Philosophy Day Symposium SP26

Please join us on Friday May 8th for CSULB’s twenty-second Philosophy Day! symposium. The event starts at 12:00pm in room LA2–120 and runs until 5:30pm. It’ll be a great opportunity to come celebrate our department and the end of another academic year as we slide into the summer:

Program:

12:00pm–12:45pm: Graduate Student Research Presentation
Jamie Carmichael (Cal State Long Beach)
‘Stop expressing blame’

• Abstract: I argue that most of us, in most situations, cannot defensibly express blame towards another person. My argument is based on three asymmetries. The epistemic asymmetry consists in our ineliminably inferior access to any other person’s reason(s) for acting, which is compounded by the negatively reactive mental states (anger, etc.) characteristic of blame situations. The practical asymmetry consists in the fact that there will be more cases where the lower bound of our ability to express blame (i.e., not expressing any) is defensible than there are cases where the upper bound of our ability to express blame (i.e., the limit of our capabilities) is defensible. The normative asymmetry consists in the greater justification required of each us to unilaterally submit someone else to the risk of harm than to submit ourselves to the risk of a comparable harm. I conclude by asserting that, objections notwithstanding, most of us will encounter few situations in which the necessary conditions for a defensible expression of blame have been met.

12:45pm–1:00pm: Break / Spillover Q&A

1:00pm–1:45pm: Graduate Student Research Presentation
Nathaniel Mines (Cal State Long Beach)
‘There are no true skeptics: Wittgenstein on belief, certainty, and the non-problem of skepticism’

• Abstract: The central claim of Wittgenstein’s On Certainty is that all of our knowledge is grounded on basic certainties, characterized as commitments that are non-epistemic and non-propositional in nature. These so-called ‘hinge’ commitments take the form of an act. This act-based approach allows Wittgenstein the epistemic achievement of dissolving the problem of skepticism, since it is seemingly no longer possible to sincerely hold such a position to begin with. Curiously, some neo-Wittgensteinians have developed a so-called ‘hinge epistemology’ program, whereby hinge commitments are said to be both propositional and epistemic in nature. These developments run counter to Wittgenstein’s goals in On Certainty; inadvertently, they generate a regress problem, thereby lending credibility to skepticism. This talk contends that skepticism always has the upper-hand if these hinge commitments are treated as epistemic and propositional in nature. A faithful Wittgensteinian position requires approaching knowledge, belief, and certainty in ways that traditional epistemologists find uncanny; for neo-Wittgensteinians, there is no viable way around this approach.

1:45pm–2:10pm: Socializing

2:10pm–2:40pm: Undergraduate Honors Showcase
Emmy Pruitt (Cal State Long Beach)
‘Empathy and egalitarian social movements’

• Abstract: Empathy is an important ability of human beings that allows us to more deeply understand and recognize others as complex, morally significant people. However, while much has been written about the role of empathy in morality, the relationship between empathy and social movements has been relatively neglected. This talk focuses on egalitarian social movements: large scale, group efforts with the goal of achieving more equal treatment for unequally situated groups. Utilizing various past philosophical works on empathy and social movements, I argue for three claims: (1) that a social movement enables the expansion of empathy, (2) that expanded empathy helps to drive the development and success of that social movement, and (3) that empathy is an important good to which all people are entitled.

2:45pm–3:30pm: Graduate Student Research Presentation
Nathan Wagester (Cal State Long Beach)
‘Color constancy: inverting the invariance’

• Abstract: Color constancy is the empirical phenomenon in which subjects perceive stable surface properties despite changes in viewing conditions. Invariantist accounts hold that it is grounded in stable phenomenal dimensions of color. However, these accounts have come under attack from the Psychophysical Matching Argument (PMA). In response to PMA, Davies (2016) proposes the Duplicate Dimensions Gambit (DDG), which preserves invariantism by duplicating the traditional dimensions of color across two axes: surface properties and illuminant properties. This gambit is motivated by both phenomenological and evidential considerations. Yet, DDG faces pressure from the following: (1) strong surface constancy in minimalist scenes where no estimate of the illuminant can be made; (2) strong performance of subjects with achromatopsia in certain color-related tasks, despite lacking phenomenal dimensions of color; and (3) the putative presence of non-color perceptual cues, appeal to which explains subjects’ responses. I argue that a more parsimonious explanation of subjects’ responses is what I call ‘inverted invariantism’. Inverted invariantism suggests that the traditional dimensions of color are largely variant in asymmetric matching conditions, and that subjects’ responses are instead grounded in invariant relational features of the scene, such as perceived object segmentation or edge structure.

3:30pm–3:45pm: Break / Spillover Q&A

3:45–5:30pm: Keynote Speaker
Erick Ramirez (Santa Clara University)
‘Extended reality embodiment and philosophy’

• Abstract: This talk introduces three philosophical problems that arise when we integrate extended reality (XR) technologies into our lives … and bodies. If we take XR embodiment seriously, then we will need to rethink what it means to be us. I will suggest that we should take seriously the thought that XR bodies can be experienced as real and are a part of who and what we are. If we do, then we will need to revisit many of the norms about representation that evolved in the context of physical embodiment. I will end by suggesting that XR embodiment opens the door to new forms of bad behavior (e.g., sexual harassment) but also new forms of expression. Our laws, and our norms, need to be ready for these changes.

6:00–8:00pm: Reception and Dinner
Speakers and participants invited! (To RSVP, please contact Marie Jayasekera so that she has an accurate headcount.)

There are many things to celebrate this year. Liz Sato won a prestigious JASSO fellowship, for example. Toko Dougherty and El Nicklin were admitted to the PhD programs at UCs Davis and Irvine, respectively, and Grant Lowell was admitted to the JD program at San Diego. MA students Lancy Lopez, Liz Sato, Nathan Wagester, Jamie Carmichael, and Nathaniel Mines gave presentations the Universities of Connecticut, Illinois, California Irvine, and Arizona State, as well as at the Society for Exact Philosophy in Vancouver. (Additional student accomplishments here.) Wayne Wright was appointed department chair of RGRLL; alumni Jason Rosencrantz and Frank Mendoza began teaching positions; and Kyle Banick will commence as a new assistant professor this coming FA26. We also welcome new faculty member Matthew Madruga. Congratulations to Dani Cox, who was elected to serve as the next SPA president, and the incoming board; they have big shoes to fill, thanks to all the efforts of outgoing president Grant Lowell et al. Congratulations also to the AY25–26 scholarship winners: Declan Mcbride Roach (Whittington), and Alan Coca, Isaiah Navarro, Liz Sato, Joshua Paras, and Madison D’Ornellas (Friends of Philosophy). Owing to the dedication of Nathan Wagester & Nathaniel Mines, and to Joe Gordon, respectively, the department enjoyed two reading groups: the Vienna Circle and Nietzsche. Regarding commencement awards, Anthony Palula and Emmy Pruitt were lauded as the Distinguished Philosophy Undergraduates, and Omar Hussein and Liz Sato were our Distinguished Philosophy Graduate Students. Liz and Jason Rosencrantz also received SP26 Graduating Honors from the OGS Dean.

Come join us and celebrate the many successes that our department has enjoyed this year.