Difference between revisions of "The Ontology of Events, Powers and Dispositions"
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Two-day Course organized in conjunction with the [http://icbo.buffalo.edu International Conference on Biomedical Ontology]. | Two-day Course organized in conjunction with the [http://icbo.buffalo.edu International Conference on Biomedical Ontology]. | ||
| − | This | + | This will be a two-part course: |
| − | Day 1: | + | Day 1: Events (TBD) |
| − | Day 2: | + | Day 2: Powers and Dispositions. |
| − | + | Dispositional properties occupy an important place in our scientific explanations and models, and are all but indispensible in our understanding of the causal mechanisms of the world. For instance, we understand hearts in terms of the disposition to circulate blood, and red blood cells in terms of the powers to transport oxygen throughout the body. | |
Three major issues to be discussed are: | Three major issues to be discussed are: | ||
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:(i) How should we distinguish dispositional properties from non-dispositional properties? | :(i) How should we distinguish dispositional properties from non-dispositional properties? | ||
:(ii) Can dispositions be analyzed in terms of counterfactual conditionals? | :(ii) Can dispositions be analyzed in terms of counterfactual conditionals? | ||
| − | :(iii) Are dispositions reducible? | + | :(iii) Are dispositions reducible to entities of other sorts? |
'''Faculty''' | '''Faculty''' | ||
Revision as of 11:34, 7 November 2008
July 20-21, 2009
Randall Dipert and Neil Williams (University at Buffalo)
Two-day Course organized in conjunction with the International Conference on Biomedical Ontology.
This will be a two-part course:
Day 1: Events (TBD)
Day 2: Powers and Dispositions. Dispositional properties occupy an important place in our scientific explanations and models, and are all but indispensible in our understanding of the causal mechanisms of the world. For instance, we understand hearts in terms of the disposition to circulate blood, and red blood cells in terms of the powers to transport oxygen throughout the body.
Three major issues to be discussed are:
- (i) How should we distinguish dispositional properties from non-dispositional properties?
- (ii) Can dispositions be analyzed in terms of counterfactual conditionals?
- (iii) Are dispositions reducible to entities of other sorts?
Faculty
Randall Dipert is C. S. Peirce Professor of Philosophy in the University at Buffalo. His research interests include American pragmatism, logic and the phileosophy of mathematics, the ontology of relations, and the ontology of events.
Neil Williams is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy in the University at Buffalo. His research interests focus on the intersection of metaphysics and the philosophy of science, especially with regards to causation and the laws of nature.
Links
- Borghini, Andrea and Williams, Neil. (2008) A Dispositional Theory of Possibility, Dialectica, 62, 21–41.
- Williams, Neil. (2005) Static and Dynamic Dispositions Synthese, 146, 303–324.
- Williams, Neil. (2007) The Factory Model of Disease, The Monist, 2007; 90(4): 555-584.
Literature
- Bird, Alex. (2007). Nature’s Metaphysics. Oxford University Press, New York.
- Molnar, George. (2003) Powers. Oxford University Press, New York.
- Mumford, Stephen. (1998) Dispositions. Oxford University Press, New York.