Jenann Ismael: The link between time, totality, and determinismRotman Institute of Philosophy2026-09-23 | Jenann Ismael: The link between time, totality, and determinismGregorie Dupuis-McDonald: Explaining causation in international migration (RGSC 2021)Rotman Institute of Philosophy2023-02-09 | Gregorie Dupuis-Mcdonald, University of Salzburg Rotman Graduate Student Conference 2021 June 24-25 2021
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Rotman Graduate Student Conference 2021 June 24-25 2021Miguel Ohnesorge: Coherence and success in model-mediated measurement (RGSC 2021)Rotman Institute of Philosophy2023-02-09 | Miguel Ohnesorge, University of Cambridge Rotman Graduate Student Conference 2021 June 24-25 2021
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Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyHeather Champion: Representation without constraint (RGSC 2021)Rotman Institute of Philosophy2023-02-09 | Heather Champion, Western University Rotman Graduate Student Conference 2021 June 24-25 2021
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Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyMuhammad Ali Khalidi: Why the Past Matters: Scientific Taxonomy and Etiological Kinds (RGSC 2021)Rotman Institute of Philosophy2023-02-09 | Muhammad Ali Khalidi, City University of New York Rotman Graduate Student Conference 2021 June 24-25 2021
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Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyZiren Yang: Renormalization group explanation: A hotchpotch picture (RGSC 2021)Rotman Institute of Philosophy2023-02-09 | Ziren Yang, University of Miami Rotman Graduate Student Conference 2021 June 24-25 2021
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Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyZili Dong: Well-defined causal variables and varieties of intervention (RGSC 2021)Rotman Institute of Philosophy2023-02-09 | Zili Dong, Western University Rotman Graduate Student Conference 2021 June 24-25 2021
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This talk was held on October 21, 2021. It was the third in a four-part series of public lectures, titled "Race and Racism", prepared in partnership with the Rotman Institute of Philosophy, the Department of Philosophy at Western University, and the London Public Library.
About the speakers: Carolyn McLeod is Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Western University and a recently named Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Her areas of expertise include feminist philosophy, bioethics, and moral philosophy. She is joined by Kharissa Edwards and Sinéad Osivwemu. During the summer of 2021 they both completed an Undergraduate Student Research Internship with Dr. McLeod that focused on race and vaccine hesitancy—the subject of this presentation. Kharissa received her Honours BSc at Western in Biology & Medical Sciences, and she aspires to be a bioethicist or health lawyer. Sinéad is a third-year honours undergraduate student at Western who specializes in genetics and who also has research interests in bioethics and the philosophy of race, culture, and ethnicity.
Visit the Rotman website for more information on upcoming events, project descriptions, and job openings: rotman.uwo.caRotman Dialogue with Sarah Robins: Memory and Optogenetic Intervention (Highlights)Rotman Institute of Philosophy2021-07-07 | Optogenetics makes possible the control of neural activity with light. In this article, I ex- plore how the development of this experimental tool has brought about methodological and theoretical advances in the neurobiological study of memory. I begin with Semon’s distinction between the engram and the ecphory, explaining how these concepts present a methodological challenge to investigating memory. Optogenetics provides a way to inter- vene into the engram without the ecphory that, in turn, opens up new means for testing the- ories of memory error. I focus on a series of experiments where optogenetics is used to study false memory and forgetting.
Sarah Robins, University of Kansas March 9, 2020
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Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyChris Letheby: Philosophy of Psychedelics HD 1080pRotman Institute of Philosophy2021-05-28 | In this talk I give an overview of the arguments in my forthcoming book, Philosophy of Psychedelics. The book is motivated by recent evidence that “classic” (serotonergic) psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin can be administered safely in controlled environments, and can cause lasting psychotherapeutic benefits with just one or two administrations. These benefits seem to be predicted by the occurrence of a specific type of experience during the drug action: a “mystical-type” experience of oneness, self-transcendence, or cosmic consciousness. This fact gives rise to what I call the Comforting Delusion Objection to psychedelic therapy: the concern that this novel and promising treatment modality works by the induction of implausible metaphysical beliefs, and ought therefore to be avoided. In response to the Objection, I assume the truth of a naturalistic worldview and show, within this constraint, that the overall epistemic profile of psychedelic therapy is better than it initially appears. Psychedelic therapy does not work centrally by changing metaphysical beliefs, but by altering the sense of self; moreover, it has myriad epistemic benefits consistent with a naturalistic worldview. The positive side of my project is an attempt to reconcile naturalism and an “Entheogenic Conception” of psychedelics as effective agents of knowledge acquisition and spiritual growth.
