Lugano Philosophy Colloquia. Fall 2024

The Lugano Philosophy Colloquia continues on this fall 2024!

This series of events are held on campus for philosophy students and on Zoom for everyone. To participate in these events, please write to [email protected]
The recording will then be posted on the ISFI youtube channel.

Provisional schedule and names (the abstract of the talk will be added in due time):

(1) On Monday, September 23 at 5.30pm (CET), Room 1.2 FTL Building (USI west campus)
Toni Rønnow-Rasmussen (Lund)
Strength of Reason
Chaired by Alain Pe-Curto (USI)

Abstract: In this talk I outline and defend a novel view of strength (weight) of reasons. The view aligns well with the idea that reasons are facts that favour actions or attitudes.

(2) On Friday, October 11 at 5.30pm (CET), Room Multiuso FTL Building (USI west campus)
Joshua Babic (USI)
Space, modality and equivalence
Chaired by Damiano Costa (USI)

Abstract: Does space or spacetime exist? Substantivalists say yes. Spacetime is an arena in which material objects are located and interact with each other. Relationists say no. Spacetime is nothing over and above a network of spatial relations between material objects. As pointed out by (Horwich 1978), (Field 1984) and others, relationism is at odds with our best physical theories: on the face of it, we can’t do physics without positing substantival space or spacetime. Relationists are therefore faced with the challenge of reformulating our best physical theories without quantifying over regions, points and the like. A natural reaction for a relationist is to try to meet this challenge by using the notion of possibility. In this talk, I will discuss three approaches to modal relationism and argue that they are all unsatisfactory.  

(3) On Friday, October 25 at 5.30pm (CET), Room Multiuso FTL Building (USI west campus)
Karen Crowther (Oslo)
Why do we want a theory of quantum gravity?
Chaired by Marta Pedroni (USI)

Abstract: Physicists have spent around a century searching for a new theory of fundamental physics, known as quantum gravity. In doing so, they've been predominately motivated by theoretical and philosophical concerns. If we are to better understand what the new theory is supposed to be like, we should critically examine these motivations and the way in which they serve to define and constrain the theory sought. Here, I briefly introduce and start to explore some of these motivations.

(4) On Friday, November 15 at 5.30pm (CET), Room Multiuso FTL Building (USI west campus)
Sebastian Speitel (Bonn)
Securing Arithmetical Determinacy
Chaired by Léon Probst (USI)

Abstract: The existence of non-standard models of first-order Peano-Arithmetic threatens to undermine the claim of the moderate mathematical realist that non-mysterious access to the natural number structure is possible on the basis of our best arithmetical theories. The move to logics stronger than FOL is denied to the moderate realist on the grounds that it merely shifts the indeterminacy “one level up” into the meta-theory by -- illegitimately -- assuming determinacy of the notions needed to formulate such logics. This paper argues that the challenge can be met by showing that the notion “infinitely many” is uniquely determinable in a naturalistically acceptable fashion and is thus available to the moderate realist in the formulation of a theory of arithmetic. If there is time, I will discuss how the approach can be extended to other important mathematical theories and compare it with Field's alternative proposal and the popular strategy of invoking a second-order formalism, arguing that it is more robust than either of these.

(5) On Friday, November 29 at 5.30pm (CET), Room Multiuso FTL Building (USI west campus)
Alain Pe-Curto (USI)
A Dilemma in Value
Chaired by TBD

Abstract: I argue that either value resembles familiar natural properties or value depends on natural properties but not both.

(6) On Thursday, December 12 at 5.30pm (CET), Room Multiuso FTL Building (USI west campus)
Timothy Williamson (Oxford)
Temporal Logic as Metaphysics
Chaired by Damiano Costa (USI)

Abstract: The talk will explain a logic-based approach to the metaphysics of time. As the title hints, it will be analogous to the logic-based approach to the metaphysics of possibility and necessity developed in Modal Logic as Metaphysics, though knowledge of that book will not be presupposed. I will discuss the purely logical sense of ‘exist’ and its interaction with temporal operators, the contrast between permanentism (the thesis that always everything is always something) and its denial, temporaryism (the thesis that sometimes something is sometimes nothing), and the logical nature of genuine change.

If you want to stay updated on our incoming events, please visit this webpage, or subscribe to our mailing list.

For any question, please don't hesitate to write to [email protected]

Organisers:
Cristian Mariani, Marta Pedroni, Léon Probst

Events of the Institute of Philosophy (ISFI)
with the SNSF funded projects:
Equivalence in Metaphysics, Intensionality in Metamathematics, Quantum Indeterminacy, Temporal Existence, and Value Exploration.