“Against Phylogenetic Conceptions of Race”
By Kamuran Osmanoglu (Kansas, Philosophy)
Date: Tuesday May 22, 2018
Time: 1540-1700
Place: H-232
Archive for May 2018
Call for Papers: Conference by the Society for Women in Philosophy in Turkey
Conference by the Society for Women in Philosophy in Turkey (SWIP-TR at https://swip-tr.weebly.com/)
CFP deadline: 15 July 2018
The Society for Women in Philosophy in Turkey is proud to announce the 1st Annual Conference and Meeting of SWIP-Turkey between 25-27 October, 2018 at Bilkent University, Turkey.
Date of the conference: 25-27 October 2018
Place: Bilkent University, Ankara.
Abstracts: on any topic in philosophy in English or Turkish
Word limit: no more than 500 words.
Deadline for abstract submission: 15 July 2018
E-mail: anonymised abstracts and a separate sheet with contact details as word or pdf to swipturkey@gmail.com. The subject heading of the e-mail should be “2018 SWIP-TR Abstract Submission”
Keynote Speakers:
Prof. Zeynep Direk (Koç University, Istanbul)
Prof. Hülya Şimga (Maltepe University, Istanbul)
Asst. Prof. Şerife Tekin (University of Texas at San Antonio)
The conference is organized by the Society for Women in Philosophy in Turkey (Swip-TR) with the support of Hypatia Diversity Grant and Bilkent University Department of Philosophy.
The goal of the event is to create a forum for women in philosophy to meet and help each other. More specifically, we wish to foster exchanges between women philosophers studying or working in Turkey as well as women from Turkey who study or work in philosophy abroad and want to stay in touch with the developments here.
The conference will consist of panels in Turkish and English on any area of philosophy and with two panels dedicated to students (one undergraduate, one graduate) spread over two days.
Türkiye’de Felsefeci Kadınlar Topluluğu Konferansı için Özet Çağrısı!
Türkiye’deki Felsefeci Kadınlar Topluluğu olarak 25-27 Ekim 2018 tarihleri arasında Bilkent Üniversitesi’nde 1.si düzenlenecek olan yıllık konferans ve toplantımızı duyurmaktan gurur duyuyoruz.
Konferans Tarihi: 25-27 Ekim 2018
Yer: Bilkent Üniversitesi, Ankara.
Özetler: İngilizce veya Türkçe olarak ve felsefede herhangi bir konuda olabilir.
Kelime limiti: En fazla 500 kelime
Özet gönderimi için son tarih: 15 Temmuz 2018
E-posta: Anonimleştirilmiş özetler ile iletişim bilgileri içeren ayrı bir dokumanın swipturkey@gmail.com adresine (word dosyası veya pdf olarak) “2018 SWIP-TR Özet Gönderimi” konu başlığı ile gönderilmesi rica olunur.
Çağrılı Konuşmacılar
Prof. Dr. Zeynep Direk (Koç Üniversitesi, İstanbul)
Https://ku.academia.edu/ZeynepDirek
Prof. Dr. Hülya Şimga (Maltepe Üniversitesi, İstanbul) http://itb.maltepe.edu.tr/…/…/CV-H%C3%BClya%20%C5%9Eimga.pdf
Dr. Öğrt. Üyesi Şerife Tekin (Teksas Üniversitesi, San Antonio)
http://serifetekin.com/
Bu konferans Türkiye’deki Felsefeci Kadınlar Topluluğu (Swip-Tr) tarafından Bilkent Üniversitesi Felsefe Bölümü ve Hypatia Dergisi Çeşitlilik Hibesi desteğiyle düzenlenmektedir.
Daha fazla bilgi için:
http://hypatiaphilosophy.org/diversity/congratulations
http://www.phil.bilkent.edu.tr
Konferansın temel amacı, felsefeci kadınların bir araya gelerek birbirlerine destek olabilecekleri bir platform oluşturmaktır. Özellikle, Türkiye’de eğitim gören ya da çalışmakta olan kadın felsefeciler ile yurtdışında felsefe okuyan ya da çalışan ve Türkiye’deki felsefi gelişmeleri yakından takip etmek isteyen Türkiyeli kadın felsefeciler arasındaki iletişimi ve karşılıklı yardımlaşmayı teşvik etmeyi amaçlıyoruz.
Tüm kadın felsefecileri (lisans, yüksek lisans, doktora öğrencisi ile genç ve kıdemli öğretim üyelerini), herhangi bir felsefe alanında Türkçe veya İngilizce makale sunmak üzere özet göndermeye davet ediyoruz.
