030054 Introductory Math and Programming for Computational Philosophy (Yoo)
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This course, conducted in English, is complementary to "Agent-based Simulations in Philosophy" course (winter semester).
In recent years, many philosophical developments have made use of heavy computer simulations and gigantic data sets. However, it is a big challenge for philosophy students to engage in such studies, especially for those who lack the required foundations, such as computer programming or probability theory. This course aims to equip students with these foundational tools in programming and math, thus empowering students to engage in contemporary philosophical literature.
Thanks to the advances in modern technology and measurement techniques, scientists can carry out theoretical analyses that involve intense computations. Yet, these tools use large data sets and computer calculations and therefore come with the burden of mathematics and computer programming skills. Philosophers, too, have started to adopt methods relying on computers. For instance, epistemologists have started using computer simulation tools to examine knowledge in a social context where multiple agents interact with each other. The main points made in these works are accessible for a broader philosophical audience. But still, they require basic understanding of math and coding for a good comprehension, and furthermore replicating their arguments. This course aims to provide some of those basic requirements.
Participants are not expected to have taken prior math courses. We plan to proceed step-by-step by starting with some seminal papers in the discipline of network epistemology. From then on, we go through matrix algebra, calculus, statistics, and graph theory. An introduction to Julia programming and practices will be included as we conclude each section.
Evaluation (both graded and non-graded credits) is done by an exam focusing on key concepts: eigenvalues, differentiation, probability distribution, and centrality measures. Participants can earn extra exam points by submitting their Julia coding practices on these key concepts.
030005 Introduction into Cognitive Science (Newen, Rose, Schlicht)
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The lecture is offered in English only. Philosophy students can participate in this intensely interdisciplinary lecture to learn central concepts and methods in cognitive science. Cognitive science developed into a central basis of modern philosophy of mind, epistemology and theories of AI systems. Thus, we offer philosophy students (in all programs) insight into Cognitive Science. A precondition is a very good performance in the logic course in philosophy. The lecture can be used to earn an ungraded certificate on the basis of a written exam. Philosophy students can choose a focus on theoretical concepts but also have to learn central knowledge in cognitive neuroscience as well as computational modelling.
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Date Topic CogSci
17.10.2023 Theoretical Frameworks in Cognitive Science 1
24.10.2023 Cognitive Neuroscience of Perception
31.10.2023 Theoretical Frameworks in Cognitive Science 2
07.11.2023 Theories of Consciousness
14.11.2023 Cognitive models of semantics and pragmatics
21.11.2023 Cognitive Neuroscience of Emotion
28.11.2023 Theories of Emotion
05.12.2023 Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory
12.12.2023 Theory of Perception and Cognition
19.12.2023 Stress and its role for cognitive abilities
09.01.2024 Computational approaches to Cognitive Science
16.01.2024 Reinforcement Learning in the Brain 1
23.01.2024 Reinforcement Learning in the Brain 2
30.01.2024 Supervised Learning in Neural Networks
The literature will be provided via moodle during the course.
030119 Colloquium Philosophy of Information and Communication (Liefke)
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This colloquium (co-organized with Prof. Daniel Gutzmann, Germanistik) serves the discussion of current topics in semantics, pragmatics, and the philosophy of language. The colloquium combine talks by international experts with presentations of local researchers and (PhD/MA) students. Students will be given the opportunity to present their (ongoing) work in English. A detailed schedule will be available by mid-March at https://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/phil-inf/colloquium/index.html.en.
030132 Philosophy Meets Cognitive Science: Memory and Language (Werning)
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In the research colloquium current topics at the interface between Philosophy and Cognitive Science will be discussed. The colloquium hosts talks by leading international experts and local researchers as well as presentations by doctoral and master students. Students will be given the (assisted) opportunity to present their projects in English.
This semester the sessions of the research colloquium will alternate in a bi-weekly rhythm between the topics “Memory” and “Language”. A detailed schedule will be published in due course at https://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/phil-lang/colloquium.html. Talks will be held either online via Zoom or in person.
030078 Social Epistemology: Diversity and Wisdom of the Crowds (Michelini)
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Have you ever wondered whether asking a large group of people to take political decisions is epistemically sound? Are you curious if an assembly of everyday (but diverse) citizens can outshine seasoned politicians in leading a city? Intrigued by whether or not a jury of laypeople surpasses a single worldly juror in judging defendants? If so, this course is made for you.
In recent years, philosophers have engaged in an ongoing debate to determine which communities excel at finding epistemic solutions and making informed decisions. This discussion has generated two fascinating hypotheses:
1. Diverse groups of problem-solvers trump non-diverse experts in decision-making.
2. Large groups of people, under specific conditions, exhibit remarkable epistemic accuracy (Wisdom Of the Crowd).
The implications of these hypotheses are profound. For instance, the second point serves as an epistemic justification for democracy, as it posits that democracy is the superior political system for making correct decisions. In this course, we delve into the arguments supporting and challenging both hypotheses, and explore their socio-epistemological validity. We also dedicate a brief section of the course to analyzing computational models that bolster these hypotheses. Furthermore, we discuss the role of these arguments in political philosophy, drawing parallels with the notions of epistemic diversity and epistemic performance in philosophy of science.
