Portland State University Socratic Society
"Normative Idealization"
Yasha Rohwer, Oregon Institute of Technology
May 21st, 2024 4:00-6:00 pm URBN 212 Parsons Gallery
Conservation and restoration use concepts that have both empirical and ethical content. For example, "ecosystem integrity" is thought to both empirically describe a system and to be a property that is morally valuable. However, the idea that ecosystems have integrity doesn't seem literally true. In this paper I argue that ecosystem integrity can be thought of as a scientific idealization that is useful to simplify complex systems to better theorize, gather data, and model the systems of interest. However, if ecosystem integrity is a scientific idealization, then what should we make of the normative content of the concept? I argue that ecosystem integrity can also be thought of as a normative idealization - a tool to help simplify the complexity of the moral value of ecosystems. I then list potential pitfalls of normative idealization and propose two responses.
"Against the Completability of Infinite Tasks"
Miloš Arsenijevic
June 12th, 2024 4:00-6:00 pm URBN 212 Parsons Gallery
In order to establish the possibility of performing infinitely many operations in a finite time, Grunbaum imagined a device in which, according to mathematical analysis, the state of Thompson's Lamp, which is alternatingly switched on and off, would be on as a consequence of infinitely many jabs of the button. However, Janis made a re-arrangement in which the completion of the switchings has an absurd consequence, though the two processes - as given by the two arrangements - are kinematically identical. Still, by using modal logic, I will show how - in complete accordance with standard mathematical analysis - the anti-infinitist solution should look like.
The Portland State University Socratic Society is a venue for Philosophy faculty and philosophers from outside the University to present papers or speak on various topics of interest.
Please check periodically for upcoming events, and if you are interested in presenting or participating with the Socratic Society at PSU, please Brad Berman at bberman@pdx.edu.