Phi Beta Kappa, the national honorary society championing the liberal arts, has chosen Truman as a participant in PBK’s 2012-2013 Visiting Scholars program.\u00a0 Truman joins just 88 other colleges and universities across the nation in hosting a two-day visit from a nationally recognized scholar.<\/p>\n
The scholar chosen to visit Truman is Tyler Burge, an internationally well-known and respected UCLA philosopher in the philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, and metaphysics & epistemology.<\/p>\n
Dr. Burge will be on Truman’s campus March 21 and 22.\u00a0 In addition to visiting various classes, he will be giving the following two talks:<\/p>\n
Public address<\/strong> Talk abstract: I sketch two notions of representation.\u00a0 One applies to states of plants and bacteria as well as to psychological states.\u00a0 The other applies exclusively to distinctively psychological states.\u00a0 I hold that the latter type of representation marks one of the two primary marks of the mental.\u00a0 (The other mark is consciousness.)\u00a0 I argue that representation in a distinctively psychological sense emerges first in perception.\u00a0 I sketch some primary features of perception, with special reference to findings of the science of perceptual psychology.\u00a0 I maintain that empirical work indicates that perception, hence representational mind, first emerges in relatively simple animals\u00adarthropods.<\/p>\n Student \/ faculty \u201cbrown bag\u201d lunchtime discussion<\/strong> Talk abstract: I discuss the classical conception of reason as expressed by Leibniz and Kant, with an eye to reflecting on reason as a natural psychological kind.\u00a0 According to this conception, (1) reasons have propositional form; (2) they are constitutively associated with propositional inference; (3) they are explanatory as well as justificatory; (4) they are constitutively open to recognition through reflection by any individual that has them; (5) they are distinctive to human beings, at least among terrestrial animals; and (6) they are always true propositions.\u00a0 I accept the first three claims and reject the last three.\u00a0 This paper is focused on the areas of agreement.\u00a0 It lays the groundwork for the disagreements.<\/p>\n
\n“Perception:\u00a0 Origins of Mind”<\/strong>
\nBaldwin Hall Little Theater<\/strong>
\nMarch 21, 7:30 PM<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n“Propositional Attitudes and Reason”<\/strong>
\nSUB Activities Room (SUB 3200)<\/strong>
\nMarch 22, 12:00 PM<\/strong><\/p>\n