The course aims at fostering discussion among students through activities and "games" during the lectures. You will be encouraged to write and discuss various aspects of the topic. The course will be conducted in English, and the reading list will be provided as the course progresses. No prior knowledge is required to enroll.
030091 Research Seminar on Contradictory Logics (Wansing)
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This seminar is related to the ERC-Advanced Grant project ConLog, Contradictory Logics: A Radical Challenge to Logical Orthodoxy, and contributes to the idea of research-based learning. The seminar is open to M.A. students with an interest in philosophical logic, the philosophy of logic, and the philosophies of language and of science.
In the 20th century, many systems of non-classical logic have been developed, including inconsistency-tolerant logics, which are typically all subsystems of classical logic. There are, however, logical systems that are radically different from classical logic insofar as they are non-trivial but contradictory. These logics are in glaring conflict with logical orthodoxy since Aristotle, who called the Principle of Non-Contradiction the firmest of all principles. Non-trivial contradictory logics not only permit inconsistencies in theories, but contain provable contradictions.
A prerequisite for a successful attendance in the seminar is some knowledge of non-classical logic and modal logic, including familiarity with Gentzen-style proof systems and Kripke models. We will discuss ongoing research into non-trivial contradictory logics and their applications in the philosophy of logic, and will read research papers, old and new, dealing with the notions of contradictoriness, consistency, negation, triviality, and related concepts. These papers may range from rather informal to formal studies. Students can earn credits by presenting a paper and will get detailed feedback. The seminar will continue to run over several semesters.
Students interested in experimental work on the endorsement or rejection of certain logical principles that play a crucial role in obtaining non-trivial negation-inconsistent logics are also very welcome.
030127 Interdisciplinary Reading Club: Recent Debates on Situated Cognition (Newen, Wolf)
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The colloquium is organized for PhD students and for advanced Master Students only who are already working on their Master thesis. We will offer regular presentations half from PhD-students from Bochum and half from external guests. The presentations will all be in the general domain of theoretical philosophy and cognitive sciences focusing on ‘Situated Cognition’. The presentations should ideally but not necessarily have some interdisciplinary dimension such that perspectives from philosophy, psychology, linguistics, and neurosciences can be systematically interconnected. The aim of the colloquium is to offer a platform for discussion of ongoing research in the RTG-group ‘Situated Cognition’ and further research projects on social understanding, the self, episodic memory, the perception-cognition divide.
PhD-students who are interested in presentations should write an email to both organizers (albert.newen@rub.de and Julia Wolf (julia.wolf-n8i@rub.de) and come to the first meeting. The program of the semester will be fixed then. PhD students can receive credit points for an active participation if they are part of the new PhD-program. Master students can receive standard CPs (ungraded certificate) for a presentation in the colloquium (in the case of an additional essay, Master students can receive standard CV and a graded certificate).
030116 Social Epistemology of Bad Beliefs: Filter Bubbles, Informational Cascades, and Identity Beliefs (Michelini, Seselja)
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Why do individuals harbor false beliefs? Frequently, people lack the necessary evidence to form accurate ones. However, in specific instances, individuals possess ample evidence and yet persist in adopting bad beliefs—false beliefs held in contradiction to the available evidence. Think of climate change deniers. Empirical evidence indicates that most climate change deniers are aware that scientific results contrast their beliefs, but they hold them nonetheless. Why is that so? What brings people to form bad beliefs?
This course embarks on the quest to unravel this very question, drawing from the rapidly expanding philosophical literature on the subject. We'll begin by exploring what it means to respond appropriately to evidence. Subsequently, we'll review the most important philosophical accounts of bad beliefs.
These accounts take for granted that the cause of bad beliefs is not to be found in the cognitive deficiencies of the individuals, but rather in their socio-epistemic environment. Think again of climate change deniers. May it be that they hold such false beliefs because they trust the wrong experts? Or maybe because by doing so, they will get some benefits from others in the group? Or could they be stuck in a filter bubble, in which scientists are regarded as charlatans?
While the primary focus of our literature exploration will be social epistemology, we'll also draw insights from social science and social psychology. Moreover, a brief section of the course will be dedicated to examining computational models that simulate the formation of bad beliefs.
The course aims at fostering discussions among students through activities and "games" during the lectures. You will be encouraged to write and discuss various aspects of the topic. The course will be conducted in English, and the reading list will be provided as the course progresses. No prior knowledge is required to enroll.
030100 Research seminar on contradictory logics (Wansing)
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This seminar is related to the ERC-Advanced Grant project ConLog, Contradictory Logics: A Radical Challenge to Logical Orthodoxy, and contributes to the idea of research-based learning. The seminar is open to M.A. students with an interest in philosophical logic, the philosophy of logic, and the philosophies of language and of science. Students are invited to suggest papers and topics related to negation inconsistent logics.