Chris Letheby, University of Western Australia May 6, 2021
Visit the Rotman website for more information on applications, events, project descriptions, and openings. http://www.rotman.uwo.ca Follow The Rotman Institute on Twitter: twitter.com/rotmanphilo Like The Rotman Institute on Facebook: facebook.com/rotmanphilosophy Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyEva Jablonka: Inheritance Systems and the Extended Evolutionary SynthesisRotman Institute of Philosophy2021-05-18 | There is a debate among evolutionary biologists today about the need to significantly revise the neo-Darwinian model of evolution that was dominant over the last seventy years. After presenting the views for and against the revision, I discuss the challenges to the traditional theory that are coming from an expanded notion of heredity, focusing on the evolutionary implications of epigenetic and cultural inheritance. I suggest that these challenges require a reformulation of basic assumptions of the dominant neo-Darwinian version of evolutionary theory and the construction of a new, extended and revised evolutionary thought-style.
Eva Jablonka, Cohn Institute for the History of Philosophy of Science and Ideas at Tel Aviv University April 23, 2021
Visit the Rotman website for more information on applications, events, project descriptions, and openings. http://www.rotman.uwo.ca Follow The Rotman Institute on Twitter: twitter.com/rotmanphilo Like The Rotman Institute on Facebook: facebook.com/rotmanphilosophy Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyKaren Adolph: Infant Motor DevelopmentRotman Institute of Philosophy2021-02-24 | Motor development and psychological development are fundamentally related, but researchers typically consider them separately. In this review, we present four key features of infant motor development and show that motor skill acquisition both requires and reflects basic psychological functions. ( a) Motor development is embodied: Opportunities for action depend on the current status of the body. ( b) Motor development is embedded: Variations in the environment create and constrain possibilities for action. ( c) Motor development is enculturated: Social and cultural influences shape motor behaviors. ( d) Motor development is enabling: New motor skills create new opportunities for exploration and learning that instigate cascades of development across diverse psychological domains. For each of these key features, we show that changes in infants’ bodies, environments, and experiences entail behavioral flexibility and are thus essential to psychology. Moreover, we suggest that motor development is an ideal model system for the study of psychological development.
Karen Adolph, New York University February 5, 2021
Visit the Rotman website for more information on applications, events, project descriptions, and openings. http://www.rotman.uwo.ca Follow The Rotman Institute on Twitter: twitter.com/rotmanphilo Like The Rotman Institute on Facebook: facebook.com/rotmanphilosophy Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyChristopher Preston: Potholes on the Road to a Synthetic AgeRotman Institute of Philosophy2021-02-24 | The philosophy of synthetic biology reading group hosted Christopher Preston for a virtual talk on his 2018 book, The Synthetic Age: Outdesigning Evolution, Resurrecting Species, and Reengineering Our World. During his talk Christopher discussed the characteristics of a Synthetic Age and what distinguishes it from a ‘mere’ Anthropocene. We will also raise several obstacle on the road to a synthetic age including different aspects of social and system complexity, non-human agency, and the rebirth of the wild.
Christopher Preston, University of Montana January 11, 2021
Visit the Rotman website for more information on applications, events, project descriptions, and openings. http://www.rotman.uwo.ca Follow The Rotman Institute on Twitter: twitter.com/rotmanphilo Like The Rotman Institute on Facebook: facebook.com/rotmanphilosophy Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyMeredith Schwartz: It Takes Two – Trusting the Public in Public Health Messaging and PolicyRotman Institute of Philosophy2021-01-26 | Much of the existing public health literature describes strategies by which health authorities can build and maintain trust from the public. Typically, this relationship is assumed to be one-directional and instrumental: the public should trust health authorities because this will increase public cooperation and compliance. However, trust is a two-way relationship, and I argue that it is a mistake to expect the public to trust the claims and recommendations of health authorities unless that trust is reciprocated. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen several situations in which authorities’ lack of trust toward the public has undermined public confidence. Consider: early messaging about mask efficacy, much of which was delayed or incomplete due to a fear that the public would gain false confidence if given full information; Donald Trump’s infamously false claims about the pandemic’s likely spread, driven in part by a stated desire not to panic the public; the proposals by some universities to require that students wear tracking devices, which imply that students will fail to follow guidelines in the absence of direct supervision. I examine each of these examples, arguing that they illustrate the importance of treating public trust as reciprocal and relational.
