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Rutgers Philosophy Newsletter

Spring 2011

Alvin Goldman to Deliver Annual Jack Smart Lecture Inside: This summer distinguished Rutgers philosopher will be Holly Smith to develop in residence at ANU, where he will give the annual Jack Smart 4 lecture. The inaugural lecture was given in 1999 by Smart’s successor department’s first fully online as head of the ANU philosophy program, Frank Jackson, and has course; profiles of our newest since been given by such influential philosophers as , faculty members. David Lewis, and Rutgers’ own Jerry Fodor.

When asked how he reacted to the invitation, Alvin replied: “I Larry Temkin brings philosophy suppose that I , ‘With all of the lasting contributions Jack 5 to bear on pressing policy Smart made to philosophy, where does my thinking most intersect

with his?’ The answer I gave (myself) was, ‘We are both proponents issues; Rutgers dominates of philosophical , that scientific perspectives difficult job market. should shape and inform our philosophical perspectives.’ [Smart An interview with Jerry Fodor was one of the first proponents of the -brain theory.] So 8 and a thank you to outgoing philosophical naturalism is what I'll talk about in my lecture.” Alvin’s

editor Meghan Sullivan talk will be entitled “Philosophical Naturalism and Intuitional

Methodology.”

Women-in-Philosophy Community Dinner Female philosophers kick off the semester with the first-ever Women-in-Philosophy Community Dinner.

Female (and a few male) undergraduates, curious about what it is like to be a woman in philosophy, gathered with female faculty and graduate students in the Seminar Room this past January for dinner and an informal discussion. Undergraduates were given the opportunity to ask female faculty members and graduate students questions while in a supportive and comfortable setting. We caught up with Lisa

Miracchi, the graduate student responsible for organizing the event, and asked about her Female philosophers talk with undergraduates at the first- inspiration for the dinner: ever Women-in-Philosophy community dinner. “When people are just starting out in philosophy, it's really important to have visible role models and mentors. When I was an undergraduate, my college did a Giving What We Can Update similar thing and I found it really valuable. We got to meet The Rutgers chapter of Giving What We Can female grad students and faculty, and learn a little bit continues to do its part in the fight against about what life was like for them. Not only did it put me in global poverty. a context where I could meet women who did what I wanted to do, and ask questions about what life was like Philosophy PhD students Nick Beckstead, for women in philosophy, it opened the door to further Mark Lee, and Tim Campbell, have been interactions with these women, whom I would have been busy this semester giving talks, organizing unlikely to seek out on my own. Hopefully events like the events, and spreading the word about Rutgers Women-in-Philosophy Community Dinner can GWWC. Nick and Mark did a webchat encourage female undergraduates to take upper-level about GWWC with the Chronicle of and graduate courses, and to pursue philosophy as a Philanthropy, and they participated in a career if that's right for them. We definitely plan to have GWWC teleconference with Bolder more in the future!” Giving (www.boldergiving.org). At a GWWC event in March, Rutgers philosopher Larry Temkin and GWWC founder Toby Ord spoke to several hundred Rutgers students on the topic, "Global Poverty: Why Should We Care Nick Beckstead watches Larry Temkin speak to hundreds of and What Can We Do About It?" And in Rutgers students at a GWWC event in March. April, economist Jeff Sachs and Larry Temkin spoke at the launch of the GWWC Princeton chapter.

When asked how they feel about GWWC’s growth this past semester, Nick and Mark said: "We're really happy with GWWC's progress here and we are really excited to see it spreading to other universities.”

GWWC is an international organization that now has 126 members and over $35 million in pledged income.

