Philosophical Methodology Workshop

UT-Austin will be hosting a 5 day summer school for graduate students on the topic of philosophical methodology. Each day of the workshop will include two or three seminar-style sessions led by faculty. In addition, there may be some number of faculty-led roundtable discussions on such issues as conceptual analysis, intuition, thought experiments, conceivability, reduction, reflective equilibrium, and ontological commitment.

To date, confirmed faculty participants include Julia Driver (Dartmouth), Jeff King (Rutgers), Dan Korman (Illinois), Marc Moffett (Wyoming), Roy Sorenson (Dartmouth), Ernest Sosa (Rutgers), and UT faculty Josh Dever, Mark Sainsbury, and David Sosa.

The workshop will be held August 12-16, 2008. Attendance will be limited to around 10 outside graduate students, the presenters, and UT graduate students and faculty. Interested graduate students are encouraged to apply. The deadline for applications is June 7, 2008. See the workshop homepage for details.

Snowballs and Islands

Members of phased kinds can cease to be members of that kind without ceasing to exist. Of course, as a matter of de dicto necessity, all toddlers are toddlers. But it’s not the case that all toddlers are necessarily toddlers. Members of individuative kinds belong to that kind as a matter de re necessity. A person can’t cease to be a person without ceasing to exist. A statue can’t cease to be a statue without ceasing to exist. If you flatten the statue, it’s not just that it ceases to be a statue; it ceases to exist.

Assuming you’re on board with those cases (i.e., assuming that your modal intuitions aren’t completely defective -- oh snap!), I’m wondering what you think about snowballs and islands. When you flatten a snowball, does it cease to exist, or does it just cease to be a snowball? Suppose you’ve got a low island, and it gets completely submerged every day at high tide. Does it cease to exist at high tide? Or does it continue to exist, but cease to be an island? Or perhaps you want to say that it still exists *and* it’s still an island at high tide? 

I say the snowball survives flattening but ceases to be a snowball, and the island survives being submerged (and probably is still an island). If I’m right about this, it seems that Hawthorne’s complaint that (“barring an anti-realism that none of us should tolerate”) it’s intolerably arbitrary to include islands in one’s ontology and exclude (Hirsch’s) incars. One, but not the other, has extraordinarily weird persistence conditions. Similarly for Sosa’s claim that a realist who lets in snowballs is going to have to let in snowdiscalls as well. Anyway, my question is whether what I say about snowballs and islands seems right to you.

CFP: 62nd Mountain-Plains Philosophy Conference

The 62nd Annual Mountain-Plains Philosophy Conference

Keynote Address: Ted Sider (NYU)

Hosted By
Fort Hays State University
Hays, Kansas

Thursday, October 23rd to Saturday, October 25th 2008

Accommodations: TBD

Papers on any topic of philosophical interest will be considered.  E-Mail submissions are preferred and should be no longer than 3000 words, suitable for reading aloud, and prepared for blind-reviewing (detachable title page).  Please include a 100-word abstract in your cover letter, indicate the preferred AOS of your referee, and indicate whether, should your paper not be accepted, you would be willing to serve as a commentator or session moderator.

Deadline for Submission: July 15, 2008

Send submission by e-mail to (please, no MS Word2007; older versions are fine): Franz-Peter Griesmaier (University of Wyoming), fpg@uwyo.edu.

Shout Out

Just a little shout out to the UW master's students whose hard work has paid off in some nice graduate school placements.

  • Jeremy Bryant Weiss, Ohio State University (full funding)
  • Thomas Scott Dixon, University of California, Davis (full funding)
  • Erik Hoversten, Rutgers University (full funding)
  • Adam Ross Thompson, University of Nebraska (full funding)

Major congratulations, fellas!! Enjoy the ride.

Activities Post

[Update]:: If you are bringing a spouse, spousal equivalent, or other family member and would like to set up something on one of the conference days for them, please let me know and I will see what I can do. At the moment, I have one person interested in horseback riding on Saturday.

This is an activities post for the upcoming SEP Conference. In order to co-ordinate individual interests and get everyone the best price possible for the various activities, it would be helpful if people who are interested in engaging in one of the "free day" activities would post their interests in the comments.

Thus far, I have the following requests:

1 person for the scenic float trip

2 people for the evening horseback ride w/dinner.

Here is a list of the activities on offer:

1. SPECIAL OUTING: Snowshoeing the High Country: Libby Creek Trail, Snowies

Thirty minutes to the west of Laramie lies the Snowy Range. This is the northernmost point of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Snowy Range is part of the 3 million acre Routt-Medicine Bow National Forest and sports impressive alpine peaks ranging over 13,000', glacial lakes, and lots of wildlife.

