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Weekly Colloquium
This Week's Colloquium
The colloquium will be held from 3:00-5:00 pm (Atlantic time) on Friday, November 15 both in person, in Room 2130 of the Marion McCain Arts and Social Science Building, and online via zoom (details below).
Speaker: Tom Vinci (AV俱乐部)
Title: Metaphysical Optimality and Intelligent design: Rescher against Leibniz and Plank
Abstract:
(Overview of a contribution to a forthcoming Memorial Festschrift for Nick Rescher.)
Quotations from Rescher and Planck
鈥淐an a Scientist be Serious about Religion? Three points must be granted at the outset:
1. Science does not require God. To answer our scientific questions about the world we do not need to bring theology into it.
2. Science cannot prove God鈥檚 existence. We cannot ground theism on scientific facts regarding the observable features of the universe.
3. Scientists are nowadays largely atheists. Many or most of them manage to live successful lives without any religious commitments. 鈥�
(Nicholas Rescher, ISSUES IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION, Chapter 6, p. 53)
鈥淧resent day physics, as far as it is theoretically organized鈥s now completely contained in a single theorem, in the principle of least action. As we can see, only a short step is required to recognize in the preference for the smallest quantity of action the ruling of divine reason, and thus to discover a part of Leibniz鈥檚 teleological ordering of the universe.鈥�
(Max Planck, Address to the German Academy, 1922, Berlin, on the occasion of Leibniz Day.)
Introduction
Both Nicholas Rescher and Max Planck are well-versed in physics and Leibniz鈥檚 writings, both are, indeed, Leibnizeans. Both think that a version of the Principle of Least Action is fundamental to physics and metaphysics. One is a distinguished late-modern philosopher, the other a distinguished late-modern physicist. Why the dramatic difference? Rescher explains: 鈥淭here is no point in bringing heavy machinery to work where lessor mechanisms can do the work.) (SMO, 88) The lesser mechanisms in question are those of natural teleology understood in the Aristotelian sense, the kind of teleology in Rescher鈥檚 theory of Metaphysical Optimality. The heavy machinery is a divine intelligence. My ultimate purpose in this paper is to explicate and adjudicate the conflicting attitudes to cosmology and teleology of Rescher, Planck and Leibniz.
Synopsis
In Section I I consider Rescher鈥檚 doctrine of Metaphysical Optimality: his theory of natural teleology in the cosmos. First, I concentrate on how it handles the question of chance as the explanation for the co-occurrence of intelligent-life-promoting conditions on earth. I find that it makes a plausible case against chance. Next, I consider Rescher鈥檚 case against the intelligent-design version of teleology, finding that it is not conclusive. Finally, I find a difficulty for Metaphysical Optimality based on its conception of the relationship between probability and causality. I consider the difficulty to be critical for Rescher.
In Section II I consider whether we can find the premises for an a posteriori proof of the intelligent -design version of teleology in the metaphysical and physical assumptions of Leibniz. I conclude that we can, but that the proof suffers from an out-of-date physical assumption about the nature of light.
In Section III I consider another proof for the existence of intelligent design, this time from Max Planck. This account does not suffer from an out-of-date account of the nature of light nor does it suffer from any other deficiencies that I can detect.
Note about the following colloquium on Nov. 22: The talk will be about the TV series Fleabag, which the speaker encourages audience members to watch (available on Amazon Prime and some other places). But there should be enough exposition in the talk for everyone to follow along as well.
Dal Philosophy is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Colloquium
Time: Nov 15, 2024 03:00 PM Atlantic Time (Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88638324974?pwd=lD255Cfe70JuVMb9aF6pT9bc1mbyUa.1
Meeting ID: 886 3832 4974
Passcode: 804515
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All Philosophy courses at AV俱乐部 emphasize the importance of academic integrity. Students are responsible for ensuring that all work they submit is their own, and, unless otherwise explicitly indicated by the instructor, AI-driven tools and generative AI models (including language models like the GPT suite, translation models like Google Translate or DeepL, editing tools like QuillBot, GrammaryGo, etc.) should not be used to generate ideas or written materials for any class offered by the Philosophy department.
AFFILIATED GROUPS
- Atlantic Canada Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy
- AV俱乐部 Women Around Philosophy
- Evolutionary Studies Group
- Animal Studies Group
- The Canadian Philosophical Association - see the CPA's聽
- The AV俱乐部 Philosophy Equity Committee
DEPARTMENT KUDOS
- Congratulations聽to Erik Nelson who defended his PhD dissertation,聽The Nonlinguistic Mind: Nonlinguistic Concepts, Normativity and Animal Cognition, this June.
- Congratulations聽to our PhD student, Clarisse Paron, for being awarded the聽聽for presenting on of the best two student papers at the Annual Meeting, June 2024. The title of her paper is 鈥淎re the New American Pediatric Obesity Guidelines Eugenic? Eugenic Logics and the Medicalization and Pathologization of Children鈥檚 Bodies.鈥�
- Congratulations聽to our PhD students, Lara Millman and Clarisse Paron, for being awarded AV俱乐部鈥檚 聽President鈥檚 Graduate/Undergraduate Student Teaching Award聽(2 of 3 available university-wide awards!)
- Congratulations聽to Dr. Travis LaCroix, who has accepted a position as Assistant Professor at the Department of Philosophy, Durham University, starting in the fall of 2024.
- Congratulations to Dr. Travis LaCroix, who has been award an Insight Development Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council! Travis鈥檚 research project is entitled 鈥淧hilosophy on the Spectrum: The Philosophy of Autism and Autistic Philosophy.鈥�
- Tyler Hildebrand鈥檚 paper 鈥淚nductive Reasoning Involving Social Kinds鈥� (with Barrett Emerick) has been published in the聽Journal of the American Philosophical Association.聽
- Congratulations聽to Kayla Beals, who is the 2024 recipient of the F. Hilton Page Memorial Prize, awarded to a graduating student whose thesis is judged to be outstanding.聽
- Congratulations聽to George Arnott, who is the 2024 recipient of the Roland Puccetti Memorial Award for the best essay submitted by a student in a 3000- or 4000-level class. George鈥檚 essay is entitled "The Virtuous Cohort" Habituation and Character-Friendship as Rational Motivators for Aristotelian Courage.