Sapientia Lecture Series

Suilin Lavelle (University of Edinburgh). "Nativism and the Mindreading Debate."

July 8, 2015
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Location
Paganucci Lounge, Class of 1953 Commons
Sponsored by
Philosophy Department
Audience
Public
More information
Marcia Welsh
(603) 646-3738

Abstract:
'Mindreading' refers to our ability to attribute psychological states to ourselves and others.  At present there is a lively debate pertaining to whether pre-linguistic infants can mindread, and, if they can, how we should characterise the nature of the psychological states they attribute to others.  I will sketch out the contemporary state of this debate and maintain that it has reached an impasse, as the distinctions between the main positions have become increasingly opaque.  I suggest that progress in this area demands that we look to a larger debate concerning different approaches to evolutionary theory, and sketch out how issues in this broader debate impact the more specific arguments concerning mindreading. The talk assumes no prior knowledge about the mindreading debate or developmental psychology, and I will endeavour to make both the science (and the philosophy!) as painless as possible.

Professor Lavelle is the Philosophy Department's visiting professor from the University of Edinburgh this summer.

Free and open to all.

The Sapientia Lecture Series is funded by The Mark J. Byrne Fund in Philosophy.

Location
Paganucci Lounge, Class of 1953 Commons
Sponsored by
Philosophy Department
Audience
Public
More information
Marcia Welsh
(603) 646-3738