Pluralism about Reasons for Action,” at 17:15. I just received the paper he’ll be presenting tomorrow. Please download the paper by clicking here. I’ll also send you his PowerPoint Tomorrow.
Moreover, to join the Zoom meeting, you need the ID and password below:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5927153136?pwd=QUxHYXNDV3h5c0RIQ3ExZDM0WWpkQT09

Meeting ID: 592 715 3136
Password: EXRE

You can easily download the Zoom mobile apps from here or use your browser to join the meeting. For more information regarding how to work with Zoom, please check this link.

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

Just a quick reminder about tomorrow’s EXRE colloquium and an update on the required ID and password for joining the meeting: tomorrow, we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Miloud Belkoniene’s talk on “Understanding and Skepticism,” at 17:15. Thanks to Miloud, this meeting is hosted by his Zoom account. To join the meeting you need the ID and password below:

ID: 997-6636-0870
Password: 988792

Link: https://uofglasgow.zoom.us/j/99766360870?pwd=c0FTcUJYa0FoOWlSWjNQTTk3L0hsdz09

You can easily download the Zoom mobile apps from here or use your browser to join the meeting. For more information regarding how to work with Zoom, please check this link.

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

In light of the latest developments regarding the spread of the coronavirus, we decided to cancel all the EXRE talks until April 29. I’ll keep you updated on future possible changes.

I wish everyone good health and hope we reconvene in EXRE colloquiums soon.

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

Just a quick reminder about the first session of our EXRE Colloquium this term, which takes place tomorrow. For the first session, we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Daniel Gregory’s talk on “Can You Have Memories During Dreams?” at 17:15, room MIS04, 4122.

Please find an abstract of his talk below.

Best,
Davood

Abstract:

Intuitively, it seems that we can have memories during dreams. And, certainly, there is no reason that we cannot have dreams about past events. But are these memories? I will argue that, when we consider the features of dreams and the features of memories, we have to conclude that memories cannot take place during dreams. But nothing is lost: it makes very little difference if dreams about the past are not actually memories.

Dear all,

Please find below the program of the future sessions of EXRE Colloquium this term. I’ll update you with more information about each slot (the title, etc.) as it’s available.

Best,
Davood

EXRE Colloquium Spring 2020

Talks take place on Wednesdays from 17:15 till 19:00 in Room MIS04, 4122 (Université Miséricorde) unless explicitly announced otherwise.

Wed, 4 Mar 2020– Daniel Gregory (Tübingen): Can You Have Memories During Dreams?
Wed, 18 Mar 2020– Susanne Schmet-Kamp (Fribourg): Attention and Inattention.
Wed, 1 Apr 2020– Ralf Bader (Fribourg): TBA
Wed, 8 Apr 2020– Miloud Belkoniene (Glasgow): TBA
Wed, 22 Apr 2020– Maude Ouellet-Dube (Fribourg): TBA
Wed, 29 Apr 2020– Hans-Johann Glock (Zurich): Pluralism about Reasons for Action.
Wed, 6 May 2020– Jocelyn Benoist (Paris 1): What to Do about the Reality of Appearances?
Wed, 13 May 2020– Frederic Auderset and/or Davood Bahjat (Fribourg): TBA
Fri, 29 May 2020– Gregor Kozlowski (Fribourg, Biology Department–Director of the Botanic Garden): Why Should We Care about Biodiversity?

Dear all,

I hope your New Year is off to a good start.

This is just a quick note to say if you’d like to give a talk at the EXRE colloquium, please let me know by the 30th of January. Some of our friends have already asked me if they can give a talk for this semester. But, there are still 4-5 slots available 🙂

If necessary, priority will be given to people who haven’t spoken during the last semester, and we might have one or two sessions more than usual.

Very best,
Davood

Dear all,

Just a quick reminder about today’s EXRE colloquium and an update on its venue: today, we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Patrik Engisch’s talk on “Recipes, Tradition, and Representation,” at 17:15, room MiS 10.2.04. Please note that the place of this presentation is not the same room that we had other talks before. If you need help finding the location of the venue, please check the following link: https://www3.unifr.ch/map/fr/plans/misericorde.html.

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

Just a quick reminder about the next session of our EXRE colloquium, which takes place tomorrow: we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Thomas Aeppli’s talk on “Can We See What’s Going On? Retentions and the Perception of Duration Without Duration of Perception – Worrying About a Husserlian Theory with a Non-Husserlian Argument,” at 17:15, room MIS04, 4122.

Very Best,
Davood

Dear all,

Just a quick reminder about the next session of our EXRE colloquium, which takes place tomorrow: we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Fabrice Teroni’s talk on “Bodily (dis)pleasure, emotion and valence,” at 17:15, room MIS04, 4122.

Very Best,
Davood

Abstract:

Bodily (dis)pleasures and emotions are valenced, i.e. they are positive or negative. What is valence? How do bodily (dis)pleasures and emotions relate to one another? In this talk, my aim is to assess the prospects of two popular theses regarding the relation between bodily (dis)pleasures and emotions in light of what we can reasonably think about valence. According to the first thesis, the valence of bodily (dis)pleasures is explanatory prior vis-à-vis the valence of emotions. According to the second, emotions contain bodily (dis)pleasures. I argue that bodily (dis)pleasures are intentional states whose valence is to be understood in terms of evaluative experience, and bring to light the similarities and dissimilarities between their intentional structure and that of emotions. On this backdrop, I offer reasons to conclude that we should adopt neither of the two theses.

Dear all,

Just a quick reminder about the next session of our EXRE colloquium, which takes place tomorrow, Nov 13th: we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Frederic Auderset’s talk on “Explanatory Prospects for Emergentism,” at 17:15, room MIS04, 4122.

Very Best,
Davood

Dear all,

Just an update regarding the EXRE colloquium in December:
We will have only two talks; Thomas Aeppli on Dec 11th, and Patrik Engisch on Dec 19th. Susanne Schmetkamp, who was supposed to give us a talk on Dec 18th, will give her talk next semester.

One of the reasons that we changed the dates a little is to make it possible for more friends to join us for the last session of EXRE colloquium before the Christmas holidays. It would be nice to have dinner together right after Patrik’s talk on the 19th.

We need to consider that most good restaurants are quite full before Christmas; therefore, we need to reserve a restaurant in advance. People who are interested in coming for dinner on the 19th, please fill this doodle form by the end of November.

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

Just a quick reminder about the next session of our EXRE colloquium, which takes place tomorrow: we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Emmanuel Alloa’s talk on “Experiences we go through. Sensing, Bodily Affordances and the Institution of the Self,” at 17:15, room MIS04, 4122.

Very Best,
Davood

Abstract:
This paper deals with Merleau‑Ponty’s philosophy of perception, and aims at indicating why a reconception of what it means to be sensing also has implications for the understanding of processes of subjectivation. Connecting Merleau-Ponty’s early criticism of sense data with the later explorations around the notion of “institution,” the point is to show how a self is not a mere receptacle for sensory contents but is instituted as a self through the very experiences it undergoes. Experience is not a thing we “do” or “have,” but something we go through and something through which we become what we are. From a recapitulation of Merleau‑Ponty’s account of sense‑emergence as a Gestaltist process and the analysis of the negative, diacritical structure of the experiential field, the argument moves to the mute demands of sensible environments (“affordances”) and the types of embodied responsivity they call for. As the paper argues, affective, “pathic” events that touch the subject are also what brings the subject into existence. Consequently, subjectivity appears as the field of becoming, a becoming shaped through sensible requests and instituted by means of the creative responses given to the requests put forward by other beings, things, and subjects.