2 Rutgers Philosophy Newsletter: Spring 2011

New Faculty Profiles: Then and Now

Susanna Schellenberg: “I never planned to become a philosophy professor. I was supposed to become a musician. But when I was 18, I changed my mind— in part Three incoming PhD students get to know one another during since my their visit – (left to right) Pamela Robinson (University of British parents Columbia), Nick Tourville (University of Minnesota), and Georgi were Gardiner (University of Edinburgh) rather keen on my becoming a musician; in part since Prospective PhD Students Visit the Department I was a compulsive truth seeker. After a And the incoming class is…. detour through math, I found myself studying philosophy. That background has formed the way I do philosophy. In Twelve prospective graduate students came out to New music, precision, detail, technique, Brunswick this spring to meet the current members of the and expression are everything. That’s department and spend a few days as part of our intellectual what philosophy is all about as well—at community. Two days packed full of meetings and least for me. If one plays an instrument, exploration, closed out by great talks (by and one develops an of the ideal Preston Greene) and great parties (hosted by Faculty of timbre that one strives for. One never Excellence Dean Zimmerman and Outstanding First-Year Lucy quite reaches it, since one adjusts this Jordan) gave them a real taste of the philosophical intensity idea as one approaches it. It’s a kind and close-knit community that characterize the department. of attitude one adopts. Carried over to philosophy this attitude manifests itself The main events of the visit were held on Thursday 3/24 and in aiming to strike a particular note. But Friday 3/25, but many of the prospective students came in also in endlessly fixing and correcting Wednesday night and stayed through Sunday so they could what needs fixing and correcting. There’s always a remarkable amount catch some of the Rutgers-Princeton graduate conference that needs fixing and correcting. I and spend more time soaking up the atmosphere around begin each project with hope and Seminary Place. No wonder so many of them decided to join enthusiasm, but find it hard to ever call us! one done. But although I’ve resigned myself to the sadness that comes from Eight students will be starting at Rutgers this coming fall: never being satisfied, I do love William Fleischer (Virginia Polytechnic Institute MA), Georgina philosophy. I love the elegance in Gardiner (University of Edinburgh), Simon Goldstein (Yale), precision achieved when it’s done Beth Henzel (Washington and Lee), Anton Johnson (Amherst), well, especially if what is said is Pamela Robinson (University of British Columbia), David Rose insightful and possibly even true. (Carnegie Mellon MA), and Nick Tourville (University of My advice to grad students: avoid Minnesota). philosophical cliques.” Nico Kirk-Giannini (Harvard) won a Clarendon fellowship to study philosophical theology at Oxford; he is deferring for two years and will start at Rutgers in 2013.

3 Rutgers Philosophy Newsletter: Spring 2011

Holly Smith to Develop graduate presentations with a Jonathan Schaffer: Department’s First Online talk about expressivism and the Course Frege-Geach problem, followed by Andrea Onofri (Saint-Andrews) who argued against non- Ethics professor Holly Smith was pragmatic Russellianism, and awarded a $22,182 Justin Dallmann (USC) who Entrepreneurial Grant by the offered a new Frankfurtian School of Arts and Sciences to account of moral agency. develop an online version of On day two of the conference, Introduction to Ethics, which will Chaz Firestone (Brown) presented be the philosophy department’s a paper on visual paternalism, Yu first fully online course. Jon Izumi (Maryland-College Park) Winterbottom will co-teach the talked about definite “Rutgers then and now- course, interacting with students and Kelly Vincent (Colorado- on discussion boards and holding 1993: Bill Clinton took office, Andre the Boulder) presented an objection email office hours while Holly Giant died, and I arrived at Rutgers. I against Kit Fine’s theory of weak develops the course materials. remember logic with Vann McGee— grounding. Jonathan Schaffer The course, which is limited to 30 “boot camp” for incoming students— (Rutgers) closed the conference students for its inaugural run, filled the intricate proofs punctuated by the with a keynote on structural up almost immediately. Holly screeches of children playing outside. I equations and metaphysical explains: “Many of these students remember with Tim dependence. Each graduate are clearly having difficulties Maudlin, my voice trembling with a first presentation was followed by a balancing demanding jobs and question. commentary from local graduate family responsibilities with their students, including on the Rutgers coursework, and for them an 2011: Eighteen years later. The lifespan side Pavel Davydov, Lisa Miracchi of a cat. So many new faces, and all online course like this seems to be and Carlotta Pavese. the old faces so much older (except an ideal solution. I only wish I Thanks to the excellent mine of course!) The level of discussion could let them all in this fall, but it participants and a large remains but the tone has softened. suggests there will be lots of audience, the two conference Davison Hall has become Seminary demand for the course when it is days – and the dinners and Place, Loretta Mandel and Ginny offered again.” We look forward parties that followed – were the Meyer are now Mercedes Diaz and to catching up with her about the occasion for numerous lively and Pauline Mitchell, and the foolish course in the fall! productive discussions! student who nearly drowned in incompletes now plays professor.

Rutgers-Princeton Graduate New Library Donation Conference To the graduate students, my advice: take photos, cherish editing, and try Thomas Blanchard (conference co- The philosophy department organizer, with Tim Campbell and Kurt not to stay awake past 5am.” library will be growing quite a bit Rothschadl) reports in coming months, thanks to a

generous book donation from the The Princeton and Rutgers Branden Fitelson: Ammonius Foundation big philosophy departments held their enough that Dean Zimmerman 11th annual joint graduate “I grew up had to rent a U-Haul to bring it all conference on March 26 and 27, in Syracuse, in. The library originally belonged NY and 2011. After a long review process to Marc Sanders, who founded went to of the roughly 100 submissions Ammonius, and was donated to UW- received this year from all over us by his son Eric, now head of Madison to the world, Princeton and Rutgers the foundation. Martha Bolton study philosophy grad students selected reports: “I estimate that the gift physics (to six outstanding graduate student will add 150-200 volumes to the be like my papers for presentation. library of our collection…. Many dad – the The conference started with an of these books fill real gaps in our theoretical opening keynote on generics and holdings.” by Sarah-Jane Leslie (Princeton). Rima Basu (Toronto) then opened the series of