In the 20th century, many systems of non-classical logic have been developed, including inconsistency-tolerant logics, which are typically all subsystems of classical logic. There are, however, logical systems that are radically different from classical logic insofar as they are non-trivial but contradictory. These logics are in glaring conflict with logical orthodoxy since Aristotle, who called the Principle of Non-Contradiction the firmest of all principles. Non-trivial contradictory logics not only permit inconsistencies in theories, but contain provable contradictions.
A prerequisite for a successful attendance in the seminar is some knowledge of non-classical logic and modal logic, including familiarity with Gentzen-style proof systems and Kripke models. We will discuss ongoing research into non-trivial contradictory logics and their applications in the philosophy of logic, and will read research papers, old and new, dealing with the notions of contradictoriness, consistency, negation, triviality, and related concepts. These papers may range from rather informal to formal studies. Students can earn credits by presenting a paper and will get detailed feedback. The seminar will continue to run over several semesters.
Students interested in experimental work on the endorsement or rejection of certain logical principles that play a crucial role in obtaining non-trivial negation-inconsistent logics are also very welcome.
030099 Cognitive Systems and the Extended Mind (Venter)
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In this course, we will work through Rob Rupert’s 2009 ‘Cognitive Systems and the Extended Mind’. The book is a survey of philosophical issues that are faced by situated cognition with a particular focus on extended cognition – the view that cognitive processes extend beyond the boundary of the agent. The book deals, amongst other issues, with the problem of demarcation – the question about what is cognitive and what is not. Rupert argues that an extended approach to this problem is implausible. He posits a systems-based approach, i.e., the view that “a state is cognitive if and only if it consists in, or is realized by, the activation of one or more mechanisms that are elements of the integrated set members of which contribute causally and distinctively to the production of cognitive phenomena” (Rupert, 2009). We will critically examine this debate and evaluate the implication for both the situated and classical views in cognitive science.
030136 Interdisciplinary Reading Club: Recent in Philosophy of Mind and Situated Cognitions (Newen)
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The colloquium is organized for PhD students and for advanced Master Students only (of several programs) who are already working on their Master thesis or at least have decided to work out the master thesis in the area of theoretical philosophy. We will offer regular presentations half from master- and PhD-students from Bochum and half from external guests. The presentations will all be in the general domain of theoretical philosophy and cognitive sciences, many of them discussing problems in philosophy of mind or in the area of ‘Situated Cognition’. The presentations should ideally but not necessarily have some interdisciplinary dimension such that perspectives from philosophy, psychology, linguistics, and neurosciences can be systematically interconnected. The aim of the colloquium is to offer a platform for discussion of ongoing research in the RTG-group ‘Situated Cognition’ and further research projects on social understanding, the self, episodic memory, the perception-cognition divide and many more.
PhD-students who are interested in presentations should write an email to both organizers (albert.newen@rub.de and Julia Wolf (julia.wolf-n8i@rub.de) and come to the first meeting. The program of the semester will be fixed then. PhD students can receive credit points for an active participation if they are part of the new PhD-program. Master students can receive standard CPs (ungraded certificate) for a presentation in the colloquium (in the case of an additional essay, Master students can receive standard CV and a graded certificate).
030095 Gödel: The Unprovability of the Consistency of Arithmetic (Übung) (Kürbis, Skurt)
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The Übung accompanying the lectures is an integral part of the course in which understanding of concepts introduced in the lectures is furthered through exercises, which also complete the discussion of the topics of the lectures. It is warmly recommended to students to attend both parts of the course.
030130 Colloquium on Ancient Philosophy (Sattler)
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Dieses Kolloquium ist für alle Studentinnen und Studenten gedacht, die an einer Abschlussarbeit oder einer größeren Arbeit sitzen, die entweder in den Bereich der antiken Philosophie fällt oder Bezüge zur antiken Philosophie aufweist. Es ist als freundliches Forum gedacht, wo diese Arbeiten vorgestellt werden können und lädt zudem Vortragende von auswärts ein. Das Kolloquium kann auch als Lesegruppe und Diskussionsforum für die Lektüre von neuerschienenen Texten zur antiken Philosophie dienen.
030130 Kolloquium zur Antiken Philosophie (Sattler)
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Im ersten Teil des Semesters werden wir uns zur gemeinsamen Lektüre ausgewählter Texte zur griechischen Naturphilosophie im Original treffen. Im zweiten Teil des Semesters werden wir uns zu einem zweitägigen Workshop treffen, in dem die Teilnehmenden Ihre Arbeiten im Bereich der antiken Philosophie vorstellen.
Wenn Sie an dem Kolloquium teilnehmen wollen, senden Sie bitte vor Semesterbeginn eine E-Mail an die Dozentin.