Meredith Schwartz, Ryerson University December 10, 2020
Visit the Rotman website for more information on applications, events, project descriptions, and openings. http://www.rotman.uwo.ca Follow The Rotman Institute on Twitter: twitter.com/rotmanphilo Like The Rotman Institute on Facebook: facebook.com/rotmanphilosophy Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyManeesha Deckha: Animals as Legal Beings: Contesting Anthropocentric Legal OrdersRotman Institute of Philosophy2021-01-12 | In this talk, Maneesha Deckha presents the argument in her forthcoming book from University of Toronto Press of the same title. She calls for a non-anthropocentric reorientation for Canadian law, by criticizing the colonial legal treatment of animals as property under the common law, but also finding fault with personhood as an appropriate animal-friendly replacement. Instead, marshalling feminist and postcolonial insights, as well as critical animal studies, the book theorizes a new legal category altogether, namely beingness, as better able to protect animals from exploitation and value animals for who they are. Professor Deckha’s talk will delineate this new concept as well as outline how the foundations of Canadian law must otherwise change to move toward justice for animals.
This talk was part of our annual library lecture series prepared in partnership with the Rotman Institute of Philosophy, the Department of Philosophy at Western University, and the London Public Library.
Maneesha Deckha, University of Victoria November 26, 2020Tracy Isaacs: Individual and Collective Responsibility and Interests during COVID-19Rotman Institute of Philosophy2021-01-12 | Lots of large global issues require collective, coordinated responses. For example, if only a handful of individuals make choices that might reduce climate change if large numbers of people made the same choices (many of which involve sacrifice), that’s not enough to make a difference. But if enough people are contributing to make a difference, then (sadly) it can be tempting for others to embrace “exceptionalism,” wherein they experience the benefits of the collective effort without making the sacrifices. The response to the global pandemic is similar, where the collective public health effort requires that individuals work together with the common goal of curbing the spread of COVID-19. This raises ethical questions about how to balance individual and collective interests. My talk will focus on these questions, offering an argument for why, when we face these sorts of global issues, individuals ought to feel an ethical investment in and be guided by the collective goal.
This talk was part of our annual library lecture series prepared in partnership with the Rotman Institute of Philosophy, the Department of Philosophy at Western University, and the London Public Library.
Tracy Isaacs, Western UniversityAnthony Skelton: Ethics in the Time of CoronavirusRotman Institute of Philosophy2021-01-12 | We face and will continue to face numerous ethical challenges as we attempt to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Moral philosophy seems poised to help with some of these challenges. This presentation focuses on what may emerge as a pressing ethical question once we discover a safe and effective vaccine for Covid-19, namely, ought the state to mandate vaccination for Covid-19? This presentation examines several philosophical arguments in favour of an affirmative answer to this question. It concludes that there are good reasons for the state to mandate vaccination.
This talk was part of our annual library lecture series prepared in partnership with the Rotman Institute of Philosophy, the Department of Philosophy at Western University, and the London Public Library.
Anthony Skelton, Western University November 19, 2020Samir Okasha: Evolution, Altruism & SelfishnessRotman Institute of Philosophy2021-01-12 | It is sometimes thought that Darwinian evolution implies that organisms will evolve to be “selfish”, that is, to behave in a way that furthers their own biological interests rather than those of others. However, biologists have long recognized that “altruistic” behaviour is quite common in nature, and have sought to reconcile this finding with evolutionary principles. This talk focuses on the philosophical implications of this classic biological issue, and asks how biologists use of terms such as “altruism” and “selfishness” relate to their vernacular use.
This talk was part of our annual library lecture series prepared in partnership with the Rotman Institute of Philosophy, the Department of Philosophy at Western University, and the London Public Library.
