2020
Disagreements: from Theory to Practice
Disagreements: from Theory to Practice.
University of Tartu, March 11th -13th, 2020
Invited speakers:
- Daniel Cohnitz (Utrecht)
- Gurpreet Rattan (Toronto)
- Margit Sutrop (Tartu)
- Folke Tersman & Olle Risberg (Uppsala)
The theoretical aspects of disagreements in fields such as ontology, logic, epistemology, and ethics have already received extensive treatment in the philosophical literature. There are a plethora of views debated at an increased level of sophistication at a very high level of abstraction (e.g. conciliationist vs steadfast views in the epistemology of disagreement). What is much less discussed are the practical consequences of these theoretical models of disagreement. The conference “Disagreements: from Theory to Practice” aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice and inquire into the implications of theoretical positions for real-life disagreements.
The topics include but are not limited to the following:
- Value conflicts and how to resolve them
- Laypeople and disagreement among experts
- Disagreement and scientific consensus
- Metaethical disagreements
- Moral expertise and moral disagreement
- Introspective disagreements
- Practical implications of views in the epistemology of disagreement
- Practical implications of views in the metaphysics of disagreement
- Deep disagreements and practice
- Political disagreements
- Aesthetic disagreements
- Practical implications of moral disagreements to teaching ethics
The conference is a final event of the research project Disagreements: Philosophical Analysis (IUT20-5) financed by the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research and also by University of Tartu Faculty of Arts and Humanities. Conference is related to the Centre of Excellence in Estonian Studies (European Union, European Regional Development Fund).
Workshop "Postphenomenology, Technoscience and Hermeneutics"
October 19-22, 2020*, workshop "Postphenomenology, Technoscience and Hermeneutics", teacher: Robert Rosenberger, Associate Professor of Georgia Institute of Technology
The workshop has been postponed to spring semester 2021.
This workshop will serve as a deep introduction to the “postphenomenological” school of thought, connecting it to issues of hermeneutics and technoscience. We’ll explore postphenomenological theory, and consider the ways that human-technology relations are conceived under this perspective. With its specialization in the deep description of how technologies are experienced, this workshop will explore the nature of human bodily perception, habituation, and experiential space. In its connection to pragmatist philosophy, the postphenomenological perspective strives to build theory through concrete case studies. In this spirit, this workshop will include the analysis of many specific aspects of our contemporary technological situation, from image interpretation in the laboratory, to the nature of reading text onscreen, to the use of simulations in educational settings, to the politics of public spaces, to the phenomenon of “phantom vibrations” (i.e., the hallucination that your phone had vibrated in your pocket).
Seminars take place every day at 10:00-13:30, public lectures on October 19, 20 and 21 at 16-18. On 22 October, the seminars are replaced by practical work in Tartu Observatory in Tõravere, co-guided by the astronomer Laurits Leedjärv.
Schedule of the public lectures:
The Philosophy of Smartphones and Driver Distraction
Philosophy of Technology and the Control of Public Space
The Technological Mediation of the Mars Global Surveyor
Readings for the workshop, to be read through beforehand:
Rosenberger, R. & P.-P. Verbeek. (2015). “A Field Guide to Postphenomenology.” In R. Rosenberger & P.-P. Verbeek (eds.), Postphenomenological Investigations: Essays on Human-Technology Relations. Lanham: Lexington Books, pp. 9-41.
Rosenberger, R. (2017). Callous Objects: Designs Against the Homeless. Minneapolis: Minnesota University Press, ch. 1-3.
Ihde, D. (1998). Expanding Hermeneutics: Visualism in Science. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, Part 4: pp. 134-198.
Supplementary Material:
Ihde, D. (2009). Postphenomenology & Technoscience: The Peking University Lectures. Albany: SUNY Press, ch. 2.
Hasse, C. (2013). “Artifacts That Talk: Mediating Technologies as Multistable Signs and Tools.” Subjectivity. 6(1): 79-100.
Warfield, K. (2017). “MirrorCameraRoom: The Gendered Multi-(In)Stabilities of the Selfie.” Feminist Media Studies. 17(1): 77-92.
Aagaard, J. (2015). “Drawn to Distraction: A Qualitative Study of Off-Task Use of Educational Technology.” Computers & Education. 87: 90-97.
Rosenberger, R. (2013). “Mediating Mars: Perceptual Experience and Scientific Imaging Technologies.” Foundations of Science. 18: 75-91.
The workshop is appropriate for students of all levels, beginning from advanced bachelor level, and also all other interested people are welcome. It is necessary to register beforehand. Participation is free. It is necessary to register beforehand until 9 February 2020 on the registration form (see below). Announcement of the selection process: 13 February 2020. A limited number of travel bursaries will be available for students from abroad. Students can obtain 3 ECTS for the workshop (code of course in SIS: FLFI.03.107).
Robert Rosenberger is an associate professor of philosophy in the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His work advances the postphenomenological theoretical perspective. These investigations include studies on the driving impairment of smartphones, frog dissection simulations in the classroom, and the use of imaging technologies in neurobiology and space science. His 2017 book Callous Objects, uses ideas from the philosophy of technology to criticize the ways that public spaces are built to discriminate against the homeless.
Contact: Ave Mets (avemets [ät] ut.ee)
*The dates are preliminary and depend on the possibilities of international travel due to Covid-19.
The event is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (University of Tartu ASTRA Project PER ASPERA) and UT projects PHVFI and PHVFI20930.