Katherine Dunlop (University of Texas, Austin): Arithmetic and Geometry in Poincaré’s 'Science and Hypothesis'
Other
It is usually supposed that Poincaré’s Science and Hypothesis contains a unified view of mathematics and physical science. But its defense of a role for intuition in arithmetic does not fit well with the conventionalism Poincaré advocates elsewhere in the book. After bringing out the…
Sahotra Sarkar (Texas) : Whither Reduction?
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The broadly hierarchical material structure of the universe invites the reductionist question whether, at every level of the hierarcy, laws and regularities at lower levels can explain those at higher levels. This question has not been systematically asked using a Nagelian model of reduction. This…
Christian Barry (ANU): Contribution-Based Responsibilities and Uncertainty
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Many affirm that individuals have relatively stringent responsibilities not to contribute to harming innocent people and also to address harms to innocents to which they have contributed. But how should those that are committed to these claims conceive of their reasons for action when they find…
Jussi Haukioja (NTNU): From Reference to Essence
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Causal theories of reference for natural kind terms are widely agreed to play a central role in arguments for the claim that theoretical identity statements such as “Water is H2O” are necessary, if true. However, there is also fairly wide-spread agreement, due to the arguments of Nathan Salmon (in…