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Conférences Hugues-Leblanc 2021 // Elliott Sober // disponible en ligne
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Résumé
« Ockham’s Razor »
Mercredi 14 avril, 15h30-17h00
Commentatrice // commentator: Molly Kao (Université de Montréal)
Ockham’s razor says that simpler theories are better than theories that are more complex, but what does “better” mean? The question isn’t whether simpler theories are easier to understand and work with, nor is the question whether simpler theories are more beautiful. Rather, the question is why the simplicity of a theory is relevant to saying what the world is like. Here I describe two “parsimony paradigms” that establish how simplicity can be relevant to that endeavor.
« Realism, Empiricism, and Instrumentalism »
Jeudi 15 avril, 15h30-17h00
Commentateur // commentator: Christophe Malaterre (UQAM)
Scientific Realism says that an attainable goal of science is to figure out which theories are true in what they say about observable and unobservable features of reality. Empiricism says that the goal is more modest – to find theories that are empirically adequate, meaning that they are true in what they say about observables. Instrumentalism says that scientific theories are merely useful instruments for making accurate predictions. Are empiricism and instrumentalism different? Here I discuss arguments that aim to justify or discredit each of these three philosophies.
« Values in Science »
Vendredi 16 avril, 15h30-17h00
Commentateur // commentator: Matthew Barker (Université Concordia)
It is obvious that scientists, like everyone else, should take morality into account in deciding what to do, but are ethical considerations relevant to what they should believe? Blaise Pascal’s Wager and William James’s Will to Believe provide an introduction to thinking about this question. I then consider Richard Rudner’s article “The Scientist qua Scientist Makes value Judgments,” where it is argued that the ethical consequences of believing a theory need to be considered in deciding whether you should believe it. Finally, I consider relatively new ideas in statistics that describe a context in which the goals of scientists are relevant to the question of which estimation procedure should be used.
À propos de Elliott Sober
Elliott Sober est professeur au département de philosophie de l’Université du Wisconsin à Madison, titulaire des chaires Wiliam F. Vilas et Hans Reichenbach. Sa recherche s’inscrit dans les domaines de la philosophie des sciences et de la philosophie de la biologie de l’évolution. Il est tout particulièrement reconnu pour ses travaux sur la notion de parcimonie en relation avec l’évaluation des théories et ses très nombreuses contributions à la philosophie de la biologie. Il a aussi publié sur la question des faits probants et de la probabilité, sur le réalisme scientifique et l’instrumentalisme, sur les lois de la nature, sur le problème du cerveau et de l’esprit ou encore sur le naturalisme. Ses publications incluent Ockham’s Razors — A User’s Manual (Cambridge University Press, 2015), Did Darwin write the Origin Backwards? (Prometheus Books, 2011), Evidence and Evolution — the Logic Behind the Science (Cambridge University Press, 2008), Unto Others — The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior (avec David Sloan Wilson, Harvard University Press, 1998) et Philosophy of Biology (Westview Press, 1993).
À propos des conférences Hugues-Leblanc
Le rendez-vous annuel des conférences Hugues-Leblanc célèbre la mémoire du grand logicien et philosophe québécois Hugues Leblanc (1924-1999). Se déroulant sur trois jours, cet événement se structure autour d’une série de présentations données par une conférencière ou un conférencier de renommée internationale, et d’interventions de professeures et professeurs issus d’universités canadiennes ou étrangères, sur une thématique relevant de la philosophie analytique
// The annual Hugues-Leblanc lectures honor the memory of the great logician and philosopher Hugues Leblanc of Québec (1924-1999). Taking place over three days, this event is organized around a series of lectures delivered by an internationally renowned speaker and commentaries by Canadian or foreign professors on a theme relevant to analytic philosophy.
