The goal of this workshop and the subsequent special issue of Inquiry is to provide a forum for new work on genericity, especially work focused on drawing out the connections between the study of generics and other areas of philosophy, including (but not limited to) metaphysics, (meta-)ethics, epistemology, philosophical methodology, philosophical logic, philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, psychology, and semantics. Contributions from philosophy, psychology, and linguistics are all welcome, so long as they forge connections between the narrowly linguistic study of generics and other fields of philosophy. Questions to be addressed might include
- How (if at all) does the study of generics help us to understand dispositions?
- How (if at all) does the study of generics help us to understand kinds?
- How (if at all) does the study of generics help us to understand laws?
- How (if at all) does the study of generics help us to understand ethical principles?
- How (if at all) does the study of generics help us to understand the subject matter of semantics more generally?
- How (if at all) does the study of generics help us to understand the subject matter of semantics more generally?
- How (if at all) does the study of generics help us to understand non-monotonic reasoning, defeasible reasoning and/or inductive inference?
- What is the connection between genericity in language and in thought?
- Can the study of generics help us understand social prejudice and stereotypes?
In addition to the accepted papers, the workshop will have two keynote speakers: Michael Glanzberg, Professor Jennifer Saul.
Workshop Details
Time/Date: October 3rd and 4th, 2015
Place: Department of Philosophy, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Word Limit: There is no official word limit, however we prefer that papers are 8,000-10,000 words.
Submission: Please submit your paper, suitable for blind review, to both organizers via email.
- bnickel[at]fas[dot]harvard[dot]edu
- rachel[dot]sterken[at]gmail[dot]com
Deadline for submissions: July 15th, 2015
Special Issue Details
Papers submitted for the workshop will also be considered for inclusion in a special issue of Inquiry devoted to the themes of the workshop. Papers will be separately refereed through the journal.
About the Journal
Inquiry is an international peer-reviewed journal publishing work within in all areas of philosophy. It was founded by Arne Næss in 1958. The journal is a forum for presenting the best of philosophical thinking from a variety of perspectives. Inquiry publishes research articles, symposia, special issues, target articles, review essays, and critical discussions. [www.tandfonline.com/action/.U494cFxORg0]
Workshop Organisers: Bernhard Nickel (bernhardnickel.net) , Torfinn Huvenes (huvenes.net) and Rachel Sterken (rachelsterken.org)
Sponsors: CSMN, Department of Philosophy, University of Oslo and the Department of Philosophy, Harvard University.