The Naturalistic Impossibility of Agent-specific Possibilities (Departmental Seminar)
Prof. Chan Lok-Chi |
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4:30pm-6:30pm HK Time |
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Room 220, Fung King Hey Building with synchronous online broadcasting on Zoom |
Joining the Seminar face-to-face:
Limited seats for face-to-face seminar. Registrations will be handled on a first come, first served basis.
Register by 18 May 2024: https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/webform/view.php?id=13688634
Joining the Seminar online:
No registration is required.
Link: https://cuhk.zoom.us/j/96723572715
Meeting ID: 967 2357 2715
Enquiries:
Tel: 3943 7135
Email: philosophy@cuhk.edu.hk
Abstract:
Many thinkers – analytic philosophers, pre-analytic philosophers, and scientists alike – have argued for “agent-specific possibilities” (ASP), by which we mean alternative possibilities specifically for the agent that operate within a deterministic physical world. List recently provides a famous multiple realizability model of the view. We argue that previous critiques of the model have overlooked a core argument therein, namely that the assessment should assume an “agential level only” theoretical starting point that starts only from a higher-level perspective. However, through our novel metaphysical and probabilistic analyses, which show that an agential state is inseparably connected to a specific underlying physical state despite its apparent multiple realizability, we demonstrate that ASP theories are ultimately incompatible with a naturalistic worldview.
Delivered in English.
All are welcome.