CSE-2017: Epistemic Agents: Norms, Control and Responsibility in the Theory of Knowledge (Canadian Society for Epistemology, annual meeting) Université de Montréal Montréal, Canada, November 17-18, 2017 |
Conference website | http://sce-cse.recherche.usherbrooke.ca/cse-2017-symposium/ |
Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=cse20171 |
Abstract registration deadline | September 15, 2017 |
Submission deadline | September 15, 2017 |
Canadian Society for Epistemology
Annual meeting
November 17-18 2017
Université de Montréal (Québec, Canada)
It is often assumed that believing, judging, and reasoning do not merely happen to us. In some sense, we seem to be active with respect to such states, events or acts. The idea of epistemic agency is widely discussed in epistemology, debates about metacognition, reasoning, and norms of rationality. At first sight, it implies that at least some of our epistemic states are brought about by some kind of voluntary and norm-governed activities, similar to struggling to retrieve a memory. After all, we seem to be responsible for our beliefs, judgments and inferences. And how can you be responsible for something that we don’t control? On reflection, however, it might also turn out to be misleading. Most notably, beliefs can hardly be deemed “voluntary” or as falling under our intentional control.
Do beliefs, judgments and inferences impose liability of any kind to the epistemic agent? Must we be in charge (in what sense?) of what we believe in order for a belief to be knowledgeable? Does believing, judging or reasoning share something important with bodily actions? Are beliefs governed by ethical norms? Are epistemic norms merely evaluative or do they underwrite deontic statements or offer guidance? These are some of the questions we’d like to discuss at this year’s annual meeting of the Canadian Epistemological Society.
Submission Guidelines
Abstracts (500 words max, pdf, doc, or docx) should be prepared for double-blind reviewing process.
Deadline: September 15 (2017).
Notification of acceptance: October 2 (2017).
List of Topics
This two days conference invites contributions from epistemologists dealing with any of (but not limited to) the following topics:
- Are epistemic norms reducible to practical norms? Or derivable from epistemic goods like having accurate beliefs or knowledge?
- Is the idea of “mental agency” anything more than a metaphor? In what sense and why is it impossible to believe at will? Are the concepts of self-consciousness or spontaneity helpful in thinking about this?
- What kind of control, if any, do we have on our cognitive states? Do we control our beliefs, e.g., by reasoning or judging?
- Do we have epistemic duties? Can they be explained in terms of epistemic virtues?
- Are there epistemic “wrong doings”? How should we think about epistemic injustice?
- How can a belief be both epistemically right but morally wrong, and vice versa?
- Are we epistemically liable for our beliefs? How is the idea of believing responsibly related to epistemic agency? Do ideas about epistemic agency have interesting consequences for the internalism/externalism debate?
- What is the status and nature of epistemic norms and norms of rationality? How does coherence and responsiveness to reasons relate to each other?
Organizing committee
- Aude Bandini (Université de Montréal)
- Ulf Hlobil (Concordia University)
Keynote Speaker
Michael Williams (Johns Hopkins University), title TBA
Venue
Université de Montréal (Québec, Canada)
Contact
All questions about submissions should be emailed to Aude Bandini at: aude.bandini[at]umontreal.ca