The New Evil Demon
Knowledge, Rationality and the Internal
Workshop and doctoral activity
Geneva, September 12-13, 2013
CUSO Programme Doctoral Romand en Philosophie
Workshop with Stewart Cohen (Arizona), Julien
Dutant (Geneva), Maria Lasonen-Aarnio (Michigan),
Clayton Littlejohn (King's College London), Nico Silins
(Cornell and Yale-NUS) and Timothy Williamson (Oxford).
Organised by Fabian Dorsch (Fribourg) and Julien Dutant (Geneva).
LAST MINUTE Due to unforseen circumstances, Stewart Cohen is unfortunately unable to participate. The schedule has been revised: we start later on friday.
The workshop and doctoral activity take place in Geneva (not in both Fribourg and Geneva as intially announced).
Attendance is free and everybody is welcome.
Presentation of the workshop
The New Evil Demon problem is a standing issue at the interface of ethics and epistemology. It concerns rationality - both rational action and rational belief - and what epistemologists call „justified“ belief and action. Recent years have seen a growing wave of „externalist“ theories of justification, reasons and evidence. On such views, justification, reasons and evidence are not only dependent on what goes on in one‘s head - or in one‘s mind, narrowly conceived -, but partly depend on one‘s environment. Typical examples are Williamson‘s views that one‘s evidence is what one knows and that one is justified by what one knows (Williamson 2000), of the idea that one‘s reasons are what one knows (Unger 1975, Hyman 1999). Insofar as we think that rationality is a matter of reasons, justification or evidence, such views face a pressing problem known as the New Evil Demon problem (Cohen 1983). The problem starts with a pair of cases: a „Good“ case, in which everything is normal and one believes or intend something justifiedly and rationally, and a „Bad“ case, in which everything appears to one as in the „Good“ case, but one‘s belief or intention are mistaken. The Bad case involve a Cartesian Evil Demon, but also much more ordinary forms of honest mistakes - tricky lightning, prankster friends and the like. With such pairs of cases there is considerable pressure to say what it is rational to intend and to believe is the same in both cases; and perhaps also that what it is justified to intend and to believe is the same in both cases. Such cases apparently contradict externalist views of rationality and justification and have been used to defend „internalism“ about justification (Cohen 1983) and rationality (Wedgwood 2002).
Externalists have tried to address the problem in various ways - some of which have only recently been put forward. They can for instance defend a straightforward externalism about rationality - so that belief and action in the Bad case are irrational -, adopt some form of disjunctivism about rationality - so that belief in the Bad case is rational by being „excused“ rather than „justified“ -, or try to derive internalism about rationality from externalist grounds - so that, for instance, belief in the Bad case is rationalized by what one knows, even though one does not know the same thing as in the Good case. The workshop will discuss new developments of the debate.
Presentation of the methodological activity for doctoral students
The theme of the activity is scientific communication on the web. We will provide an overview of tools and practices of scientific communication online: online journals, open archives, self-archiving, blogs, personal websites, institutional websites, content management systems, website design. The idea is to give participants an good idea of what is available and how much time investement and technical skills are required for their communication projects. The activity will be animated by Julien Dutant and Fabian Dorsch, who both have a long experience in online academic activity. The topics adressed will be adapted to suit the participant's interests.
Programme
All activities take place near Uni Bastions at 5 rue Saint-Ours (click for map), room SO 019. (The room is ground floor and visible at the angle of the street. If you have trouble getting in wave to us or call Julien at +41 78 707 92 31.)
Thursday, September 12th
Morning
- 9-12: Methodological activity for doctoral students: scientific communication the web. Bring your recharged laptops!
- 9-10:15 Presentations
- 10:15-10:15 coffee break
- 10:45-12 Hands-on practice
Lunch at the University mensa, Uni Dufour, 24 rue du Général Dufour.
Afternoon
- 2:30-4 Julien Dutant: Knowledge-Based Decision Theory and the New Evil Demon.
- 4-4:30 coffee break
- 4:30-6 Clayton Littlejohn: A Plea for Epistemic Excuses.
Dinner at L'Echalotte, rue des Rois 17, tel 022 320 59 99.
Friday, September 13th
Morning
- 10-10:30 welcome coffee
- 10:30-12 Nico Silins: The Evil Demon Inside.
Lunch at the University mensa, Uni Dufour, 24 rue du Général Dufour.
Afternoon
- 2:30-4 Maria Lasonen-Aarnio: The Disposition to Know.
- 4-4:30 coffee break
- 4:30-6 Timothy Williamson: Legality and Law-Abidingness.
Dinnerat the Café Gallay, boulevard Saint Georges 42, tel 022 321 00 35.
Conference venue and accomodation
Conference venue
All activities take place near Uni Bastions at 5 rue Saint-Ours (click for map), room SO 019. (The room is ground floor and visible at the angle of the street. If you have trouble getting in wave to us or call Julien at 078.707.92.31.)
Accomodation
Here is a list of nearby hotels that you may find useful.
Invited speakers are hosted at Hôtel Bel'Esperance, rue de la Vallée 1. To get there from the airport, the simplest is by bus. Take bus 10 at the airport (depature floor, the stop is outside on your right), and get off at the last stop, Rive. Walk on your right, pass the "Fnac" store, and take the first street on your left (rue Verdaine, it goes uphill). The hotel sign is visible there but the entrance is on the small street that goes along the hotel on your left (rue de la Vallée). ( detailed map).
Further information
For further information please contact Julien Dutant.