4 Rutgers Philosophy Newsletter: Spring 2011

Job Market Corner Here is the final list of destinations: physicist). By the end of my Rutgers dominates job market – in undergraduate career, I realized that Luvell Anderson – Penn State perhaps the most competitive year to I'd be happier studying philosophy in date. (Post-doc) graduate school (philosophy of Gabriel Greenberg – UCLA (TT) science became more attractive to The ‘job board’ got off to a strong me than science itself – as a start when Meghan Sullivan Allison Hepola – Samford (TT) career). So, after completing my locked down a well-deserved Karen Lewis – USC (TT) physics and math degrees, I stayed in tenure-track position at Notre Madison to pursue a philosophy Dame mid-fall. Shouts of Jennifer Nado – Lingnan PhD. Nine years later, I was on the “movement on the board!” could University, Hong-Kong (TT) philosophy job market. I got various jobs, all of which I turned down to be heard all through the winter as Meghan Sullivan – Notre Dame follow my wife (Tina Eliassi-Rad) to the the department saw more and (TT) Bay Area. After doing some more jobs coming through. All in replacement teaching at Stanford for all, Rutgers ended up placing 9 Carrie Swanson – Indiana one year, I spent a year at San José people in tenure-track or post-doc University (post-doc) [turned down TT offer from Wayne State] State as an assistant professor. The positions—3 of those placements following year, I managed to land a at top-20 departments. Christy Mag Uidhir – University of job at Berkeley, where I got tenure in When asked about the Houston (TT) 2007. In 2010, I followed Tina to Rutgers, where she is currently assistant department’s performance in the Evan Williams – Purdue (1-2 year professor of computer science. market this year, placement position)

director Jeff McMahan, said: “On My research has been focused the basis of the information Julie Yoo – CSU Northridge (TT) primarily on the foundations and available, Rutgers had better applications of various sorts of placement results this year than Philosophy Engages in Policy formal/logical models and techniques any other department. We had (mainly, involving probabilistic the highest number of people to Larry Temkin joins international policy makers at a conference this summer. ) in , get either a tenure-track job or a , and . I postdoc (9), the highest number Larry Temkin was the only have written extensively on of people to get a tenure-track philosopher invited to a probabilistic approaches to job (7), and the highest number to conference entitled “The Impact confirmation, inductive logic, and get a tenure-track job in a top-20 of Ageing on Developed inductive inference. Recently, I’ve department (3). There's only one Economies”, sponsored by the become interested in so-called explanation of our success: our Ditchley Foundation. The "reasoning fallacies" involving probability and inductive students are exceptionally smart conference will bring together inference. This has led me to some and exceptionally well leading policymakers from inter-disciplinary work at the interface supervised.” everywhere of cognitive science and philosophy. I Grad students gather ‘round to hear Ron Planer on from India to have been a co-organizer of the the guitar and Erik Hoversten on the ukelele – Germany, as annual Formal Epistemology (Clockwise from left) Stephanie Leary, Mark Lee, well as Workshops (FEW) since their inception Lisa Miracchi, Jenny Nado, Erik and Ron. scholars in in 2003, and I currently serve on the fields like editorial boards of the Stanford public policy Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the and Journal of , and economics, to Episteme. work towards My advice for the graduate students: a better Don’t give up.”

of the challenges that ageing populations pose for developed economies

5 Rutgers Philosophy Newsletter: Spring 2011

Rutgers Around the World Rutgers philosophers regularly travel “There's only one explanation of our success: around the world for talks and conferences, and this term is no our students are exceptionally smart and exception. exceptionally well supervised.”