Dear all,

Just a quick reminder about the next session of our EXRE colloquium, which takes place tomorrow: we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Donnchadh O’Conaill’s talk on “the Ontology of the Self: Themes from Descartes,” at 17:15, room MIS04, 4122.

Very Best,
Davood

Abstract:
What is the nature of the self or the subject of experiences? One traditional answer is that the self is nothing over and above its experiences, e.g., it is a bundle of experiences as described by Hume. The traditional alternative view is that the self is a substance, an entity which has experiences and is not composed of experiences or reducible to them.
There are a number of well-known problems facing this view, but an issue prior to any of these concerns what this view comes to; that is, what is it for a self to be a substance? In addressing this issue, we propose to go back to one of the most famous proponents of this view, Descartes. We shall start with the fundamental building-blocks of Descartes’s metaphysics: the ontological categories of substance, attribute and mode. Descartes uses these building blocks to construct an entire metaphysical system. We propose to use these categories to construct an alternative ontology of the self, one which departs from Descartes’s own views at various points. As well as providing an account of what it is for a self to be a substance, this approach allows for various ways in which the self’s relation to its body can be understood.

Dear all,

Just a quick reminder about the next session of our EXRE Colloquium, which takes place tomorrow: we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Christoph Haffter’s talk on “the Concept of Concept in Conceptual Art,” at 17:15, room MIS04, 4122.

Very Best,
Davood

Dear all,

Please find below the program of the future sessions of EXRE Colloquium this term. I’ll update you with more information about each slot (the title, etc.) as it’s available.

Best,
Davood

EXRE Colloquium Fall 2019

Talks take place on Wednesdays from 17:15 till 19:00 in Room MIS04 4122 (Université Miséricorde) unless explicitly announced otherwise.

Oct 9th – Christoph-“The Concept of Concept in Conceptual Art”
Oct 23rd – Donnchadh O’Conaill: “The Ontology of The Self: Themes From Descartes”
Oct 30th – Emmanuel Alloa: “Undergoing an Experience. Sensing, Bodily Affordances and the Institution of the Self”
Nov 13th – Frederic Auderset: TBA
Nov 20th – Fabrice Teroni “Bodily (dis)pleasure, emotion and valence”
Dec 4th – Thomas Aeppli: TBA
Dec 11th – TBA
Dec 18th – Patrik Engisch: TBA

Dear all,

Just a quick reminder about the first EXRE colloquium of the semester: we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Jiri Benovsky’s talk on the No-Self View and the Meaning of Life tomorrow, at 17.15 in room MIS04, 4122.

Very Best,
Davood

Abstract:

I will give a short talk about some thoughts I’ve been having about the meaning of life. Since I endorse the No-Self view, I will start there and explain why such a view might put us on an interesting path towards an understanding of where the meaning of life lies. But the No-Self view is not a necessary component of this, it’s just a useful starting point. Most of all, I would like to conceive this session as a general discussion about the meaning of life : I’ll provide some thoughts during my talk, but it would be great if we could then have a discussion which can depart from my talk and exchange ideas about the meaning of life as we all individually see it.

Dear all,

Just a quick note about Amir’s seminar. There is a paper written by ‘Warren S. Quinn’ which may help provide a better understanding regarding the background of the tomorrow discussion.   I uploaded the paper here: Actions, Intentions, and Consequences: The Doctrine of Double Effect.

If you’re not able to read the whole article for tomorrow, then I would suggest focusing on reading section one and two.

Very best,
Davood

Dear all,

Just a quick update on the conference: Unfortunately, Valerie won’t be able to attend the conference tomorrow. So, tomorrow we’ll have just talk by John Schwenkler at 10:30, in Mis03, room 3120.

Very best,

Davood

Dear all,

If you’d like to come for lunch/dinner during ‘Intention, Intentional Action, and Self-Knowledge’ conference, please fill in this doodle form by tonight:

https://doodle.com/poll/96ezh2yu677feudp

Best,
Davood

Dear all,

I noticed that my previous email doesn’t display the content properly.
Please find below the program of the forthcoming conference on Intention, Intentional Action, and Self-Knowledge.
I also want to request you to fill in this doodle form if you would like to come for lunch/dinner: https://doodle.com/poll/96ezh2yu677feudp

Hope to see you at the conference.

Best,
Davood

Monday 16th September (Room MIS04 4112 Saal Jäggi, Miséricorde)

09:00 – 10:30: James Doyle (Harvard): TBA
11:00 – 12:30 Lucy Campbell (Warwick): On Anscombe on Practical Knowledge and Practical Truth
14:00 – 15:30 Gianfranco Soldati (Fribourg): Authority, Self-Control and the Will
16:00 – 17:30 Davood Bahjat Fumani (Fribourg): Transparency, Intentional Action, and Knowledge-How

Tuesday 17th September (Room MIS04 4112, Saal Jäggi, Miséricorde)

09:00 – 10:30 Amir Saemi (IPM): Self-Knowledge and the Cognition of Normative Reasons
11:00 – 12:30 Johannes Roessler (Warwick): Practical Knowledge and Testimony
14:00 – 15:30 Alex Byrne (MIT): Knowing One’s Intentions and Actions

Wednesday 18th September (Room MIS03 3120, Miséricorde)

09:30 – 11:00 John Schwenkler (Florida State): Why We Know What We Do
11:30 – 13:00 Valérie Aucouturier (Saint-Louis): Is Practical Knowledge a Kind of Self-Knowledge?

Dear all,

For the upcoming semester, I’ll be organizing the EXRE Colloquium instead of our good organizer, Julien.

If you’d like to give a talk at the colloquium, please let me know by the 26th of August – if necessary, priority will be given to people who haven’t spoken during the last semester.

Very best,
Davood

Dear all,

this is a reminder that we will have a small workshop with Claudia Passos-Ferreira and David Chalmers on July 1st in Fribourg.
The program is as follows:

3.15-4.45 pm
Claudia Passos : ‘Do newborn babies have the experience of agency?’

5.15-6.45 pm
David Chalmers: ‘The meta-problem of consciousness’

Venue: Salle Jäggi – MIS04 4112
All welcome.

Best,

Julien

Hello all,

We’ll discuss Chalmers’ ‘The meta-problem of consciousness’ on Tuesday at 3:15 pm. Let’s meet on the upper part of the terrace of the mensa (unless the weather isn’t good enough, in which case I’ll send another message).

This is the paper Chalmers will present during the workshop we’ll have on July 1st.

Email me if you have trouble finding the paper on your own.

Best,

Julien

Hello all,

we will have a small workshop with Claudia Passos-Ferreira and David Chalmers on July 1st in Fribourg.
The program is as follows:

3.15-4.45 pm
Claudia Passos : ‘Do newborn babies have the experience of agency?’

5.15-6.45 pm
David Chalmers: ‘The meta-problem of consciousness’

Venue: Salle Jäggi – MIS04 4112
All welcome

Best,

Julien

Dear all,

There is a joint workshop between UNIFR and ULiège on a general theme of Transparency and self-awareness, which takes place in Fribourg on 21 and 22 June 2019. The workshop is informal; a short chalk talk followed by a long discussion to assess the claims and arguments.

The conference schedule can be found below.