Samir Okasha, University of Bristol November 5, 2020Lisa Feldman Barrett - How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain Q&A (Part 3)Rotman Institute of Philosophy2020-12-17 | In this 4-part video series, Lisa Feldman Barrett discusses highlights of her book, "How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain", followed by a Q&A with two Western University graduate students.
Lisa Feldman Barrett, Northeastern University March 27, 2019
Visit the Rotman website for more information on applications, events, project descriptions, and openings. http://www.rotman.uwo.ca
Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyLisa Feldman Barrett - How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain Q&A (Part 2)Rotman Institute of Philosophy2020-12-17 | In this 4-part video series, Lisa Feldman Barrett discusses highlights of her book, "How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain", followed by a Q&A with two Western University graduate students.
Lisa Feldman Barrett, Northeastern University March 27, 2019
Visit the Rotman website for more information on applications, events, project descriptions, and openings. http://www.rotman.uwo.ca
Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyLisa Feldman Barrett - How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain Q&A (Part 1)Rotman Institute of Philosophy2020-12-17 | In this 4-part video series, Lisa Feldman Barrett discusses highlights of her book, "How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain", followed by a Q&A with two Western University graduate students.
Lisa Feldman Barrett, Northeastern University March 27, 2019
Visit the Rotman website for more information on applications, events, project descriptions, and openings. http://www.rotman.uwo.ca
Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyLisa Feldman Barrett - How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain (Book Highlights)Rotman Institute of Philosophy2020-12-17 | In this 4-part video series, Lisa Feldman Barrett discusses highlights of her book, "How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain", followed by a Q&A with two Western University graduate students.
Lisa Feldman Barrett, Northeastern University March 27, 2019
Visit the Rotman website for more information on applications, events, project descriptions, and openings. http://www.rotman.uwo.ca
Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyAnjan Chakravarty: Highlights from Q&A on Scientific Ontology (4/4)Rotman Institute of Philosophy2020-12-17 | "Scientific Ontology: Integrating Naturalized Metaphysics and Voluntarist Epistemology", by Anjan Chakravartty, was published in 2017. It offers: “a proposal for understanding the idea of naturalized metaphysics, an account of the role of underlying epistemic stances in producing different ontologies, and an argument against the idea that historical case studies can settle debates about ontology”.
In 2019 Anjan Chakravartty (University of Miami) and Stathis Psillos (University of Athens) discussed the book during a Rotman Dialogue. This 4-part video series includes highlights of their commentary and discussion with others in attendance.
Visit the Rotman website for more information on applications, events, project descriptions, and openings. http://www.rotman.uwo.ca
Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyAnjan Chakravartty: Response to Psillos commentary on Scientific Ontology (3/4)Rotman Institute of Philosophy2020-12-17 | "Scientific Ontology: Integrating Naturalized Metaphysics and Voluntarist Epistemology", by Anjan Chakravartty, was published in 2017. It offers: “a proposal for understanding the idea of naturalized metaphysics, an account of the role of underlying epistemic stances in producing different ontologies, and an argument against the idea that historical case studies can settle debates about ontology”.
In 2019 Anjan Chakravartty (University of Miami) and Stathis Psillos (University of Athens) discussed the book during a Rotman Dialogue. This 4-part video series includes highlights of their commentary and discussion with others in attendance.
Visit the Rotman website for more information on applications, events, project descriptions, and openings. http://www.rotman.uwo.ca
Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyStathis Psillos: Commentary on Scientific Ontology by Chakravartty (2/4)Rotman Institute of Philosophy2020-12-17 | "Scientific Ontology: Integrating Naturalized Metaphysics and Voluntarist Epistemology", by Anjan Chakravartty, was published in 2017. It offers: “a proposal for understanding the idea of naturalized metaphysics, an account of the role of underlying epistemic stances in producing different ontologies, and an argument against the idea that historical case studies can settle debates about ontology”.
In 2019 Anjan Chakravartty (University of Miami) and Stathis Psillos (University of Athens) discussed the book during a Rotman Dialogue. This 4-part video series includes highlights of their commentary and discussion with others in attendance.