We’ll hike up along the ridgeline of Libby Creek canyon and break for lunch, overseeing a spectacular view of the Laramie valley. The trail descends into Libby Creek and ties into Barber Lake Trail. The whole loop is roughly 6 miles with some moderate elevation gain. No prior snowshoeing experience is necessary. Transportation, lunch and equipment are provided. A personal equipment list and detailed pre-trip information will be provided after registering. Limit: 10 participants.

  • Departure date: Friday, May 16, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
  • Meeting location: Half Acre Gym, front lobby (west side of building)
  • Price: $69

Registration for this special outing is required: Call Dan McCoy, Coordinator of the Outdoor Adventure Program at (307) 766-6488. Please specify that you are part of the UW philosophy conference. Full payment will be required to reserve a spot. Cancellation policy: Fifty percent is refundable if five-business-days notice is given prior to the trip departure date. For more info call (307-766-6488) or e-mail (oap@uwyo.edu).

2. SPECIAL OUTING: Introduction to Rock Climbing in Vedauwoo

Vedauwoo (pronounced vee-da-voo) is a world renowned rock climbing area. Vedauwoo is a beautiful labyrinth of granite rock formations just about 10 miles east of Laramie and is well worth visiting just for the scenery. This outing is primarily for beginning or intermediate climbers, though experienced climbers might find it worthwhile.

Join the UW Outdoor Adventure Program for an outing to southeast Wyoming’s premiere climbing spot. This is a great opportunity to learn basic climbing safety, belay technique and movement from our knowledgeable and friendly instructors. No prior experience necessary, though a good level of physical fitness is important. Persons with prior climbing experience are also encouraged to attend. All climbing equipment, instruction, lunch and transportation provided. A personal equipment list and detailed pre-trip information will be provided after registering. Limit: 10 participants.

  • Departure date: Friday, May 16, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
  • Meeting location: Half Acre Gym, front lobby (west side of building)
  • Price: $69

Registration for this special outing is required: Call Dan McCoy, Coordinator of the Outdoor Adventure Program at (307) 766-6488. Please specify that you are part of the UW philosophy conference. Full payment will be required to reserve a spot. Cancellation policy: Fifty percent is refundable if five-business-days notice is given prior to the trip departure date. For more info call (307-766-6488) or e-mail (oap@uwyo.edu).

3. Local Area Birding trips

If, like Marc, you happen to be a bird-geek, we can set up a local birding expectation through Bird Brained Expeditions. (No price yet, but fairly cheap overall.) If you are not from the West, this is a good opportunity to increase your lifetime bird list by 10 or 12 species. Post interest in comments.

4. Horseback Riding on Sheep Mountain

Snowy Mountain Lodge offers horseback riding trips out of Centennial, Wyoming (home to Pulitzer Prize winning author Annie Proulx) about 30 minutes from Laramie. They offer 1, 2 and 3 hour rides, as well-as an 8 hour ride. The three hour ride is done in the evening and includes a chuck wagon steak dinner (total cost $90.00). Post interest in comments.

5. The Old West

Western history buffs might enjoy a day trip out to one of the many historic sites within a few hours of Laramie. One natural spot is Fort Laramie; about a two and a half hour drive. Locally, a trip to the Territorial Prison is a good way to spend a few hours. For a sense of the West, a two hour horseback trip plus a turn around the Territorial Prison would be a good, not too strenuous, option.

6. Fishing/Floating the North Platte

Four Season Anglers provides both guided fishing trips and scenic floats on the Platte River. Cost for each will be determined by the number of participants, but a rough estimate is about $150.00 per person for the scenic trip and $210.00 for the fishing trip.

At that time of year, the scenic trip will be run down the North Platte River near Saratoga. This is a beautiful float of about 13 miles. Lots of waterfowl, bald eagles, deer (mule deer and white-tail; sometimes moose), beaver, mink and other wildlife. Service to and from the shop in Laramie to the raft point, lunch, drinks, gear.

The fishing trip would be along the North Platte near Casper, an area known as Gray’s Reef. Gray’s Reef is one of the two or three premiere fishing waters in the country for large trout (cutthroat, rainbows, browns, cuttbows). An experienced angler would typically land about 15 fish over 18” with a real chance of catching something over 5lbs. A novice angler will probably hook-up, but the size of the fish will lead to a lot of break-offs. If need be, FSA can provide rods, etc. The scenery here is not outstanding (more like a high desert), but you will see plenty of antelope and deer. Post interest for either fishing or scenic float trip in comments.

May 2008

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