Please fill in this doodle if you want to come for lunch/dinner:
https://doodle.com/poll/bxqiwdkyi5bvehwk

Best,
Davood

Friday 21st
9:30 – 10:50 Charlotte Gauvry (Liège): Is There Linguistic Evidence Against Transparency?
11:10 – 12:30 Mario Schaerli (Fribourg): Judging and Being
13:50 – 15:10 Davide Bordini (Liège): The Transparencies of Experience
 15:30 – 16:50 Julien Bugnon (Fribourg): Appearances, Attention, and
Introspection
17:10-18:30 Patrik Engisch (Fribourg): Self, Sincerity, and Authenticity: Selfhood in a Williams Key

Saturday 22nd
9:30 – 10:50 Arnaud Dewalque (Liège): Implicit Self-Awareness
11:10 – 12:30 Davood Bahjat Fumani (Fribourg): The Self-Knowledge of a Painter
15:00 – 16:20 Denis Seron (Liège): Consciousness With Shutter Closed (Based on Two Suggestions by Brentano and C.I. Lewis)
16:40 – 18:00 Gianfranco Soldati (Fribourg): Autonomy and Control

Dear all,

the last session of our colloquium this term will take place tomorrow Tuesday. We’ll meet in the usual room (MIS04 4122) at 5.15 pm to hear Luciana on ‘Individuation, Time and Self-knowledge’.

Best,

Julien

Dear all,

The last session of our EXRE colloquium before summer is upon us: it will take place on Tuesday, May 28th, and Luciana will be our speaker. (I’ll let you know shortly where we’ll meet.)

It would be nice to get together and celebrate our collective philosophical achievements during this term, which no doubt will echo in eternity. I suggest we start by having dinner – I can try and reserve a table where our various and irreconcilable dietary expectations can be met if you put your name in there early enough: https://doodle.com/poll/wga2kb267yvq649y

Best,

Julien

Hello all,

the next session of our EXRE colloquium will take place tomorrow: we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Donnchadh for a talk entitled ‘The Importance of Being Someone – On Benovsky’s No-Self View’, followed by a reply by Jiri himself. You’ll find an abstract below. As usual, we’ll meet at 17.15 in room MIS04 4122.

Best,

Julien

Abstract:
Jiri Benovsky has recently outlined a no-self view on which there are no subjects of experiences, only ‘experiences arranged self-wise’ (Eliminativism, Objects, and Persons: The Virtues of Non-Existence, 2019). Benovsky offers a novel account of the subjectivity and unity of experiences which does not involve appealing to a subject who has them. On this account, the subjectivity, phenomenality and neural characteristics of experiences are different aspects of the one event or property. The view thus combines ontological monism with a plurality of different aspects, which are not themselves properties or extra elements of being.
In this joint paper, Donnchadh O’Conaill will speak up for the self. He will argue that Benovsky’s position lacks the resources to properly characterise or explain the subjectivity of experiences. He will also argue that Benovsky’s notion of aspects does not play an important theoretical role in the account and cannot help to meet the challenges facing ontological monism. Jiri Benovsky will reply on behalf of experiences arranged self-wise.​

Dear all,

Thomas Sattig is prof in Tuebingen, an excellent philosopher and an old friend of mine.

We thought we might establish some collaboration between UNIFR and Tuebingen.

We intend to organise a one day workshop in fall or next spring.

Who is interested in participating?

No restriction on topics.

Let me know asap if possible.

thanks and best

gf

Hello all,

the next session of our EXRE colloquium will take place tomorrow: we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Davood on “Intentional Action: A Bridge Towards Self-knowledge”. As usual, we’ll meet at 17.15 in room MIS04 4122.

See you there,

Julien

Dear all, and in particular: dear Gianfranco and Davood

Dave Chalmers and his partner Claudia Passos will be in Interlaken for the big Consciousness Conference (24.-28.6.). They will come and visit me and my family for a few days afterwords and would be happy to both give a talk in a small philosophical gathering. Claudia would talk about agency and self-awareness in infants and Dave about the meta-problem of consciousness.

I would like to check with you: who will be around and would be able and willing to come? I would be grateful for a little feedback on this, even if negative.

Does that plan work given the Teheran plan? Is the idea still that we will leave on July 2nd?

If we leave later then perhaps I will put the event with Claudia and Dave on Tuesday in case they prefer to relax a bit after Interlaken. Or rather, I would then send a doodle in order to pick the day which works for a greater number of exre-people.

I wish you a great Sunday!

Martine

Dear all,

this is a reminder for the conference coming up at the end of the week (details below).

Best,

Julien

Phenomenal Consciousness and Self-Awareness
April 12^th-13^th 2019, Université de Fribourg, Switzerland
Venue: Salon des Professeurs, Miséricorde

As part of the SNSF-funded project Phenomenal Consciousness and Self-Awareness, this workshop brings together young researchers to explore topics related to consciousness, self-awareness, and possible relations between these themes. Registration is free of charge – please contact Donnchadh O’Conaill (donnchadh.oconaill@unifr.ch).

Schedule

Friday April 12^th
9.00-10.20      
    Daniel Morgan (York) – Self-Awareness and Safety
            Coffee break
10.40-12.00    
    Carlota Serrahima (Logos-BIAP, Barcelona) – A Defence of Experientialism about the Sense of Bodily Ownership
            Lunch 
13.30-14.50    
    Anna Giustina (Institut Jean Nicod, Paris) – Introspective Acquaintance: An Integration Account
Coffee break
15.10-16.30    
    Alexandre Billon (Lille) – A Subjectivist Solution to the Hard Problem of Consciousness
            Coffee break
16.50-18.10    
    Maiya Jordan (Alberta) (by video call) – Iterative Pre-Reflection versus Non-Iterative Pre-Reflection: Two Arguments for Iteration

19.30               Conference dinner 

Saturday April 13^th
9.30-10.50      
    Michelle Liu (Oxford) – Revelation and the Ordinary Conception of Experience 
Coffee break
11.10-12.30    
    Davide Bordini (Liège) – Not in the Mood for Intentionalism
            Lunch 
14.00-15.20    
    Hedda Hassel Mørch (Oslo) – Phenomenal Powers
            Coffee break
15.40-17.00    
     François Kammerer (UC Louvain) – Alternative Introspection(s)

Un message de Jiri:

Bonjour à toutes et tous,

J’aimerais attirer votre attention sur ce petit workshop en philosophie
de l’esprit qu’on organise à Neuchâtel la semaine prochaine :
http://www.jiribenovsky.org/mindandmatterworkshop.html

Si vous aimeriez venir, merci ce vous inscrire ici :
https://www.cuso.ch/activity/?p=863&uid=4560

Il s’agit d’une activité CUSO, donc on peut rembourser votre train et
repas de midi.

Bonne journée !

Jiri

Dear all,

This is just to remind you that the first session of the Exre colloquium will take place tomorrow with a talk about Aesthetic Attention and Empathy by Susanne Schmetkamp.

Best,

Miloud

Dear all,

if you’d like to give a talk at our EXRE Colloquium during the spring term, please let me know by the 13th of February (if necessary, priority will be given to people who haven’t spoken during the last term).

The first session will take place on February 27th: Susanne Schmetkamp, who had to cancel back in December, will talk on “Aesthetic Attention and Empathy.”

Hope you’re enjoying the snowy weather!

