Counterfactuals seminar 2015-2016

Program

Session 1. 22/09/2015.

Place and time:

Salle Jean Ladrière, 14:00-16:00.

Plan:

Texts:

Nelson Goodman. “The Problem of Counterfactual Conditionals." The Journal of Philosophy. Vol. 44, No. 5, 1947, pp. 113-128. Pdf.

Slides:

Slides "general" introduction (pdf format)

Session 2. 20/10/2015.

Place and time:

Salle du conseil FIAL. 11:00-13:00.

Plan:

Texts: 

Session 3. 17/11/2015.

Place and time:

Salle Jean Ladrière, 14:00-16:00.

Plan:

Texts: 

Slides:

Slides Lange's counterfactualism (pdf format)

Session 4. 15/12/2015.

Place and time:

Salle Jean Ladrière, 14:00-16:00.

Plan:

Texts: 

Session 5. 13/01/2016.

Place and time:

Salle du conseil FIAL (batiment ERAS) 10:30-12:30.

Plan:

Lecture on "Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?" by Jan Heylen (HIW, KULeuven)

Abstract:

From Leibniz to Krauss philosophers and scientists have raised the question as to why there is something rather than nothing (henceforth, the Question). Why-questions request a type of explanation and this is often thought to include a deductive component. With classical logic in the background only trivial answers are forthcoming. With free logics in the background, be they of the negative, positive or neutral variety, only question-begging answers are to be expected. The same conclusion is reached for the modal version of the Question, namely 'Why is there something contingent rather than nothing contingent?'. I also look skeptically at the prospects of giving causal-counterfactual or probabilistic answers to the Question. The meta-question, viz. the question as to whether or not we should continue to ask the Question, is tentatively answered in the negative.

Session 6. 01/03/2016.

Place and time:

Salle Jean Ladrière, 14:00-16:00.

Plan:

Texts: 

Session 7. 12/04/2016.

Place and time:

Salle Jean Ladrière, 14:00-16:00.

Plan:

Texts: 

Session 8. 24/05/2016.

[The schedule for the rest of the year is not yet fixed.]