Philosophy Conferences and Calls for Papers

The last two decades have seen an explosive growth in research and an intense debate about our ability to understand the mind of others. Neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy, among others, share an interest in how we know other minds, for it this capacity that is the psychological foundation for our ability to be social animals and to become full members of society. Without such knowledge we are limited in forming social bonds or in being initiated into basic social practices such as speaking a common language. Yet discussions about the psychological processes involved in interpreting the minds of others have remained largely separate from the venerable discussion about our ability to relate to others in an altruistic and ethical manner. Only recently have we begun to discuss the nature of moral agency in light of new insights derived from contemporary research. This conference will bring together researchers from a variety of disciplines and a variety of distinct research traditions to discuss how we should conceive of our ability to know other minds, how those capacities affect our capacity for moral judgment, and how we gain an ethical perspective toward other persons.

Confirmed speakers and Panelists
Kristin Andrews (Philosophy/Cognitive Science; York University)
Colin Allen (Philosophy and History of Science; Indiana University)
John Bargh (Psychology, Yale University)
Stephen Darwall ( Philosophy, Michigan University)
Jean Decety (Psychology/Neuroscience, University of Chicago)
Peter Goldie (Philosophy, Manchester University)
Alvin Goldman (Philosophy, Rutgers University)
Marc Hauser (Psychology/Evolutionary Biology; Harvard University)
Martin Hoffman (Psychology, NYU)
Heidi Meibom (Philosophy/ Cognitive Science; Carleton/Princeton)
Bertram Malle (Psychology, University of Oregon)
Joan Silk (Anthropology, UCLA)

The conference will consist of an equal number of invited and contributed papers. It is intended to publish a selected number of papers from the conference later on. If you are interested in reading a paper at the conference please send an abstract of 800-1000 words as an MS Word file to the conference organizer Karsten Stueber at kstueber@holycross.edu by December 10, 2006. The subject line of your e-mail submitting the abstract should read “conference submission.” Authors will be notified of whether their paper has been accepted latest by the end of January 2007.
The conference is organized under the auspices of the Center for Ethics, Religion and Culture at the College of the Holy Cross.