Best,

Julien

Hello all,

there will be an Aesthetic Mind workshop on February 14-15th – details and program on the poster here: http://blog.unifr.ch/exre/wp-content/uploads/files//The-Aesthetic-Mind-2nd-Workshop-13-14.2019-18.1.2019.pdf

See you all soon!

Best,

Julien

Hello all,

this is a reminder that we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Davood on “Intention, Omission, and Self-Knowledge” in the colloquium tomorrow Wednesday. As usual, the session takes place at 17.15 in room MIS04 4122. 

See you there,

Julien

Dear all,

please find below the program of the forthcoming conference on Perceptual Knowledge and Self-Awareness.

May I also ask you to fill in this doodle if you want to come for lunch/dinner. https://doodle.com/poll/qxp7r6v3i7363t2w

We’ll probably be able to cover the expenses for lunch, but right now I cannot guarantee for dinner.

I hope to see many of you at the conference.

Best,

Andrea

Perceptual Knowledge and Self-Awareness – 24-26 September 2018, Salle Jäggi

Monday 24^th

9:30 – 10:50  Andrea Giananti (Fribourg): I Know how I Know: Perception, Self-Awareness and Self-Knowledge

10:50 – 11:10 Coffee-break

11:10 – 12:30  Alan Millar (Stirling): Recognitional Abilities and Knowing What One Perceives

12:30 – 13:30 Lunch

13:30 – 14:50 Eylem Özaltun (Istanbul): Knowledge in Action and Knowledge of Perception

15:00 – 16:20 Paul Snowdon (UCL London): Knowledge by Perception and Knowledge of Perception

16:20 – 16:40 Coffee-Break

16:40 – 18:00 Hannah Ginsborg (Berkeley): TBA (something on knowledge of meaning and intention)

Drinks/Dinner

Tuesday 25^th

9:30 – 10:50 Matthew Boyle (Chicago): Armchair Psychology Defended

10:50 – 11:10 Coffee-break

11:10 – 12:30 Bill Brewer (KCL London): Perception of Continued Existence Unperceived

12:30 – 14:00 Lunch

14:00 – 15:20 Andrea Kern (Leipzig): How not to be a Naïve Realist

15:40 – 17:00 Johannes Roessler (Warwick): Transparency and Perceptual Knowledge

Drinks/Dinner

Wednesday 26^th

9:30 – 10:50 Guy Longworth (Warwick): Unsettling Questions

11:00 – 12:20 Gianfranco Soldati (Fribourg): Appearances and Justification

Dear all,

If you plan to join us for meals during Fabian’s memorial conference, June 11-12, please fill this Doodle: https://doodle.com/poll/w97hzhriq9eurwg8

Thanks!

Patrik

Dear all,

This is to inform you that my defense will take place the 8^th June at 17h in the Salon des Professeurs and to invite you all to an apero that will take place after the defense (around 19h30) in a room next to the Cathedral (Rue des Espouses 6). As food and drinks will be provided during this apero, please fill this doodle in case you want to join:

https://doodle.com/poll/a92wm9iyd8kqi52h

Best,

Miloud

Dear all,

tomorrow Wednesday, we’ll give a talk together with Martine in the colloquium on “Identity over time and prudential rationality.” The session will take place in the usual room (MIS04 4122) at 17.15.

See you there,
Julien

Dear all

Cambpell’s Seminar will be on

Monday 23 and Tuesday 24th April 2018, from 10 to 18h.

Room and readings will be communicated when available.

Hope many will attend.

Best

gf

From Alain Pe-Curto:

Dear Friends of Philosophy and Philosophers of the Lake Geneva area,

Here is the result of our check-your-schedule consultation below. The Lake Geneva Graduate Conference 2018 will take place in Neuchâtel on December 17, 2018.

Our two confirmed keynote speakers will be Anne Meylan (Basel/Neuchâtel) and Simon Feldman (Connecticut College), and the topic that of authenticity, broadly conceived. There will be a CFP open to all and only graduate students. However, everyone will be warmly invited to attend the third installment of this annual, Romandie-wide philosophical gathering, and you can already mark your calendar!

Best regards,
Antoine Vuille, Judith Würgler & Alain Pe-Curto
LG2C 2018 lead team

From Alain Pe-Curto:

Dear Philosophers of the Lake Geneva area,

We are currently organizing the third edition of the Lake Geneva Graduate Conference 2018, with confirmed keynote speakers Anne Meylan (Basel/ Neuchâtel) and Simon D. Feldman (Connecticut College) on the topic of authenticity, broadly conceived. There will be a CFP open to all and only graduate students. However, everyone will be warmly invited to attend the third installment of this annual, Romandie-wide philosophical gathering.

We are writing today to let you know that, together with our keynotes, we are considering the possibility of scheduling this one-day event on either Monday, December 17, 2018 or Tuesday, December 18, 2018.

We would be very thankful if you could let us know until Monday, February 19 included whether any of these two dates conflicts with a philosophical event that you are organizing or attending in the Romandie area. If the dates look clear on your schedule, we kindly invite you to already mark you calendars, so that you do not miss LG2C 2018!

You can also let us know until Monday, February 19 included what your preference is regarding these two dates (December 17 or 18), by filling this two-choice doodle:

https://doodle.com/poll/mh5kmtudqsfny8xb
We are aware that many of you will need to commute to Neuchâtel and have other professional or personal obligations on these days. You can write to us regarding the suggested times for the conference (from 9:30 to 18:00 + dinner) and we will do our best to accommodate.

We thank you for your help and will be in touch with further information in the coming weeks!

Best regards,
Antoine Vuille, Judith Würgler & Alain Pe-Curto
LG2C 2018 lead team

Dear all, 

In case you missed the link for the doodle concerning the meals during the workshop next week (it was at the end of a long program), here it is: 

https://doodle.com/poll/virieeavk67rka3h

PS: while this should not impact your decision to join us for this workshop, the meals will be covered by the budget I recieved 🙂

Dear all,

Here is a small reminder about the masterclass on truth and assertion that will take place next Wednesday, 14.02.2018. 

The event will take place at the Espace Güggi and here is the schedule:

Dear all,

Here is a reminder about the conference on fiction and imagination that will take place next week, Monday and Tuesday, 12-13 February. 

It will take place at the Espace Güggi and here is the final version of the program:

Monday 12th February, 2018 

9:30-11:00 Gregory Currie: Learning from imagination, from fiction and from science 

11:15-12:45 Paloma Atencia-Linares: Suspension of disbelief, attention and imagination 

2:15-3:45 Anna Ichino: Wise pens, evil cardigans, powerful reptiles and other strange things 

4:00-5:30 Amy Kind: Fiction and imagining across different experiential perspectives 


Tuesday 13th February, 2018 

9:30-11:00 Kendall Walton: How to think about fiction, and how not to

11:15-12:45 Laszlo Kajtar: Narrative and imagination: fiction and nonfiction 

2:15-3:45 Manuel García-Carpintero: Assertions in fictions

See you there!

