WMA Event Series

In 2023-2024, WMA will be hosting a wide range of interesting and exciting talks. We're delighted to be welcoming speakers working in a variety of areas across the philosophy of mind, epistemology, philosophy of action, metaphysics and much more! See the schedule below for event details.

Autumn Term

18th October 2023 (Week 3) - S0.09, 16:00- 18:00

Professor Quassim Cassam - Liberation Philosophy

15th November 2023 (Week 7) - S0.09, 16:00- 18:00

Eylem Özaltun (Koç University), "The Author of Intention against Descartes on I-thoughts"

6th December 2023 (Week 10) - Mini-Workshop: Time, Pictures and Consciousness

2-4: Jack Shardlow (Edinburgh), “Motion(less) Pictures and Temporal Appearances”

4-6: Tom Crowther (Warwick), "Time & Consciousness"

Spring Term

24th January 2024 (Week 3)

Cheryl Misak (Toronto)- "Ryle's Pragmatism: A Gift from Margaret MacDonald"

21st February 2024 (Week 7) - Mini-Workshop

2-3.30pm: Michaele Ombrato (Oxford) ”Valuational antinomies, evaluative (Gestalt) switches and mixed affect"

4–5.30pm: Jean Moritz Müller (Tübingen) "Are Attitudes Intentional Under a Description?"

13th March (Week 10) - MEEP Mini-Workshop on Helping and Group Membership

Summer Term

8th May 2024 (Week 3) - Mini-Workshop on Self-Identification and Self-Alienation

postponed

5th June 2024 (Week 7) - MEEP Seminar

Elizabeth Fricker (Oxford) “On the Metaphysical and Epistemic Contrasts between Real and Fake Testimony”

Origins of Syntax Conference, December 12th-13th 2023

The origin of syntactic structure has been a topic of contention in research on the evolution of language. In recent years, proponents of Chomskyan and non-Chomskyan views have disagreed about whether syntactic structure is learned or unlearned; the product of gradualistic or saltational evolution processes; and about whether syntactic abilities are a product of natural selection for better communication, or for other cognitive processes. While both sides have agreed that syntax is likely to be uniquely human, comparative psychologists have also produced new evidence of combinatorial capacities in the communication of non-human species. However, it remains controversial whether this evidence meets the criteria for hierarchically structured syntax that have been proposed by linguists and philosophers; and consequently whether animal combinations count as evolutionary precursors of human syntax.

In this interdisciplinary conference, we bring together philosophers, comparative psychologists, and cognitive scientists from a range of disciplines to discuss their recent work on the ontogenetic and phylogenetic origins of syntax, in order to make progress in our understanding of these fundamental issues.

The Origins of Syntax conference is organised by the UKRI-funded Communicative Mind research group. It will take place at the University of Warwick on December 12th and 13th December 2023. In person attendance is free, although you are requested to register in advance because capacity is limited. To register, please contact giulia.palazzolo.1@warwick.ac.uk.

Online attendance will also be possible.

Confirmed speakers:

Nick Chater (University of Warwick)

Cas Coopmans (Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics)

Cathy Crockford (ISC Marc Jeannerod)

Olga Feher (University of Warwick)

Richard Moore (University of Warwick)

Nirmalangshu Mukherji (Delhi University)

Ross Pain (University of Bristol)

Giulia Palazzolo (University of Warwick)

Ronald Planer (University of Wollongong)

Ljiljana Progovac (Wayne State University)

Simon W. Townsend (University of Warwick and University of Zurich)