Rational Animals? Developmental, Comparative, Philosophical and Methodological Perspectives.
We are pleased to invite submissions for the upcoming Rational Animals? Developmental, comparative, philosophical and methodological perspectives, which will be held at the University of Stirling on June 2-4 2025.
Its enduring appeal notwithstanding, the idea that rational belief and action are exclusive human prerogatives is coming under pressure on various fronts. For example, comparative research on inferential reasoning, developmental studies suggestive of evaluation of reasons, and philosophical arguments highlighting the unreflective bases of rational belief-formation jointly suggest that the difference between human and animal cognition differ in degree rather than kind. If so, rationality may well extend beyond Homo sapiens. The involvement of different disciplines illustrates the width and complexity of the debate. Among the theoretical and empirical open issues are the nature of rationality itself, the risk that advocates of opposing views talk past each other, uncertainty about what counts as good evidence in favour of non-human rationality and how such evidence may be gathered. To promote the dialogue between the philosophical and empirical study of the mind and rationality, the ARED project (https://ared.stir.ac.uk/) organizes an interdisciplinary conference: https://ared-conference.stir.ac.uk/
The keynote speakers will be:
Kristin Andrews (York University, Toronto)
Paul Harris (Harvard)
Amanda Seed (St Andrews)
Eric Marcus (Auburn)
Mike Dacey (Bates College)
Giacomo Melis & Eva Rafetseder (Stirling)
Philosophers, developmental psychologists, and researchers in animal cognition are invited to submit an anonymised abstract of no more than 1000 words (shorter abstracts welcome for empirical disciplines) by sending an email to rationalanimals2025@outlook.com by December 15 2024. We aim to accommodate 15 contributed speakers and to allow for a poster session. In applying, please specify whether you’d like the submission to be considered for a talk or a poster session.
Submissions on a wide range of relevant topics are welcome. Here is a purely indicative list:
- Characterizations of rationality, such as the difference and relation between economical and substantial (i.e. reasons-based) rationality, or rationality vs mere intelligence.
- The relation between rationality, reflection, conceptual thought, and language.
- The relevance of the difference between logic and reasoning for theoretical and empirical study of rationality.
- Rationality and the origin of the mind.
- The significance of personal and subpersonal dimensions in the study of rational thought.
- Are there different kinds of mind? If so, how should they be distinguished?
- Framework outlining stages of cognitive and rational capacities in the evolution of species and in the development of individuals.
- The role of Morgan’s canon in current empirical research.
- How to test for rationality, reflective thought, and propositional thought in non-verbal and minimally verbal subjects.
- How to ascribe beliefs to non-verbal subjects
We look forward to hosting you in Stirling.