>-- The Garden of Forking Paths --<

Temperament and Philosophy: Two New Papers

I have just posted two new papers over at the experimental philosophy blog (see here) that readers of GFP might find of interest.  The first is by Adam Feltz and Edward Cokely and the second is a commentary on their paper by me, Trevor Kvaran, and Eddy Nahmias.  Both papers explore the relationship between personality type and folk intuitions about free will and moral responsibility.

The "Then You Wouldn't Be You" Argument

I think that the concept of free will may be intimately related to personal identity.  Consider this curious phenomenon: compatibilists sometimes respond to skeptics by saying “then you wouldn’t be you.”  The dialogue might go like this:

Skeptic: I am a law abiding citizen.  I do not rob banks and burn down buildings.  But I could have been.  When I see a bank robber, or an arsonist, I sympathize with them.  And more importantly, I empathize with them.  I can put myself in the bank robber’s shoes, and in the arsonist’s shoes, and see how I, too, could have become a criminal.  The saying “there but for the grace of God go I” is deeply true for me.

Compatibilist: That’s non-sense.  If you robbed a bank, then you wouldn’t be you any more.  You’re just not a bank robber.  You’re a law abiding citizen.  We can change you, just like we can change anything.  But if you change something enough, eventually it stops being that thing and just becomes something else.

This is the “you wouldn’t be you” argument (YWBY).  It’s a powerful argument.  And it’s an important one, too.  I think there is a good chance that the YWBY argument is not clever sophistry on the part of compatibilists.  Rather, I suspect that the YWBY argument reflects a natural and defensible understanding of personal identity.

Princeton Graduate Conference in Political Theory

Some readers might be interested in this conference. More information at that link or below the fold.

Experimental Philosophy, Salt Lake City, and You

Shaun Nichols passes on word of a terrific-looking NEH Institute he and Ron Mallon are running this summer. Info below.

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Experimental Philosophy is a new movement that uses experiments to address traditional philosophical questions.  Although the movement is only a few years old, it has attracted prolific practitioners as well as ardent critics.  (For more about Experimental Philosophy, see the recent article in the New York Times or the ongoing discussion at the Experimental Philosophy Blog.)

This summer, the NEH is sponsoring an Institute on Experimental Philosophy. The Institute will bring in over a dozen distinguished guest faculty, who will present their latest research across a wide range of issues and perspectives. The Institute will also provide participants with the opportunity to learn experimental methods that are used in Experimental Philosophy.

The Institute will take place in SLC from June 22-July 17 2009.  Eligible participants must have a teaching position at a U.S. college or university.  The deadline for application is March 2. More information about the Institute, as well as application materials, are available here.

$15,000 Fellowships and Scholarships to M.A. program at Georgia State

Please let any relevant students know about these opportunities and/or post this flier:
Download Georgia State University - Fellowships and Scholarships

The Master's program of the Philosophy Department at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia is accepting applications from qualified students for two Neurophilosophy Fellowships, an Experimental Philosophy Scholarship, a Legal/Political Philosophy Scholarship, and a German Philosophy Scholarship.  Fellowships and Scholarships cover tuition, provide $15,000/year for living expenses for two years and up to $500/year for travel to conferences. Fellowships have no teaching duties.  Scholarships have no teaching duties in the first year but require teaching thereafter. (The experimental philosophy scholarship student would work with me on some studies and papers; s/he would have a background in statistics or get one in the first year here).

Application deadline: March 15, 2009.  Further information is available at the department's website: www.gsu.edu/philosophy.

Thanks, Eddy

A Glossary of Terms in the Free Will Debates

Hi Gardeners,

Happy New Year.

I am hoping some of you might help me correct my definitions for a few dozen critical terms in the recent debates on free will and moral responsibility.

A draft glossary is on the web at www.informationphilosopher.com/afterwords/glossary/.

Philosophy undergrad students and graduates working on dissertations are accessing the site and I hope to provide them with important resources on freedom, values, and epistemology.

I have written web pages on nearly 100 philosophers and a few dozen scientists with strong opinions on these problems. My goal is to describe their work briefly and include short excerpts of their work to demonstrate their philosophizing, hopefully encouraging visitors to read more.

That includes a number of you gardeners. Some of you have suggested concepts and philosophers that I should include. Several pages are in draft form awaiting approval by individual philosophers.

Over forty "core concepts" on freedom have their own web pages linked to from here:
www.informationphilosopher.com/freedom/.

The home page has links to the philosophers.
www.informationphilosopher.com/

If you can refer me to other glossaries or references that I can use to strengthen my own understanding and definitions that would be most valuable.

The glossary takes advantage of the web to include recursive links to other terms in the glossary, to I-Phi web pages on specific concepts, and external links to Wikipedia or the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy where available.

I do the same for philosopher pages, with an automatic search link for Noesis on each one.

Thanks in advance for criticisms and suggestions for additional concepts and philosophers.

Bob (bobdoyle@informationphilosopher.com)