Apologies to those who get multiple copies!
Announcing an international interdisciplinary conference on:
THE COGNITIVE BASIS OF SCIENCE
Earnshaw Hall, University of Sheffield, UK 2 pm Wednesday 28
June to 2 pm Saturday 1 July 2000
Sponsored by the Hang Seng Centre for Cognitive Studies,
University of Sheffield
The conference will address such questions as the following: What is it about
human cognition which either enables us, or fits us, to do science? Do
scientific abilities have some sort of distinctive innate basis? (Is there a
science "module"?) Or are scientific abilities socially constructed out of
general-learning mechanisms? How do different elements of our cognition fit
together to underpin scientific reasoning? To what extent are there
continuities between the cognitive processes involved in child development,
those engaged in by hunter-gatherer communities, and those which are
distinctive of scientific enquiry? How fundamental is the concept of "cause"
in scientific reasoning, and how do we come by it? (Is the concept of "cause"
innate?) How important is simplicity as a constraint on scientific
explanation, and to what extent does its use in science reflect some more
general cognitive constraint? What place do the emotions have in an adequate
account of scientific activity?
Participants will include the following:
Atran, Scott (Anthropology, CNRS Paris & Michigan)
Butterworth, George (Cognitive Science, Sussex)
Carruthers, Peter (Philosophy, Sheffield)
Chater, Nick (Psychology, Warwick)
Evans, Jonathan (Psychology, Plymouth)
Gelman, Rochel (Psychology, UCLA)
Harris, Paul (Psychology, Oxford)
Hilton, Denis (Psychology, Toulouse)
Koslowski, Barbara (Psychology, Cornell)
Laurence, Stephen (Philosophy, Sheffield)
Lipton, Peter (History and Philosophy of Science, Cambridge)
Mithen, Steven (Archaeology, Reading)
Nemeroff, Carol (Psychology, Arizona State)
Over, David (Philosophy, Sunderland)
Papineau, David (Philosophy, King's London)
Ravenscroft, Ian (Philosophy, King's London)
Siegal, Michael (Psychology, Sheffield)
Stich, Stephen (Philosophy, Rutgers)
Subbotsky, Eugene (Psychology, Lancaster)
Thagard, Paul (Philosophy, Waterloo)
Varley, Rosemary (Human Communication Science, Sheffield)
THIS IS NOT A CALL FOR PAPERS. All conference slots are by invitation only.
There will be an opportunity to display posters. Abstracts should be submitted
to the e-mail address below by 1 May 2000.
Details of the conference programme will be available in April or May 2000. To
be placed on the distribution list and/or to receive a break-down of
conference costs and a registration form, e-mail the following address:
[log in to unmask]
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