Andy Egan has been quite a globe- – Jeff McMahan on the department’s trotter this year, telling audiences in performance in the job market this year Glasgow, Barcelona, and NYC “Why Ethics is All About Me”. He also traveled to Oslo to discuss epistemic and to look for both domestic and Greene, Erik Hoversten, Mary modals at the Arché Contextualism international strategies for Salvaggio, and Meghan Sullivan. & Relativism group meeting, and addressing those challenges. The Unfortunately, the team wasn't presented “Two Euthyphro issue is an increasingly pressing able to duplicate last year's Questions in ” at the one: the average number of energetic run into the post LOGOS Conference on Semantics children per woman in all OECD season, as they finished with just at the University of Barcelona last countries has decreased from 3.2 two victories. But there was November. to 1.6 in recent decades, and it is much to be proud of. Preston's predicted that by 2050 on power shooting led to a number Alvin Goldman gave a keynote average one out of three of goals. His scoring was lecture at a London conference on members of the rich world will be complemented by the touch “Collective Epistemology: The retirees. Larry has long engaged shooting strategy that netted Epistemic Lives of Groups”, and with questions related to ageing; goals for both Heather and Erik. presented “Social Epistemology and his work has questioned a number Mary's defense was unrelenting, Collective Epistemic Agents” at a of normative claims, like the Pareto and Meghan and Marco were conference on “Trust and Cloud Principle and various Narrow instrumental in setting up Computing” at Cambridge this April. Person-Affecting Views, that are offensive attacks. The team MVP He then traveled to France to give a often taken for granted by those was surely Alex, whose talk in a social epistemology discussing issues connected with athleticism in goal was truly workshop, entitled “Social ageing but which Larry to inspired." Epistemology, Collective Agents, be especially problematic in that and Scientific Networks.” case. He is excited by the chance Talks This Term to “make a concrete difference It was a busy semester of talks, with Other members of the department on an important issue that is going two named lectures and several have been doing a lot of traveling to have an increasingly large Monday talks added to the regular Thursday colloquium schedule. as well. Martha Bolton also traveled global impact in the coming

to France, to present “Locke’s years.” Thinking on Space and Substance” Richard Foley kicked off the at a conference on the Think or Swim! Graduate springtime colloquium series with a talk entitled “When is True mentalization of space in early Student Water modern philosophy and science at Polo Team Returns the Université Blaise Pascal. Barry Grad students and prospectives with April Erik Hoversten’s Loewer was the keynote speaker at birthdays blow out candles after Preston poolside reporting: Greene’s grad talk. the ten-year celebration of the philosophy department at Central European University in January, "Cogito Ergo Swim presenting "Boltzmann Brains and returned to the other Epistemological water this winter. Catastrophes". And Tim Maudlin This year's participated in a symposium called intramural “The of Reality in Physics” innertube water at the 75th anniversary meeting of polo team was the German Physical Society in composed of Alex Dresden, in March. Anthony, Marco Dees, Heather Frankie Egan is currently in Israel as a Demarest, Preston

6 Rutgers Philosophy Newsletter: Spring 2011 visiting research fellow at the Knowledge?” He was followed by semantics, and Tom Institute for Advanced Studies at David Sosa’s “Against Donaldson told us why everyone the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Bewitchment By Means of should care about the truth. The In April she gave a talk to the Language” (aren’t we all?). grad talk series was rounded out psychology department’s Christopher Hitchcock then spoke by Marcello Antosh’s talk on Cognitive Group, entitled “What about some of his work on actual internalism about practical reason Notion of ‘Representation’ does causation, and John Broome gave and Ben Levinstein’s “Bayesian Cognitive Science Need?”, and in the annual Mesthene Lecture, on Puttering”. In addition to the May will present “Is “Rationality Through Reasoning”. regular mix of pizza, beer, and no- *Representation* an Explanatory Next Derek Parfit told us a difficult holds-barred questioning that Primitive in Computational truth about ourselves – namely, characterize the grad talk series, Cognitive Models?” at the that “We Are Not Human Beings” – this term organizers Michael conference on Computation, and ACLS fellow Matt Walker Johnson and Richard Dub Realization, and Representation, talked about his resolution to a introduced “themed” grad talks also at the Institute. Holly Smith will puzzle about Aristotle’s account of celebrating springtime holidays also be leaving the department for the choiceworthiness of friends. and the graduate student an exotic locale this summer, with a David Papineau gave possibly the community’s love for Mexican Visiting Fellowship at RSSS/ANU. most controversial talk of the food. The themed grad talk series And closer to home, Doug Husak is semester, arguing that we only see ended with a departmental Easter currently a Fellow at the Straus 30 colors. The talks series will be egg hunt right before Ben’s talk; Institute for the Advanced Study of closed out by Ted Sider’s Class of potential prizes ranged from Law and Justice. 1970 lecture, “Is Metaphysics priority in Q&A to automatic About the Real World?”, on April refutation of Ben’s argument (or, Graduate Students in Print 21, and Howard Robinson’s talk on for Ben, automatic refutation of all A list of recent grad student the knowledge argument on April audience objections). Thanks to publications: 25. everyone who helped make these talk series happen – we look Matt Benton: “Two More for the In keeping with the philosophy forward to even more great talks Knowledge Account of Assertion”, department’s second unofficial in the fall! forthcoming in Analysis motto, “There’s always a talk on Thursday (and sometimes on Tim Campbell, “Animalism and the Friday too)”, we’ve also had a Varieties of Conjoined Twinning” great string of faculty and (with Jeff McMahan), forthcoming graduate student talks this Faculty and students have dinner in Essays in Animalism (ed. Paul semester. Our faculty speakers this at Pad Thai before the Temkin and Snowdon and Stephen Blatti) term were Susanna Schellenberg, Ord GWWC event. who developed an account of Karen Shanton, “Memory, perceptual experience that was Knowledge, and Epistemic aimed at explaining both its Competence”, Review of phenomenal character and its Philosophy and Psychology 2 ability to serve as a source of evidence, and Ishani Maitra, who Meghan Sullivan, “The Minimal A- argued for an evidence- Theory”, 2011 Bellingham Summer responsiveness constitutive rule of Philosophy Conference and assertion. The grad talk series corresponding issue of began with a talk on grounding by Philosophical Studies Alex Skiles, a visiting student from Notre Dame; it continued with a Chris Weaver, “Whatever Could be talk by Lisa Miracchi about what Caused Must Actually Be Caused”, recent work on embodied forthcoming in Synthese cognition can tell us about perceptual content and a talk by Jenn Wang on structuralism about possible worlds. Next Zachary Miller told us why metaphysicians shouldn’t care about natural

