Alison Gopnik: When children are better learners than adults are: Theory formation, causal models, and the evolution of learning.
University Community Centre, Room 56 1151 Richmond Street, London, Ontario, CanadaABSTRACT In the past 15 years, we have discovered that even young children are adept at inferring causal relationship. But are there differences in the ways that younger children, older children and adults learn? And do socioeconomic status and culture make a difference? I will present several studies showing a surprising pattern. Not only can [...]
Ian Stewart: Restoring ecosystems after oil spills: philosophical considerations and policy implications
Room 1145 - Stevenson Hall Stevenson Hall, Room 1145, London, Ontario, CanadaABSTRACT Scientific and technological capacity for understanding and responding to oil spills is currently of great relevance for major infrastructure projects and sustainability goals in the Canadian context (and internationally). Planned expansion of oil and gas development into the Arctic is a case in point, as are pipeline projects linking central and coastal Canada. The [...]
Jenann Ismael: The link between time, totality, and determinism (or why the problem of determinism is really the problem of fatalism)
Room 4190 - Western Interdisciplinary Research Building Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, Room 4190, London, Ontario, CanadaABSTRACT The problem of fatalism was around long before relativity, but gained affirmation in many peoples minds from Relativity. Relativistic theories confront us with a vision of the universe from a temporally transcendent standpoint, i.e., one that treats time as an internal parameter in the universe composed of events. The problem of determinism also had [...]
Ned Block: How to think about the border between seeing and thinking?
ABSTRACT Seeing and thinking are of course different, but is there a fundamental basis for the difference and if so, what is it? This talk will argue that perception is iconic in format and non-conceptual and non-propositional in content. Further, this way of drawing the border between perception and cognition holds even if cognitive penetration [...]
Stathis Psillos: From natures to laws of nature
Room 4190 - Western Interdisciplinary Research Building Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, Room 4190, London, Ontario, CanadaABSTRACT The key claim of this talk will be that the conception of nature as being governed by natural laws is thoroughly modern. It arose mostly in the natural philosophy of Rene Descartes and was meant to replace natural powers as principles of change and of connection among distinct existences. This new conception of laws [...]
Panel Discussion – Editing the Human Genome: The Ethics of Moulding our Future
Wolf Performance Hall - Central Library 251 Dundas St, London, Ontario, CanadaABSTRACT The groundbreaking discovery of the gene-editing tool known as CRISPR allows scientists to precisely, efficiently, and cheaply modify the human genome. This may provide us with the power to cure disease and to unlock the secrets of early human development. It might, in the future, allow us to modify humans in directions that we now only [...]
Julian Savulescu: The Science and Ethics of Human Enhancement
Room 106 - Physics and Astronomy Building 1151 Richmond Street, London, Ontario, CanadaABSTRACT Scandal after scandal has revealed that sport has been experimenting with human enhancement on a massive scale. These are among the most high-profile cases. But in fact human enhancement technologies influence all aspects of life. From students and professionals taking modafinil to enhance cognition, focus and drive, to evidence that SSRIs (anti-depressants) affect moral [...]
Laura Franklin-Hall: The Animal Sexes as Queer Kinds
Room 4190 - Western Interdisciplinary Research Building Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, Room 4190, London, Ontario, CanadaABSTRACT Though biologists identify organisms as ‘male’ and ‘female’ across a broad range of animal species—in the pipefish, orb spider, quokka, and king quail—the particular traits enjoyed by males and females can vary tremendously. This diversity has led some to conclude that the trans-animal sexes—males, of whatever animal species, and females likewise—have “little or no [...]
2018 PhilMiLCog Graduate Student Conference
Room 2166 - Stevenson Hall London, Ontario, CanadaPhilMiLCog is a three-day graduate conference with a broad and interdisciplinary scope. The conference, now in its 16th year, is recognized as one of the top philosophy graduate conferences in North America, synthesizing research from the Philosophy of Mind, Language, and Cognitive Science, including psychology, linguistics, evolution, and computer science. PhilMiLCog provides an opportunity for graduate students with common interests from [...]
Thermodynamics as a Resource Theory: 2018 Annual Philosophy of Physics Conference
Room 114 - North Campus Building 2004 Perth Drive, London, Ontario, CanadaEVENT DESCRIPTION The Revolution will be thermalized. Recently, there has been a shift in the way that many physicists are approaching the science of thermodynamics. Instead of regarding its laws as purely physical laws, researchers are increasingly treating the theory as a theory about how agents, such as ourselves, can use information about a physical [...]