Patrik

Dear all,

Here is the program of the workshop on epistemic and practical rationality that will take place the 22^rd and 23^rd February at the Salon des Professeurs in Miséricorde:

Thursday 22 february

8:30-10:00         Hanti Lin (UC Davis) – Modes of Convergence to the Truth: Steps toward a Better Epistemology of Induction

10:00-10:30        Coffee Break

10:30-12:00        Miloud Belkoniene (University of Fribourg), Patryk Dziurosz-Serafinowicz (University of Gdansk) – The Interplay between Credence and Outright Belief at the Level of Rational Decisions

12:00-13:30        Lunch Break

13:30-15:00        Mélanie Sarzano (University of Basel) – Costly False Beliefs 

15:00-15:30        Coffee Break

15:30-17:00        Susanna Rinard (Harvard University) (skype) – Equal Treatment for Belief

Friday 23 february

10:30-12:00      Veli Mitova (University of Johannesburg) – Warping Reasons and Shaming People

12:00-13:30      Lunch Break

13:30-15:00      Marie van Loon (University of Basel) – TBA

15:00-15:30      Coffee Break

15:30-17:00      Anne Meylan (University of Basel) – Exception for Belief!

Here is also a link to sign up for lunch and dinner each day of the workshop:

https://doodle.com/poll/virieeavk67rka3h

I hope to see all at this workshop!

Best,

Miloud

Dear all,

I am organizing a workshop the 22-23^rd February about the relations and possible overlaps between epistemic and practical rationality. If you worked or are currently working on this topic and wish to present something at this workshop, please let me know.

Best,

Miloud

Dear all,

here are the rooms info I forgot in the schedule I just sent:

Morning: MIS04 4112 / Salle Jäggi

Afternoon: MIS08 0102 – rue de Rome 6

You’ll find a plan of the campus here if needed: http://www.unifr.ch/map/fr/misericorde.php

Best,
Julien

[20.11.2017] Workshop on Attention

Dear all,

here is the schedule for the workshop on attention with Sebastian Watzl this Monday (20.11):

9.00-10.30 Structuring Mind
(40-60min presentation of the book; 30-40min discussion)
coffee break
11.00-12.15 Phenomenal Structures
(20-30min presentation; 40min discussion)

lunch break

14.00-15.15 Awareness of Attending
(20-30min presentation; 40-50min discussion)
coffee break
15.45-17.00 Attention and Consciousness
(20-30min presentation; 40-50min discussion)

There’s no requirement to have read Watzl’s book (Structuring Mind) in order to attend the workshop (however, if you want to have a look at it you’ll find it in the files section of the blog – I can also send it to you if you drop me a line).

Also, if you’d like to join us for dinner on Monday let me know.

Best,
Julien

Dear all,

Next Thursday, 23.11.17, 19.15, Prof. Dr. S. Schmid (University of Hamburg) is going to give a talk on «Two Kinds of Grounding? Suárez on Natural Resultance and Foundation» at the University of Fribourg (MIS 04 4112/Salle Jäggi). The talk should be intersting for philosophers with both historical and systematic interests, for Schmid tries to bridge the two in his work.

I would be very pleased to see you there.

Best wishes,

Mario Schärli

Dear all,

Under the impulse of Rob Hopkins, Gianfranco and myself will organise a conference in the memory of Fabian next year, the 11th and 12th of June 2018. If you would like to participate in any form (giving a talk, making a comment, playing some music, or whatever you see fit), please get in touch with me. The idea is to organise something that will contain not only a philosophical part but also a more social one, so as to reflect Fabian’s wide interests and friendly personality. So feel free to propose anything!

Best,

Patrik

Dear all,

in case you’re interested, we’ll be discussing chapter 11 and 9 of Watzl’s book Structuring Mind tomorrow Wednesday at 5pm in my office. I’ll book another room if needed, so let me know beforehand if you intend to come. You can find the book in the files section.

The workshop with Sebastian Watzl will take place on Monday Nov. 20, 9-12, 2-5. A detailed program will follow soon, but the general idea is to have him present the book in a first session and then to have smaller sessions on specific topics from the 2nd part of the book, “Attention and Consciousness.” In any case, feel free to attend the workshop if you haven’t read the book.

Best,
Julien

Dear all,

there will be a one day workshop on Monday the 20th of November with Sebastian Watzl (Oslo). We’ll discuss the philosophical account of attention that he develops in his recent book, Structuring Mind. I’ll put a pdf of the book in the files section shortly.

More details will follow soon.

Best,
Julien

Dear all, 

Just to have an idea about foreseeable attendance, could you please let me know if you intend to come to the workshop on observational properties on Friday 8 and Saturday 9 September? 

Also, please let me know if you want to join for any of the following meals:
– Pre-workshop dinner on Thursday 7 at the restaurant Le Tunnel at 7.45 pm (own expenses). 
– Lunch on Friday 8 at State mensa (our budget allows us to cover lunch for some extra participants on top of the speakers)
– Dinner on Friday 9 at Restaurant du Cygne (own expenses).

Please confirm your interest in taking part to any of this by emailing me: locatelli.robe@gmail.com. 

Thank you very much and all the best, 

Roberta

Dear all,

Just to have an overview of how many people will attend the symposium, could you please tell me per email if you plan to attend. And, also, if you’d like to participate to the following meals:

1) 11.09.2017: lunch @ state Mensa
2) 11.09.2017: dinner @ Le Tunnel
3) 12.09.2017: lunch @ state Mensa
4) 12.09.2017: dinner @ Gotthard

We can cover lunches expenses but, unfortunately, not dinners.

Also, I uploader Stock’s book in the files, it’s called “stock_complete”.

Thanks a lot!

Patrik

Workshop on Observational Properties on Friday 8th September and Saturday 9th September

There will be a workshop on observational properties on the 8th and 9th September at the University of Fribourg. All are welcome and no registration is required.

Venue :
Université de Fribourg
Misericorde
Avenue de l’Europe 20
1700 Fribourg, Switzerland

Room: MIS04 4112 Salle Jäggi

Programme :

Friday 8

09.30 -11.00 Maarten Steenhagen  (Cambridge)  ‘Mere Appearances’

11.00 -12.30 Philipp Blum (Luzern) ‘Believing in Appearances’

14.00 -15.30 Olivier Massin (Zürich) ‘Colours and Shapes’

15.30 -17.00 Roberta Locatelli (Tübingen/Fribourg) ‘The Superficiality of Observational Properties’

17.15 -18:45  Keith Allen (York) ‘Bridging the Gap? Transcendental Naive Realism and the Problem  of Consciousness’

Saturday 9

9.30 -11.00 Gianfranco Soldati (Fribourg) ‘Appearances and Qualitative Concepts’

11.00 -12.30 Jean Moritz Müller (Bonn) ‘Emotions and the epistemology of response-dependent properties’

TOPIC:

Since the beginning of Modern science, the problem of reconciling the manifest image of the world with the scientific image of the world appeared. Scientific explanation purports to give an exhaustive account of reality. But scientific explanation leaves no space for observational properties such as sound, colour, taste, solidity, and macro-physical shape and size. This prompted philosophers and scientists alike to claim that the manifest image of the world is radically misleading: the world is colourless, tasteless, soundless, and empty save for quantum perturbations of matter. Recently, many philosophers have tried to rehabilitate the manifest image of the world, by insisting that observational qualities are sui generis properties of ordinary physical objects. But the details of how we could develop and defend such views remain under-developed.

In this workshop we aim to explore the following questions at the intersection of metaphysics and philosophy of perception:

–  Is it possible to identify informative criteria to identify a class of properties that are observational or qualitative, distinct from other properties that are more generally perceptible?

–  What is the metaphysical nature of observational properties? Are they properties of the physical objects? To what extend, if any, are they grounded in the mind?

–       If observational properties are instantiated in the world, are they distinct from physical properties?

–       Do scientific findings about the physical and psychological mechanisms underlying colour or sound perception force us to revise our pre-theoretical views of colour or sound?