that doesn’t involve questions about question, and I didn’t invent it. And in – thank god! – how to fact there are roots in – the oddest develop theories of that sort of thing. people turn out to be bedfellows in this Actually, I think when I first started being a tradition – there are roots in the scholastic graduate student, which was also in the tradition; William of Ockham had a late Stone Age, I actually wanted to do theory which he himself described as a aesthetics…but it occurred to me that language of thought theory. If you’re one of the things you have to think about looking at mental representations, you if you want to do aesthetics is… the notion want to figure out what mental of representation, so I thought, good, I’ll representations could be like such that take a week off and figure out what they play a role in determining actions representation is, and it’s turned out to be and thought and so forth and so on, then a very long week. That’s probably the a language is a very good thing to model closest as one can get to a it on, not just a set of pictures or a set of characterization of the direct route. words but a language. Why is that? Well, one thing is that are US: You said that you could tell even back productive…and thought’s productive then that there was something wrong with too. So right away the way the what the psychologists were doing…? architecture goes – you act out of the way you represent the world, and the JF: Well, yeah, that wasn’t hard – back medium that you represent the world in is then everybody was a behaviorist. Uh, something like a natural language – that An Interview with Jerry and even I could see that that wasn’t wouldn’t be very surprising. Ok, so that’s right! I actually took a year’s introductory the language of thought . Fodor psychology course to see what was going And then you begin to eliminate some of A Rutgers icon on the mind, on, and what was going on was the more boring ways of elaborating that What Darwin Got Wrong, and (of preposterous! I mean, when somebody thesis, so that you get back to something course) opera says “Well, I’ll tell you , worth worrying about. So for example you but you have to believe that there’s no have to eliminate the thesis that you think in English. That would explain why mental US: How did you get interested in such thing as believing”…! philosophy? What kinds of representation is something like linguistic questions drew you in at the US: Could you briefly explain your representation, because it is linguistic representation, but that can’t be right, start? Language of Thought hypothesis, in a way because then you wouldn’t be able to that people who aren’t familiar with it can think in the process of learning a JF: Hm, interested in philosophy - get ahold of? language, and so either you’re going to uh, I’m not all that sure that I am get a regress or you’re going to get an interested in philosophy! JF: Oh. There’s a long tradition, it goes absurdity. So all of these rather heavy- back to Descartes, maybe goes back to handed applications of the idea of This is back in the Stone Age, of Plato, of thinking that roughly speaking get eliminated course, when I was at Columbia. people don’t act out of the way the and what you’re left with is a very bloody They didn’t have a major system, world is, they act out of the way they hard problem. And one of the reasons it’s so I just sort of wandered around believe the world to be. That is, they act hard is that it’s really very interdisciplinary. until I found something that I out of the way they represent the Some of these arguments, like the liked, and philosophy was the world…You can read a lot of what’s been argument from productivity, all you have department – I guess I decided going on in philosophy in the past two to do is to understand the argument, you pretty early on that if I had to hundred years, at least in the Anglophone don’t really need a lot of data to show work on anything, then these tradition, as trying to say what mental you that you can think new just were the kinds of questions that I representations are like such that you like you can utter new sentences. But wanted to work on. Also I’d could characterize mental processes like then when you get down to the details, been interested ever since – as thinking and planning and so forth and so you need a lot of empirical stuff- stuff you long as I could remember – in on, as the manipulation of those do, or somebody does, in the laboratory, questions of vaguely the form representations. And except for so there’re tie-ins with psychology; there ‘How does the mind work?’ and behaviorists, everyone who’s actually are very close tie-ins with , I knew even then that what the thought it was a good idea to develop a because if you go around saying that the psychologists were telling me theory of mind has ended up thinking language of thought is very much like a wasn’t true, and that the reason something like that. natural language, that prompts the that it wasn’t true was that it was So Descartes was interested in questions question “Good, so what is a natural confused. I mean, at least that. like – and this is a long time back – ‘could language like?” And the linguists are So seemed a mental representations be pictures, and if supposed to know, so you go over and natural subject to work on. they can’t be why can’t they be, and if ask them. And that’s how it becomes an Really that is what I’m interested they can be how can they get employed interdisciplinary thing… So you take all of in, how that part of the mind in tasks like reasoning?’ So it’s an old this stuff home with you and worry about

