eidos -- the Centre in Metaphysics of the University of Geneva
Because (pro*doc meeting)
University of Geneva, Switzerland, 12-14 February 2008
Immediately preceding the conference on "because", the Department of Philosophy of the University of Geneva and the Genevan centre of metaphysics eidos organize a three-day graduate conference on metaphysics. This three-day conference is the end-of-term workshop of the "Problems in Metaphysics" seminar of the eidos pro*doc group.
The conference venue will be in the room MR150 of the Uni Mail building.
Invited Speakers
Kit Fine (NYU)
Carrie Jenkins (University of Nottingham)
E. J. Lowe (Durham University)
Giuliano Torrengo (University of Turin)
Programme
Participants are expected to have read the indicated texts and to actively participate in the discussions. They should attend all seminars and discussion sessions (dinners are optional).
Click here to download the program in printable form.
Tuesday, 12th of February
8.30-11
Giuliano Torrengo, Tensed Truths and Their Truthmakers [lecture / seminar]
Preparatory reading:
- Priest G. (1986), Tense and Truth Conditions, Analysis 46(4), pp. 162-166.
- Mellor H. (1986), Tense's Tenseless Truth Conditions, Analysis 46(4), pp. 167-172.
- Priest G. (1987), Tense, Tense and Tense, Analysis 47(4), pp. 184-187
- Dyke H. (2003), Temporal Language and Temporal Reality, The Philosophical Quarterly, 53 (212), pp. 380-391
- Smith Q. (2003), Reference to the Past and Future, in A. Jokic & Q. Smith (eds.) Time, Tense, and Reference, MIT: 357-390 [preprint version]
- Oaklander N. (2003) Two Versions of the New Theory of Language in A. Jokic & Q. Smith (eds.) Time, Tense, and Reference, MIT: 271-304 [optional]
- Mellor H. (1998) Real Time II, Oxford, OUP [optional]
- Ludlow P. (1999) Semantics, Tense, and Time, MIT [optional]
11.30-12.30
Julia Tanney, Becausal Explanations [discussion session]
Preparatory reading:
- Putnam, Hilary 1963, Brains and Behavior, in: Analytical Philosophy, Second Series, ed. R. J. Butler (Oxford: Basil Blackwell), pp. 211-235.; also in Mind, Language, and Reality: Philosophical Papers, Vol. 2: 325-341. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
14-16
Carrie Jenkins, Explanation [discussion session]
Preparatory reading:
16.30-18.30
Giuliano Torrengo / Akiko Frischhut, Cross-temporal relations [discussion session]
Preparatory reading:
- Berit Broogard, Presentist Four-Dimensionalism,The Monist 83(3), pp. 341-356
- Brogaard B. (2006), Tensed Relations, Analysis 66(3), pp. 194-202
- Torrengo G. (2006), Tenseless Cross-Temporal Relations, Metaphysica 7(2), pp. 117-129
- Torrengo G. (2008), Time and Cross-Temporal Relations, Milano, Mimesis (Introduction and Chap 4) [write to the author]
- Bigelow J. (1996), Presentism and Properties, Philosophical Perspectives 10, pp. 35-52 [optional]
- Crisp T. (2005), Presentism and Cross-time Relations, American Philosophical Quarterly 42(1), pp. 5-18 [optional]
Wednesday, 13th of February
9-12
Carrie Jenkins, Realism and Antirealism [seminar / discussion]
Preparatory reading:
- Carrie Jenkins 2005, Realism and Independence, American Philosophical Quarterly 42 (3), pp. 199-211
- Kit Fine 1994, Essence and Modality, Philosophical Perspectives 8, Logic and Language, pp. 1-16.
- Kit Fine 2000, The Question of Realism, Philosophers' Imprint 1(2), pp. 1-30.
- Paul Horwich 2007, The Quest for REALITY, dialectica 61(1), pp. 5-16 [optional].
- Kit Fine 2007, Response to Paul Horwich, dialectica 61(1), pp. 17-23 [optional].
13.30-16.30
Kit Fine, Part-Whole [lecture / seminar]
Preparatory reading:
17-19
Luc Schneider / Jonathan Lowe, The Four-Category Ontology and its Logic [discussion session]
Preparatory reading:
Thursday, 14th of February
9-12
Jonathan Lowe, The Philosophy of Time [lecture / seminar]
Preparatory reading:
- Jonathan Lowe 2006, How Real is Substantial Change?, The Monist 89(3), pp. 275-93 (click here for a pre-print version).
- Jonathan Lowe 2005, The Four-Category Ontology, OUP.
13.30-16.30
Philipp Keller, Semantic Relationism and the Metaphysics of Words
Preparatory reading:
- David Kaplan 1990, Words, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volumes 64, pp. 93-116.
- Kit Fine 2007, Semantic Relationism, Blackwell (publishers' website here).
- Kit Fine 2003, The Role of Variables, The Journal of Philosophy 100, pp. 605-631 [optional].
17-19
Akiko Frischhut, First-person realism and tense realism [discussion session]
Preparatory reading:
- Kit Fine 2005, Tense and Reality in: Modality and Tense: Philosophical Papers , OUP, pp. 261-320 (click here for the published version and here for the John Locke lectures 2003)
Organisation and Contact
The graduate conference is organized by Philipp Keller (University of Geneva, eidos): philipp.keller@lettres.unige.ch