–       If observational properties are instantiated in the world, what is the relation between the colour or the size an object has and how it looks to us?

Dear all,

Lucy O’Brien will be staying after the Lake Geneva Conference for a one-day workshop on Saturday 14 October.

Please let me know if you would like to give a talk and/or participate.

Best,

Elodie Malbois
elodie.malbois@unifr.ch

Dear all,

I’m happy to inform you that Kathleen Stock (Sussex) will be visiting Fribourg next September (11th and 12th) for a two days symposium on her new book, Only Imagine (https://global.oup.com/academic/product/only-imagine-9780198798347?q=Kathleen%20Stock&lang=en&cc=gb).

We shall circulate the book shortly for those who would like to read in advance. 

The format should be the following. She will give a lectures on the book in the morning and there will be room for short commentaries and presentations in the afternoon. Please get in touch with me if you’re interested into participating. 

Have a nice and productive summer!

Patrik

Dear all,

the next session of our EXRE Colloquium takes place on Wednesday April 12, usual time and room (17.15, MIS04 4122). We’ll have the pleasure of hearing Micha Gläser on “The Normative Structure of Request.”

Best,
Julien

Dear all,

this is a reminder that Roberta will talk today in our EXRE Colloquium on “The Argument from Superficiality against Relationalism.” We’ll meet at 17.15 in room MIS02 2120 (floor above the philo library).

Best
Julien

Dear all,

next Tuesday, April 4, we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Roberta Locatelli in our EXRE Colloquium. Roberta will give a talk entitled “The Argument from Superficiality against Relationalism” and the session will take place in room MIS02 2120 (same as this week).

Note that there will also be a talk in ethics next week (this one is not part of our colloquium but you’re welcome to attend as well): Eva DeClercq will talk on “Disability, bioethics and cinema: a love-hate affair?”, Wednesday April 5 in room MIS04 4122.

Best,
Julien

Dear all,

tomorrow Tuesday we’ll have the pleasure of hearing Philipp Blum in our EXRE Colloquium. Philipp will talk on “The Looks of Things” (abstract below) and the session will exceptionally take place in room MIS02 2120.

See you there,
Julien

Abstract: 
When the stick appears bent and sugar looks red, bentness and redness
may be and have been attributed to their appearances, to how things
appear to me, to what they appear to me to be, or to the way I am
appeared to by them. I argue that this is wrong: bentness and redness do
not need to figure in our account at all. There are appearances of
things as red or bent, to be sure, but they have only appearance
properties — they themselves only appear red or bent. In my talk, I
will try to articulate this (perhaps Kantian) idea a bit further and
explore some its consequences for the argument from illusion,
McTaggart’s argument against temporal A-determinations and Jackson’s
argument in favour of perceptual qualia.

Dear all,

the next session of our EXRE Colloquium takes place on Wednesday (March 8, 17.15, room MIS04 4122), in collaboration with the Ethics people. We’ll have the pleasure of hearing Jan Deckers, from Newcastle, for a talk entitled “Should the Consumption of Animal Products Be Banned?” (abstract below)

Best,
Julien

Should the Consumption of Animal Products Be Banned?

Abstract:

In my presentation, I address the most crucial question that people must deliberate on in relation to how we should treat other animals: whether or not we should eat animal products. This is the topic of my book, Animal (De)liberation: Should the Consumption of Animal Products Be Banned?, published by Ubiquity Press in 2016.​

I argue that a convincing moral theory on this issue must focus on our interest in human health. Tending to this interest demands not only that we adopt ‘animalism’, an extension of speciesism towards nonhuman animals, but also that we safeguard the integrity of nature. In this light, projects that aim to engineer animals’ genetics to reduce their capacities to feel pain and to suffer are morally suspect. The same applies to projects that aim at developing in-vitro flesh, even if its production and use might be the lesser evil in some situations.

The upshot is a moral theory, called ‘qualified moral veganism’, which is accompanied by a political project, the vegan project. I conclude my talk by addressing several charges that have been pressed against vegan diets: that they alienate human beings from nature; that they increase human food security concerns; and that they are nutritionally inadequate.

Biography:

Jan Deckers has taught and researched at Newcastle University (UK) since 2001. Before his current job, he developed his specialism in bioethics by obtaining a PhD from the University of St Andrews and by collecting degrees in philosophy, religious studies, and theology from the Catholic University of Leuven.

Dear all,

the first session of our EXRE Colloquium takes place today at 17.15 in room MIS04 4122. We’ll have the pleasure of hearing Roberta on “The Argument from Superficiality against Relationalism.”

See you later,
Julien

Dear all,

please find below the program for our EXRE Colloquium this term. You’ll see that two talks are organized in collaboration with people working in Ethics. As they are a very small group and organize talks that can be of interest to us, it’s been decided that we try to include in our program this term a couple of dates when they invite senior people from abroad. We can then discuss whether we want to go on with this next term.

As usual, the program (and updates) is available in the event section of the EXRE website.

Best,
Julien

EXRE Colloquium Spring 17

February 22
Roberta Locatelli (Fribourg) “The Argument from Superficiality against Relationalism”

March 8
Jan Deckers (Newcastle) “Should the Consumption of Animal Products Be Banned?”
(In collaboration with the Ethics colloquium)

March 28 (Tuesday)
Philipp Blum (Luzern) (To be announced)

April 12
Micha Gläser (Zurich) “The Normative Structure of Request”

April 26
Talk in Ethics (To be confirmed)
(In collaboration with the Ethics colloquium)

May 3
Diego Machuca (CONICET, Argentina) “Agrippan Pyrrhonism, Assertoric Speech, and the Dialectical Conception of Justification”

May 10
Andrea Giananti (Fribourg) (To be announced)

May 23 (Tuesday)
Elijah Chudnoff (Miami) (To be confirmed)

May 31
Damiano Costa (Fribourg) “Six Ways of Being in Time”

Talks take place on Wednesdays 17:15-19:00 in Room MIS04 4122 (Université Miséricorde), unless explicitly announced otherwise.

Dear all,

Please find below the calendar for the sessions of the EXRE Colloquium this term. The full program will be announced shortly. Sessions will take place on Wednesdays 5.15-7 pm in the usual room (MIS04 4122), unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Best,
Julien

EXRE spring calendar

Feb 22
Mar 8 (TBC)
Mar 28 (Tuesday)
Apr 12
Apr 26
May 3
May 10 (TBC)
May 23 (Tuesday)
May 31

Dear all,

here is a message from Philipp Blum concerning a conference on the metaphysics of appearances that he organizes in Ligerz next week:

Dear exre members
As you’ve perhaps seen on philos-l, there is another Ligerz conference
next week, on appearances. Please see below for the CfP. If you would
like to attend, please let me know. Ideally, you would be able to attend
the whole conference, but exceptions are possible. Please also tell me
whether you would like to stay in Ligerz, and what meals you would like
to attend (Wedn dinner / Thurs lunch / Thurs dinner / Fri lunch / Fri
dinner / Sat lunch / Sat dinner / Sun lunch). If you want to present
something, or discuss some pertinent question during a discussion
session (briefly introduced by you), you’re also very welcome.
All the best,
Philipp

CfP: The Metaphysics of Appearances
15.2. (evening) – 19.2.17 (noon)
Ligerz, Switzerland
deadline for abstracts: 22nd of January


The distinction between appearance(s) and reality is one of the oldest
topics of philosophy. It has recently received new importance, from at
least three directions: discussions of grounding, “in reality” and
fundamentality; (some types of) “disjunctivist” theories of perception;
and new developments in (the interpretation of) the metaphysics of
transcendental idealism. The aim of the workshop is to bring together
historical and systematic expertise to afford a fresh look at the
metaphysics of appearances – non-fundamental things, lookings, seemings
and Erscheinungen.