8 it for 20 or 30 years, you might actually representation thought takes place in, can’t interpret it that way. I mean, develop a substantial version of the or something like this. What’s the we’ve been accused of holding views language of thought theory. But there character of that kind of language if it which we explicitly and frequently deny is something like a language of is a kind of language? And of course in our book. When I was teaching thought theory in almost every one has sometime to face the introductory philosophy many, many mentalist – that is, almost every non- question how the thing is related to thousands of years ago, I learned the behaviorist has agreed, except for the the world, that is the question of, if following truth about pedagogy. Never ones who think you think in pictures. It’s there is some such language, what’s tell an undergraduate ‘don’t say such- just they call it something different. its semantics like? …So the problem of and-such’, because they’ll remember naturalization – of getting rid of the such-and-such part…. So I think the US: On the topic of cognitive science - entities which are obviously higher- criticism has been really thoroughly to what extent do you think it’s a level entities, I mean nobody thinks irrelevant. philosopher of mind’s responsibility to the world is made out of intensions or pay attention to things like intentional states – well, I won’t say US: What’s the biggest point they’ve neuroscience? quite nobody but nobody sane, put it misunderstood? that way, thinks that quanta or JF: This is just an eccentricity of mine. I elections have thoughts and so on, so JF: Oh! Well, you won’t believe this, but mean, in principle there’s no bound to the notion of and all the argument turned on a case of a it. In practice, my view is that very little those mentalist kind of notions either kind which everybody knows, I mean has come out of it, at least for the have to be dismissed from psychology everybody knows there are such cases, purpose of developing theories of entirely, as Skinner wanted to, or you and it has the form OK, given there are reasoning, theories of action and so have to have a theory that reduces cases like this, and given you want to forth. Why is that? Well, because the them or that identifies them with some give a Darwinian explanation, tell me techniques that we have, by and relation that you think can hold how that explanation’s going to go, large, are techniques that tell you between the mind and the world, and I’ll show you in fact, not in a where things happen, which isn’t what and the causal relation is a natural complicated demonstration, you’ll just you want to know – you want to know one. And finally I think that FINSTs, as see if you look at it, that there can’t be what’s going on…The thing is, you Zenon says, that those kinds of an explanation of that kind that would need a sketch of what you think the representations, are a very good be mechanistic, and everybody wants mind is doing before you can ask reconstruction of notions like their theory to be mechanistic. So that’s sensible questions about how it really object…So it does two things if it the basic tactic. And interestingly, and manages to do it. And psychology is works. One is it gives us a sort of not surprisingly, what they missed is that now so bifurcated that the people model for how the mind-world notions like ‘select for’, which play the who know how to run fMRI machines relation, and hence how the central role, essentially, in Darwinian are generally not people who have semantics for the language of explanations are intensional, with an s, interesting things to say about what thought, is to be understood. And the and they didn’t notice that. So they these three pounds of flesh might other thing is it gives us almost for free don’t have a way of getting actually be doing. an account of singular terms, so ‘this’ from…reconstructing things like here’s a and ‘that’ and ‘John’, all those kinds trait which is selected for so-and-so, not US: How do you feel about the of things, which are essentially for such-and-such, where both so-and- embodied cognition movement? referring expressions, they’re arrays of so and such-and-such are symbols which present objects and consequences of your having the trait. JF: Oh, god. That’s a, that’s a kind of – things demonstrated to the That’s essentially the form of the I don’t wanna talk about that. Who mind…Roughly speaking, I think the argument, and we said it over and over could doubt that the mind is things that function as objects, the and over again in many, many different embodied? And given that we are all things that get represented as objects ways…too many different ways. That clear that the mind is embodied, are the things that can be tracked in was a mistake. We should have said, where does that get us? I mean, Zenon’s sense. look, here’s the argument in one- everybody knows the mind is syllable words, and then stopped embodied, unless you’ve got religious US: So you received a lot of criticism in writing. Instead of which, we made stuff or something, some metaphysical the wake of What Darwin Got digressions and so on, in all sorts of or ideological biases, but now, right, I Wrong… (JF: Sure did!)…So I’m ways. Because we thought the agree, the mind’s embodied, and wondering if there’s anything about ramifications of not facing up to the now what do I do? Search me! the book that you thought either your problems that intensionality raises are critics had misinterpreted, or… extremely clear in this case, and it’s not US: What do you take the just in trying to reconstruct some philosophical significance of Pylyshyn’s JF: Yeah! You can’t criticize it unless ordinary language notion, it’s that you FINST to be? you read it, and so far as I can tell want to do some sort of theory they didn’t…There are several things construction, namely the kind Darwin JF: I think that really has got a coming out, not by us, saying wanted to do, where the explanations substantive answer. I’m interested in something’s gone wrong here, have the logic of intensional concepts, the question of what kind of system of because if you’ve read the book you when you haven’t recognized that they

