and the Utrecht Philosophy Lectures join forces to organize the following event: Thursday, March 3rd, 15:30 – 17:00; location: to be announced Eric Marcus (Auburn University): ‘Belief’ and Belief Abstract:  Our interest in understanding belief stems partly from our being, most strikingly, creatures who think.  However, we use the term ‘belief’ to refer to many states: from the fully conscious rational state that partly constitutes knowledge to the purely fanciful states…" swapexcerpt="" swaptitle="Read Less"]ULTIMA [Utrecht Lectures on Topics In Mind and Action] and the Utrecht Philosophy Lectures join forces to organize the following event:

Thursday, March 3rd, 15:30 - 17:00; location: to be announced

Eric Marcus (Auburn University):

‘Belief’ and Belief

Abstract:  Our interest in understanding belief stems partly from our being, most strikingly, creatures who think.  However, we use the term ‘belief’ to refer to many states: from the fully conscious rational state that partly constitutes knowledge to the purely fanciful states of toasters and alarm clocks.  Which of the many ‘belief’ states must a theory of belief be answerable to?  This is the scope question.  My route to answering it begins with a reply to a recent argument that belief is invariably weak, i.e., that the evidential standards that are required for belief are low.  I argue that although one state we refer to using the term ‘belief’ fits this profile, other ‘belief’ states do not.  This conclusion is interesting in its own right, but my purpose here is to recruit weak belief to help answer the scope question.  When ‘belief’ is heard in a weak sense, it attributes a state that only a rational creature can be in.  I will use this observation as a starting point for an argument that the study of (our) belief should not be constrained by the requirement that the illuminated state be held in common with any non-rational being.  More generally, I aim to support what is sometimes called the Transformative Theory of Rationality, the view that rationality does not merely add powers or complexity to the animal mind, but transforms it into a different kind of mind altogether. The lecture will take place on location, in the traditional format of a life lecture (due to the long period of uncertainty on these matters, we still have to look for the best location for this event, we shall let you know as soon as possible). Please save the date; it will be wonderful to see you soon again in the setting of an event where we can encounter each other in person!