Visit the Rotman website for more information on applications, events, project descriptions, and openings. http://www.rotman.uwo.ca
Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyAnjan Chakravartty: Scientific Ontology - Five Key Thoughts (1/4)Rotman Institute of Philosophy2020-12-17 | "Scientific Ontology: Integrating Naturalized Metaphysics and Voluntarist Epistemology", by Anjan Chakravartty, was published in 2017. It offers: “a proposal for understanding the idea of naturalized metaphysics, an account of the role of underlying epistemic stances in producing different ontologies, and an argument against the idea that historical case studies can settle debates about ontology”.
In 2019 Anjan Chakravartty (University of Miami) and Stathis Psillos (University of Athens) discussed the book during a Rotman Dialogue. This 4-part video series includes highlights of their commentary and discussion with others in attendance.
VIDEO 1: Anjan Chakravartty: Scientific Ontology - Five Key Thoughts (1/4) Anjan Chakravartty offers a brief overview of his book, "Scientific Ontology: Integrating Naturalized Metaphysics and Voluntarist Epistemology". This is the first video of a 4-part playlist from a Rotman Dialogue with Chakravartty (University of Miami) and Stathis Psillos (University of Athens), held at the Rotman Institute of Philosophy in 2019.
Visit the Rotman website for more information on applications, events, project descriptions, and openings. http://www.rotman.uwo.ca
Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyCorey Maley: Analog Computation and RepresentationRotman Institute of Philosophy2020-03-26 | Neuroscientists and psychologists regularly appeal to computation to explain (and not just model) what the brain and mind is doing. But it is rather clear that, whatever they mean by computation, it is not digital computation. Could it be analog computation? Based on historical examples, I argue that there is more to analog computation than just the use of continuous variables. Surprisingly to some, analog computation can be discrete as well as continuous, yet distinct from digital computation. This conception of analog computation might be exactly what is needed to make sense of claims that systems like brains literally compute.
Corey Maley, University of Kansas March 11, 2020
Visit the Rotman website for more information on applications, events, project descriptions, and openings. http://www.rotman.uwo.ca Follow The Rotman Institute on Twitter: twitter.com/rotmanphilo Like The Rotman Institute on Facebook: facebook.com/rotmanphilosophy Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyDan Hausman: FairnessRotman Institute of Philosophy2020-02-03 | There are few theories of fairness in the philosophical literature, and those theories are controversial. They give conflicting answers to important policy questions, such as whether to rely on cost-effectiveness information to allocate health-related resources. For example, suppose that individuals in group A have a health condition that is slightly less cost-effective to treat than the health condition of individuals in group B. In that case, allocating resources by their cost-effectiveness implies that members of group B gets treated first, and it may be that nobody in group A is treated. Critics maintain that it is unfair not to give members of group A some chance of being treated. Is it? On John Broome’s theory of fairness, it is unfair. According to Eyal, Kirpatrick and Eastwood, Hooker and Henning, the cost-effective allocation may be no less fair than giving members of group A some chance of treatment. Intuitions about similar cases are conflicted. In this talk I will sketch a theory of fairness that defends the cost-effective allocation and that also has implications concerning the moral importance of equality.
Dan Hausman, University of Wisconsin-Madison January 17, 2020
Visit the Rotman website for more information on applications, events, project descriptions, and openings. http://www.rotman.uwo.ca Follow The Rotman Institute on Twitter: twitter.com/rotmanphilo Like The Rotman Institute on Facebook: facebook.com/rotmanphilosophy Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/rotmanphilosophyPanel Discussion: Health, Equity, and Well-BeingRotman Institute of Philosophy2020-01-31 | Although every citizen of Canada has access to publicly funded health insurance, not all Canadians enjoy the same level and quality of health. Indeed, Canadian society is marked by significant health inequalities. A recent editorial in The Lancet, for example, remarks on the “atrocious inequalities associated with indigenous peoples’ health that suggest a developing world within Canada’s borders.” Health inequalities are due to a range of factors, including access to health care, gender, race, income, and resource scarcity. Health matters to well-being and quality of life. But what is health and how much does it matter? What is its relationship to quality of life and happiness? Health inequities raise serious issues of fairness and justice. What is the best way to allocate resources? How do we distribute resources fairly? The speakers in this panel will explore the relationship between health, well-being, and the various moral values that matter to the just or equitable distribution of health and health care.
Panelists: Dan Hausman, University of Wisconsin-Madison Anthony Skelton, Western University Janet Martin, Western University Maxwell Smith, Western University January 16, 2020