9 do. And that’s a good way to get in quantum mechanics. Hmm. Got to And if what you mean is that you have the a lot of trouble. It’s, in fact, it’s do with resonance. representation of a function in your head, recapitulating in a way that’s ironical tell us what that representation looks like so but sad, it’s recapitulating the history US: Last one, promise! Where do you that it will mesh with psychological of Skinnerian over the see things going in cog sci and processes like recall and so on and so on. last 50 years or so. Because exactly philosophy of mind? Where do you That unfortunately is not taken very what Skinner failed to do is notice think the future is going to be, seriously. It’s an area in which the that stimulus and reinforcement and where would you like it to be, what philosophical tradition has been extremely things like that are intensional role if any do you think you’re going parochial, in large part because most of notions… to play in that? the guys who work in this area are either linguists or logicians. So that’s a direction in US: So on another note, what’s your JF: Well, that’s really hard, and which I think things are going to have to favorite opera? prognostications always turn out to develop, because nobody else besides the be false anyway. But I think one philosophers and the linguists have the JF: At the moment – I mean it thing that has to happen, and I tools. Oddly enough, what you need is for changes every week, but at the think I agree with Randy Gallistel the formal scientists to stop being moment it’s Pelléas et Mélisandre, it’s about this, one thing that has to contemptuous of the empirical scientists. a Debussy opera. It’s almost happen is that people really have They are, and it’s very hard to get them nobody’s favorite opera, but I think to get over their associationism. around the table and say, OK, let’s work on it’s a masterpiece, for reasons that Everybody knows what the relevant this kind of problem – how do you deal with have to do with the way the story fits arguments are but somehow they mental representation and intentionality, the music – the usual stuff. Also, it’s – haven’t been internalized. Or for example, which I care about. So the the lead role is for a mezzo-soprano, they’re condescended to as just interdisciplinary liaisons which are required and I like mezzo-sopranos. But you philosophy, or something or other. are only partially formed, so if you tell a know, there are very few kinds of That’s a bad idea, because some of psychologist ‘it works the same way it does operas that I don’t like, in fact there the objections continue to be in logic’ they stare at you bewildered, and are very few particular operas that I pertinent, and if you’re going to if you tell a logician ‘it works the same way would actively stay away from. There hold on to the doctrine you have to it does in English (or it doesn’t)’ he looks at are a few and unfortunately they’re meet them, at the price of you with a wild surmise too! So while the ones that make money for the irrelevance. So it would be very nice everybody, where everybody is mostly Met, so you can’t stay away from to see how the field would look if deans, is deeply in favor of hyphenated them as much as you’d like to if you somebody actually said, OK, disciplines, psycho-linguistics or whatever, have a season subscription. But as associationism is out, it’s not going that really hasn’t got sunk deep enough long as they do stuff I like now and to be that kind of solution. What into the tradition, at least for the purposes then, I’m not going to complain else is left? The second thing I would of the kinds of questions I’d like to be able much. like to see worked out, and this has to ask. Ah, maybe the neuroscientists will been something that philosophers learn something interesting someday, US: Do you have a sense for what it is and logicians have worked on but maybe the people doing artificial about opera that gets you? not usually under the constraint of will learn something interesting psychological reality, is how on someday, but so far the prospects have not JF: Oh, yeah, it’s actually doing what earth does semantics work, where been good. can’t possibly be done. It requires for the constraint of psychological success – and, really, real success is reality says that if you postulate a US: Someone should tell them what’s quite rare – it requires the integration system in which the mind represents interesting! of a wide variety of talents, just as the world, then you’ve got to show Wagner rightly said, and the people that people actually do use that JF: They won’t believe you! who have to be integrated are, in system in representing the world, fact, divas, and so it’s amazing that it and you take on the consequences ever comes off. But when it does of the kind of system that it is. So it Thank you to Meghan Sullivan come off, it’s as rich a source of should be a help that people are emotional contact as anything I developing pictures of how the Everyone here at Newsletter Headquarters know in the arts…I remember sitting semantics works for English. The wants to say a big thank you to outgoing in the Metropolitan opera with tears trouble is they haven’t taken the (and first-ever) editor Meghan Sullivan. She running down my cheeks because I notion of psychological reality quite literally made the newsletter what it is was watching a Wagner opera in seriously. It’s a constraint they simply today (this is her template we’re using!), which nobody had moved for about aren’t willing to face. Why aren’t and has also been an enormous part of 20 minutes, and it was sung in a they willing to face it? Well because making the graduate student community language I don’t understand, so I they want to be able to say things as good as it has been for the past several kept on asking myself – what on like ‘it’s a function from worlds to years. Her keen intellect, goofy sense of Earth? Why on Earth am I so moved objects’ or something… functions humor, and genuine kindness will be missed by this? And the answer was, basic don’t make anything happen! You sorely, both by the newsletter crew and by fact about the universe, like can’t have a function in your head! the department as a whole.