Prospective participants are asked to submit an abstract (1-2 pages),
suitable for blind refereeing, to philipp.blum@philosophie.ch, by the
22nd of January (notification of acceptance: 26th of January). The costs
of simple accommodation (possibly in a room shared with one other
person, toilet on the floor), and food will be covered. If participants
do not have any other means of covering travel costs, these may be
subsidised too. When submitting the abstract, please state in the body
of the email whether you would like to apply for travel subsidies (and
for how much), and also whether you would be willing to contribute your
paper to an edited volume, based on the conference.

Participants should arrive by Wednesday evening and stay until Sunday.
They should commit to have a first draft / extended abstract of their
paper ready by the 6th of February, read at least some of those of the
others in advance and make an effort at reading some of the other
material suggested by the other participants. They should commit to
staying in Ligerz for the whole duration of the conference, except of
course for the joint excursions to the regions’ vineyards and the shores
of the lake of Biel/Bienne.

For further information, contact philipp.blum@philosophie.ch

Hi all,

next Wednesday (Dec. 14, usual time and place) we’ll have the pleasure of hosting Donnchadh O’Conaill in the colloquium, an Irish philosopher who previously worked in Leeds before joining a project in Helsinki (with Tuomas Tahko). Donnchadh kindly sent us an abstract (see below) for his talk entitled “The Identity of Experiences and the Identity of the Self”. 
I hope many of us will be there on Wednesday to discuss this with him!

Best,
Julien

Dear all,

the 4th session of our EXRE Colloquium takes place today at 17.15 in room MIS04 4122. We’ll have the pleasure of hearing Elodie on “The definition of availability”.

Please note also that the next session will exceptionally take place on TUESDAY Dec 6 (there is a department meeting on Dec 7). The program for the upcoming sessions this term looks like this:

Dec 6 – Janko Nesic (Belgrade) “Individual Awareness”
Dec 14 – Donnchadh O’Conaill (Helsinki) TBA
Dec 21 – Mario Schärli “On the Plenitude of Worlds”

Best,
Julien

Dear all,

as you may have heard, there are three research projects in aesthetics that will start early next year:

(i) A project on the normativity of our imaginative responses to fiction, funded by the SNF and the DFG, and run together with Tom Kindt from the German Literature Department (with Patrik and me as collaborators);

(ii) An SNF Ambizione Fellowship for Julia Langkau, who will be working on what kind of knowledge we can acquire from engaging with literary narratives;

(iii) And my own prolongation of the SNF professorship, in which I will look at the justification of aesthetic judgements.

All in all, there will be eight researchers involved in the projects, six of them based in Fribourg.

Our first meeting – in which we will present and discuss our projects together with two members of our steering committee, Greg Currie and Peter Lamarque from York – will take place on the 5th and 6th of December (Monday & Tuesday, ending in time for Janko’s talk).

You are very welcome to attend and can find more information on the meeting’s webpage.

But I would like to ask you to register by the 24th of November at this Doodle if you plan to attend.

The reason for this is simply that we are currently planning to hold the meeting at our Criblet offices, but there is only limited space there, so we might have to look for a larger room in case more people are planning to attend.

Thanks,

Fabian

Dear all,

Frank is organising a workshop on rational capacities next week in Luxembourg. The programme looks very good, and everyone is very welcome to attend! You can find more details (including the programme) in the events list.

All the best,

Fabian

Dear all,

the 3rd session of this term’s EXRE Colloquium takes place today at 17.15 in room MIS04 4122. We’ll have the pleasure of hearing Christian Wüthrich, professor in Geneva, on “The (a)temporal emergence of spacetime”.

See you there,

Julien

Dear all,

The 25th and 26th of November, we will host a two days workshop entitled ‘Intentionality and Phenomenology. From Austrian Philosophy to Contemporary Philosophy of Mind’, an event co-organized by UNIFR, UNIGE, and the University of Salzburg.

Program and info: http://philosophie.ch/events/single.php?action=date&eventid=1900&month=11&year=2016

If you plan to attend and join for lunches and dinners, you can fill the following doodle. It is not a CUSO event, so I don’t think we’ll having funding to pay for participants’ meal…

http://doodle.com/poll/hwwycfpizq683888

Cheers,

Patrik

Dear all,

on behalf of Martine, I’d like to draw your attention to the following event on the philosophy of perception, starting tomorrow in Bern (sorry for crossposting):

(You can find the flyer here.)

Conference: The Senses and Crossmodal Perception – Aristotelian and Contemporary Perspectives

Organized by:  Richard King (Philosophy, University of Berne) and Fiona Macpherson (Centre for the Study of Perceptual Experience, University of Glasgow)

Location: Philosophy, University of Berne, 28-30^th October, 2016

TOPIC: Questions of how to individuate the senses and what forms of crossmodal perception exist are topics of considerable interest in contemporary philosophy of perception, and recent work proceeds often informed by the latest scientific work on the nature of perception. However, they were questions also addressed by Aristotle. This conference brings together contemporary philosophers of perception and scholars of Aristotle to examine these questions, learn from each other’s scholarship, and make progress in answering them.

Aristotle not only distinguishes the modes of perception in the first systematic treatment of the topic, he also allows for the modes of perception to combine, influence one another, and be unified in a wide variety of ways. In this way, he allows that objects can be perceived as having properties determined by different modes of perception both simultaneously and over time, for example, things can be perceived as being yellow and hot and as being yellow and bitter. He also allows that properties, such as change, unity, and ultimately perception itself and not-perceiving can be perceived. 

Contemporary philosophers argue about whether these properties can be perceived or not. One question here is whether Aristotle regards perception of these properties as amodal or as crossmodal. Does consideration of either of these ways of perceiving these properties inform the case for thinking that they are properties that can be perceived? In fact, Aristotle’s strict division of the five senses is an artefact of his method; he recognises that actual perception is rarely if ever purely of one mode. It is an open question whether his division of the senses relies on stimulus, representational content, phenomenal character or the physical system involved, or on some other way of distinguishing them. Likewise it is a disputed question in contemporary philosophy, how we should individuate the senses.

The interaction of the senses affects the way in which Aristotle’s theory can cope with the deliverances of phantasia and (some kinds of) memory, which derive from actual perception. How perceptual imagination and memory are similar to, yet different from, perception is a question that has echoed down the ages to be also considered by contemporary theorists.

Aristotle’s philosophy of perception has been subject to intense scrutiny in the last twenty odd years, but connections to contemporary work on the senses have been largely neglected. This workshop aims to bring together philosophers of perception and historians of philosophy to investigate what they can learn from one another about how the modes of perception interact, interfere, and enhance one another.

Registration: richard.king@philo.unibe.ch

Discussants: Martine Nida Rümelin, Gavin Lawrence,  Colin King, Elizabeth Robertson

Programme

Friday 28^th October

Lerchenweg 36, F-131

4.00 – 5.30 Mohan Matthen, Toronto: Perception as Spatial Representation.

5.45-7.15 Klaus Corcilius, Berkeley, Tubingen: Perceptual objects and cross-modal perception in Aristotle.