2018 Philosophy of Logic Math and Physics Graduate Student Conference
Room 1145 - Stevenson Hall Stevenson Hall, Room 1145, London, Ontario, CanadaJoin us on June 23-24, 2018 for the eighteenth annual Philosophy of Logic, Math and Physics (LMP) graduate student conference in philosophy at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. The LMP Graduate Student Conference will bring together philosophers of logic, mathematics, and physics for two days of presentations and discussions with some of the leaders in these fields. We [...]
Panel Discussion: Canada Up in Smoke? Debating the Impact of Cannabis Legalization
Room 1200, Spencer Engineering Building Spencer Engineering Building, Western University, London, Ontario, CanadaEVENT DESCRIPTION The Society of Neuroscience Graduate Students at Western University is hosting an upcoming panel discussion on the legalization of cannabis, due to take effect in October. The event will include experts from a range of fields, exploring the medical, legal, and ethical considerations of the new policy. The Rotman Institute of Philosophy and [...]
Rotman 2018 Annual Conference: Understanding Replication Across the Sciences
Room 3000 - Western Interdisciplinary Research Building Western University, London, Ontario, CanadaCONFERENCE DESCRIPTION Currently, there is a widespread perception that scientific activity is in the middle of a (so-called) 'reproducibility' or 'replication crisis'. Many important findings published in leading scientific journals have turned out to be difficult or impossible to replicate. The ongoing controversy surrounding the reproducibility of scientific activity threatens to undermine the authority of [...]
Bipasha Baruah: Global Trends in Women’s Employment in Renewable and Clean Energy: Continuities, Contradictions, Disruptions
Room 1170 - Western Interdisciplinary Research Building Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, London, Ontario, CanadaABSTRACT Concerns about environmental sustainability and fossil-fuel insecurity have motivated countries around the world to transition to clean energy supplies derived from renewables such as solar, hydro, bioenergy, geothermal and wind. Since producing and distributing renewables is more labor-intensive than producing and distributing fossil fuels, this shift is creating new employment opportunities and addressing energy [...]
Janet Martin: Evidence Reversals: How Fragile is the Evidence Base?
Room 1170 - Western Interdisciplinary Research Building Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, London, Ontario, CanadaWhat happens when an existing claim is tested and the original evidence is contradicted by new and stronger evidence? Join us for a talk by Dr. Janet Martin, director of the MEDICI Centre, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, on evidence reversals. SPEAKER PROFILE Dr. Janet Martin is Associate Professor in the Departments of Anesthesia [...]
Happiness and Well-Being: Philosophical Perspectives
Stevenson & Hunt Room A - Central Library 251 Dundas St, London, Ontario, CanadaEVENT DESCRIPTION Each year, the Rotman Institute of Philosophy and the Department of Philosophy at Western University organize a public lecture series, co-sponsored with the London Public Library. The theme for this year's lecture series is happiness and well-being. The four speakers taking part in this year's series have expertise in a range of [...]
Writing for a general audience: a workshop with science writer Kayt Sukel
Room 1110 - Western Interdisciplinary Research Building Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, London, Ontario, CanadaCurrent Western University graduate students are invited to attend a writing workshop with Kayt Sukel, author of Risk and This is Your Brain on Sex, where she will offer tips, techniques, and best practices for clear communication with a general audience. Learn how to talk to reporters – and avoid underselling (or overselling) your research. Discover new [...]
Erik Angner: Why the Science of Well-Being Needs the Philosophy of Well-Being—and Vice Versa
Room 1170 - Western Interdisciplinary Research Building Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, London, Ontario, CanadaABSTRACT In 1976, Mario Bunge advocated a “vigorous and symmetrical interaction between science and philosophy … to close the gap between the two camps and to develop a scientific philosophy and a science with philosophical awareness.” The aim of this paper is to defend both parts of Bunge’s thesis, viz., that philosophical conclusions are relevant [...]
Winter & Spring 2019 Rotman Dialogues
Room 4190 - Western Interdisciplinary Research Building Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, Room 4190, London, Ontario, CanadaEVENT DESCRIPTION Rotman Dialogues are events based on a specific book or reading, that are facilitated by Institute graduate students. Conducted much as an author-meets-critics event, these informal discussions begin with a brief introduction by the author, followed by questions from the one or two graduate students chairing the session. Finally, the dialogue is [...]
Anjan Chakravartty: Constraints on Rational Scientific Disagreement
Room 1170 - Western Interdisciplinary Research Building Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, London, Ontario, CanadaABSTRACT In recent work I have argued that scientific disagreement can be rational even in contexts of shared evidence and comparable expertise. The notion that rival interpretations of a theory or a model can be rational, however, has potentially worrying consequences for how we view scientific knowledge and our reliance on it in societal contexts [...]