10 the program. A few hundred A Letter from the Chair: The department’s headquarters undergrad philosophy majors on College Avenue. The end of this semester coincides have graduated with a number with my last semester as chair. My going onto graduate programs four year term as chair has felt like and many more into the real being caught in a whirlwind. If it world. A number of new initiatives ever occurred to my high school have been started including on- friends when we were voting “most line courses, a new MA in legal likely to do this or that…” they philosophy, an “outreach would have voted me “most likely program” (just starting) to bring never to be the chair of anything.” philosophy to schools in our In fact, thanks to Facebook I have region, meet philosophers Fridays recently been found by some of for undergraduates, the them asking in astonishment undergrad philosophy journal and whether I could possibly be the this newsletter. One of the things I same person they knew back wanted to accomplish as chair is it since this is my last chair’s letter. when. to increase philosophy’s Thanks are due to the many connections with other people who helped me along the Somehow a lot has been departments and increase our way. Our staff is really great. Ann, accomplished in the last few years. interdisciplinary projects. There is a Mercedes, Pauline, and Stacey The department moved onto number of ongoing and planned keep things running. For me College Ave and into our two very cooperative projects with, among personally, Pauline’s work and nice Seminary buildings where we others, linguistics, psychology, support has been incredibly have both espresso machines and math/physics, English, religion, valuable. I am really grateful to her. water coolers. In the last few years and computer science. I have I also want to thank all my there have been some goings and been telling the administration colleagues and students who comings. Sadly Brian Loar retired that they should think of helped running the department due to illness and Tim Maudlin is philosophy, in Reggie Jackson’s especially those who provided moving after 25 years at Rutgers. words, as “the straw that stirs the advice (at times keeping me out of But we added a number of really drink.” We are hoping they keep trouble) and helping with the great “younger” (compared to the glass full. move. Jeff K will be taking over as those who have been here for a chair, Thony as graduate director, One initiative that we are just now while) faculty, most recently and Ruth as undergrad director. starting is creating an endowed Branden Fitelson, Susanna Branden will be replacing Ruth as dissertation fellowship. It is really Schellenberg and Jonathan graduate recruiter and Jeff M will important to support graduate Schaffer. (We hired Jonathan in continue his excellent work as students during the grueling year part so we can boast that we Placement Director. The they are writing their magnum have PhDs in each of the top three department is in good hands. I will opus. This effort is being kick philosophy programs in the world.) be traveling (London, Budapest, started by an anonymous donor An incredible number of our Australia, Fiji, Kenya) and finishing who has given the department a colleagues and their spouses have off my book on laws and chances. given birth to babies (see the prior challenge grant of $150,000. A newsletter) and books in the past number of others including faculty Have a great summer, few years. The long awaited NHC in the department have promised ranking of graduate departments further contributions. Our goal is Barry finally came out and though their $300,000. That may seem very interpretation requires a team of difficult but I think it is achievable. rabbis there is a consensus that Any readers of this who would like Would you like to donate to Rutgers Rutgers was ranked one of the top to contribute can get in touch Philosophy? two philosophy departments in the with me ([email protected]) US. In the last four years about 30 and I will provide more http://philosophy.rutgers.edu/donate graduate students completed information about the fund and Newsletter Credits, Etc. dissertations and found positions in tell you how you can contribute. philosophy departments around You can also help by spreading Photos: All photos from Lucy Jordan the world and about 30 new the word to potential donors. graduate students have entered Editors: Lucy Jordan and Katy It goes without saying but I will say Meadows