Conference dinner for speakers and discussants.

Saturday 29^th October

Lerchenweg 36 F-121

9.30-11.00 Robert Briscoe, Ohio: Proprioception and Multisensory Awareness of Novel Feature Types

11.30-1.00 Mike Arsenault, Berkeley:  Aristotle on the Unity of Perception and the Unity of its Object(s)

2.30-4pm Matt Nudds, Warwick:  Cross-modal object perception

4.15-5.45 Katerina Ierodiakonou, Athens, Geneva: Alexander of Aphrodisais on the individuation of the senses.

Supper and drinks for all participants in the Institute for Philosophy

Sunday 30^th October

Lerchenweg 36 F-121

9.30-11.00

Casey O’Callaghan, Washington University, St. Louis: Enhancement Through Coordination

11.15-12.45

Pavel Gregoric, Zagreb: Property Binding in Aristotle 

Dear all,

this is a reminder that our second session of the EXRE colloquium will take place today at 17.15 in room MIS04 4122. We’ll have the pleasure of hearing Anton Friedrich Koch on “The threefold structure of truth”.

Best,
Julien

Dear all,

Please find below the final schedule of the workshop. (Let me know if I misunderstood something).

Monday October 10
Salle Jäggi

16h15-17h15 Uriah Kriegel “Brentano’s Dual-Framing Theory of Consciousness”
17h15-18h15 Mario Schaerli ‘Comments on Kriegel’s paper”

Dinner

Tuesday October 11
Salle Jäggi

09h15-10h30 Martine Nida-Rümelin  “What is it for an experience to have so-called mineness ?”
10h45-12h00 Julien Bugnon “Self-awareness and Attention”

Lunch (Mensa)

13h30-14h45 Andrea Giananti “Perceptual Knowledge and Self-Knowledge: a Rumination on Reasons”
15h00-16h15 Patrik Engisch “The Intentional Object Model”

Dear all,

the round table discussion with Robert Howell will not take place at 13h15 but at 15h00 sharp tomorrow in room MIS11 2.102 (Laure Dupraz) in the ‘Kinderstube’ building (across the parking lot). It will last for about 1h30. We’ll use this time to come back to a number of points and questions we want to discuss further, so you’re all welcome to suggest particular topics or simply join the discussion.

Best,

Julien

Dear all,

There will be no afternoon session today: we’ll discuss the topics planned for both sessions in the morning, as some issues about property intensionalism where discussed yesterday already  – another reason for this change is that Robert Howell is not feeling too well today.

Best,

Julien

Dear all,

There will be group dinners with R. Howell on Thursday 22nd, Monday 26th and Wednesday 28th (after the EXRE colloquium). Please put your name in there if you intend to join so I can make reservations (venues will in part depend on the number of people).

Even if you only intend to come for dinner after the EXRE Colloquium on Wed. 28th, don’t forget to register here with the CUSO *before Thursday 22nd* so I can use that money to pay for you.

Cheers,
Julien

Dear all,

on Monday, the 27th, there will also be a one-day workshop on normativity organised by Laura and Francois, with three invited guests. You can have a look at the programme here.

Best,

Fabian

Dear all,

the annual workshop of the Anglo-German picture theory group will take place in Fribourg next weekend (Friday, 24th, afternoon – Saturday, 25th, evening). You can find the programme here. 

You are of course very welcome to attend the talks and/or meals. But in order to be able to plan ahead properly (e.g. to organise enough chairs for our room in the Rue de Criblet), I would like to ask you to fill in this doodle if you intent to join us (no need to fill anything in if you know that you won’t be able to come).

On Friday evening, there will be Raclette at our place. And on Sunday, I’m planning to organise a longer walk in and/or around Fribourg.

Hope to see you there!

Fabian

Dear all,

Elodie has asked me to send you the following information concerning the Lake Geneva Graduate Conference (poster here: https://drive.google.com/a/exre.org/file/d/0B52ataPi5AHNUjZmQ0pKa0NnbkE/view?usp=drivesdk) that’s happening next week:

Dear List Members,

The full program of the Lake Geneva Graduate Conference (LG2C), with keynote speakers Prof. Christian Wüthrich (Geneva) and Prof. Karen Bennett (Cornell), is now available. The conference will take place in Geneva at Campus Biotech on Friday, May 27th. It will include presentations to be given by four graduate students from Hamburg, Lausanne, Münster, and UC Berkley selected through blind review of their papers, which were submitted earlier this year to the conference. 

The full program is available on this page: http://philevents.org/event/show/20026. It is also available in the attached poster, prepared by Steve Humbert-Droz. 

Participation from everyone, including professors and faculty, post-docs, and, of course, graduate students, is welcome and encouraged. We are able to reimburse the costs of train tickets and meals for CUSO-affiliated attendees who sign up early (CUSO conditions apply).

Final registration week has just begun. The good news is that some spots with stipends are still available and you have until next Monday, May 23rd, noon to register.

Two step registration: First, please email us at lg2c.org@gmail.com. Second, if you are affiliated to a CUSO institution and would like to have your train ticket and meals covered, please follow the instructions on this page to register on the CUSO website as well: https://philosophie.cuso.ch/index.php?id=863&L=0&tx_displaycontroller%5bshowUid%5d=2877 .

Thank you and see you soon at LG2C!
​​
With best regards,
Alain on behalf of the LG2C team

—

Alain Pe-Curto
alain.pecurto@gmail.com | alain.pe-curto@unige.ch
P +41 22 379 08 98 | F: +41 22 379 98 44 
https://sites.google.com/site/alainpecurto/

Hi y’all,

May 21st, there will be a workshop with Terry Horgan and David Pitt on conscious thoughts. The provisional schedule is the following:

10:00–11:30
Terry Horgan (University of Arizona) “TBA”

11:45–13:15
David Pitt (California State University, LA) “TBA”

Lunch

14:30-16:00
Les Fribourgeois “Questions for Terry Horgan and David Pitt”

If you’d like to be one of the Fribourgeois, drop me an email. Also, I have uploaded some of their papers. ( I suggest to start with Pitt “Phenomenology of Cognition….” and Horgan & Tienson “The intentionality of phenomenology and the phenomenology of intentionality”.

Best,
Jacob

Dear all,

next week, we have a small workshop on Wednesday (16.12.2015) with Johannes Brandl from Salzburg on Intentionality and the First Person. You can find the program here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8YGipD9FiQ_V0J5Y2s1SWROTzg/view?usp=sharing

If you want to join us for dinner and lunch, please let me know in the doodle: http://doodle.com/poll/awhcht6n57g9maqm

Have a nice week!
Florian

PS: The morning session will revolve around a paper I’ve written. So, if you want to read it in advance (which isn’t necessary), you can download it here: http://goo.gl/lIfkWp 

Dear all,

Philip has made slight changes to the schedule – you can access the final version (with the relevant readings) here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3eZJR7D-DenR0V0RFFpUEx1U0k

The second session (Tuesday 15.15, room MIS08 0102) is announced as part of the Exre Colloquium. If you can make it, fell free to come to the other sessions as well – he might talk more about his current views on Thursday and Friday.

If you plan to come for dinner (also on Tuesday after the colloquium) please put your name in there so I can make reservations: http://doodle.com/poll/egshg34d5xa5hvze

Best,

Julien

I have uploaded (on the new blog) the papers for the seminar with P. Goff. The names of the files start with “SeminarGoff…”.