Wittgenstein Research
There is a long tradition of Wittgenstein research at the Philosophy Department in Bergen that continues today with ongoing work being done both in the scholarly interpretation of Wittgenstein’s writings as well as in the application of his work to areas such as the philosophy of the social sciences, philosophy of mathematics, and esthetics. Much of the contact between Wittgenstein researchers in Bergen and the wider community of Wittgenstein scholars is mediated through the Wittgenstein Archives, which hosts a wide range of international scholars conducting research on Wittgenstein. Each year, the department hosts a number of guest lectures given by visiting international researchers at the Archives.
Conference Spring 2015: Wittgenstein, Philosophy of Mind, and Naturalism
Standard histories of Analytic Philosophy typically credit Ludwig Wittgenstein with having inspired two important philosophical movements, Logical Positivism and so-called Ordinary Language Philosophy, commonly associated with Oxford. It has, moreover, become a commonplace to claim that Wittgenstein was one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. While large numbers of articles and monographs on Wittgenstein continue to be produced, however, his thought (or Wittgensteinian philosophy more broadly) often seems absent from philosophical debates where the agenda has been set by various forms of scientific naturalism, especially in the philosophy of mind. The proposed conference, “Wittgenstein, Philosophy of Mind & Naturalism will bring together both leading thinkers and younger philosophers working in core philosophical fields to explore and hopefully attempt to remedy this situation.
Confirmed Invited Speakers include Charles Travis (Kings), Paul Snowden (UCL), Julia Tanney (Kent), William Child (Oxford) and David Finkelstein (Chicago).
The main organizers of this conference are Associate Professor Kevin Cahill (UiB) and Post-doctoral fellow Thomas Raleigh (NTNU). Cahill is research coordinator and leader of the Wittgensten Research Group at UiB. Raleigh is part of the project “Representationalism or Anti-representationalism? - Perspectives on Intentionality from Philosophy and Cognitive Science” at NTNU.
Academic staff
Post.doc.
PhD candidates