Psycho-Ontology Conference
The Shalem Center, Jerusalem
December 11-15, 2011

Do the operations of the human mind have something to teach us about the fundamental structure of reality? Philosophers such as Hume, Kant, James, Bergson, Husserl, Kuhn, and Goodman have, in different ways, seemed to believe this question should be answered in the affirmative. Yet as disciplines, cognitive science and metaphysics are usually conducted without reference to one another. “Psycho-ontology” can be defined as the investigation of the relationship between human cognition and features of reality. We do psycho-ontology when we study the way perception, thought, and emotion play a role in helping constitute the world we inhabit. But psycho-ontology can also move in the opposite direction: It can involve studying the fundamental features of reality in order to gain insight into how human cognitive processes work.

Speakers include:

1. Lera Boroditsky, Stanford University
2. David Chalmers, ANU and NYU
3. Gil Diesendruck, Bar Ilan University
4. Raoul Gervais, Ghent University
5. Yoram Hazony, The Shalem Center
6. Bennett Helm, Franklin & Marshall College
7. Eli Hirsch, Brandeis University
8. Steven Horst, Wesleyan University
9. Hilla Jacobson, Ben Gurion University
10. Daniel Kaplan, Franklin & Marshall College
11. Aviv Keren, Hebrew University
12. Peter Lewis, University of Miami
13. Ricardo Manzotti, IULM University
14. Angela Matthies, Oxford University
15. Robert Pepperell, Cardiff School of Art
16. Shimon Peretz, Bar Ilan University
17. Steven Pinker, Harvard University
18. Jesse Prinz, CUNY Graduate Center
19. Kranti Saran, Harvard University
20. Axel Seemann, Bentley University
21. Oron Shagrir, Hebrew University
22. Susanna Siegel, Harvard University
23. Alfred Tauber, Boston University
24. Amie Thomasson, University of Miami
25. Marius Usher, Tel Aviv University
26. Joshua Weinstein, The Shalem Center
27. Konrad Werner, Jagiellonian University
28. Benjamin Young, CUNY Graduate Center
29. Nick Zangwill, Durham University

For more information and to register, see our website:
www.shalemevents.org/psycho-ontology