Toplamda 12 sunum gerçekleşecek ve her sunum için 20 dakikalık bir zaman dilimi verilip ardından bir yorum ile 10 dakikalık bir tartışma olacaktır. İki güne yayılmış olan konferans, dört panelden oluşup panellerden ikisi kadın felsefe (lisans, yüksek lisans ve doktora) öğrencilerine yönelik olacaktır.
Konferans, Türkiye’de felsefeci kadınları teşvik etmek için düzenlenen bir seminer çalışması ile sonlanacaktır. Bu seminerde aşağıdaki konular ve sorular üzerinde durulacaktır:
– Türkiye’de kadın felsefeci olmak
– Makale ve kitap yayınlamak için yapılması gerekenler nelerdir?
– Kadınları felsefe alanında akademik kariyer yapmaya nasıl teşvik edebiliriz?
– Çeşitliliği ve kadın öğrencilerin katılımını teşvik eden öğretim metotları ve felsefe kaynaklarını nelerdir?
Tüm konuşmacıların konaklama ve Türkiye içindeki seyahat masrafları karşılanacaktır. Diğer katılımcılardan (oturum başkanları ve yorumcular) bazıları için de konaklama ve Türkiye içindeki seyahat masrafları karşılanacaktır.
Konferans için bir kayıt ücreti alınmayacak olup, kayıtla ilgili detaylar daha sonra paylaşılacaktır.
Konferansımız herkesin katılımına açıktır. Lütfen bu mesajı ilgileneceğini düşündüğünüz kişilerle ve öğrencilerinizle paylaşmaktan çekinmeyiniz.
Daha fazla bilgi için bize e-posta ile ulaşabilirsiniz: swipturkey@gmail.com
Swip-TR Web sitesi: https://swip-tr.weebly.com/
Joint Şehir University/Boğaziçi University Conference on: Modern Pluralism and the Clash of Values: Kant, Max Weber, and Carl Schmitt, and the Impossibility of a Rational Grounding of Values
Modern Pluralism and the Clash of Values: Kant, Max Weber, Carl Schmitt, and the Impossibility of a Rational Grounding of Values
June 11th and 12th, 2018 at Boğaziçi University
Convenors: Manuel Knoll (Şehir), Enes Güran (Boğaziçi), Lucas Thorpe (Boğaziçi)
Monday 11th June (John Freely Hall, JF507) |
| 10:00-10:30 Opening speech by Manuel Knoll, Professor of Philosophy at İstanbul Şehir University.
10:30-11:30 “Between Tolerance and Universality”, Jovan Babić (Belgrade). Break: 11:30-11:45 11:45-12:45 “When Angels Go to War: Kant on Pluralism and Moral Conflict”, Lucas Thorpe (Boğaziçi). 12:45-14:15 Lunch 14:30-15:30: “Cosmopolitanism without Commensurability: Why Incommensurable Values are Worthless”, Kenneth R. Westphal (Boğaziçi). Break: 15:30-15:45 15:45-16:45 “Habermas and Max Weber: About the Legitimation of Public Norms”, Gilles Marmasse (Poitiers). Break: 16:45-17:15 17:15-18:15 “The Impossibility of a Rational Grounding of Values and Normative Theories: Max Weber on the Clash of Approaches to Ethics”, Manuel Knoll (Şehir). 19:00 Dinner at Hisarüstü, Bakar Meyhane |
Tuesday 12th June (John Freely Hall, JF507) |
| 10:00-11:00 The Ethics of World Religions: Weber’s Eurocentric Perspective on the Problem of Salvation, Lütfi Sunar (Istanbul Medeniyet)
Break: 11:00-11:15 11:15-12:15 Max Weber, Secularization, and Turkey: An Uneasy Relationship, Nurullah Ardıç (Şehir). Break: 12:15-12:30 12:30-13:30 “The ‘Impure’ Origin of Values. A Non-Logocentric Perspective on Weber’s Conception of the Clash of Values”, Nihat Ülner (Hacettepe). 13:30-15:45 Lunch 16:00-17:00 “Carl Schmitt on Vocation and the Autonomy of the Political Sphere”, Enes Güran, (Boğaziçi). Break: 17:00-17:15 17:15-18:15 “Politics and Law: Sources of Value in Weber and Schmitt”, Barry Stocker, (ITU).
19:30 – Dinner at Taksim, Müşterek Meyhane
|
Modern Pluralism and the Clash of Values: Kant, Max Weber, Carl Schmitt, and the Impossibility of a Rational Grounding of Values
One central feature of the modern world is pluralism of values. Many of these values clash. As the German sociologist and philosopher Max Weber has put it, there is a constant struggle between different orders of life and their respective gods and values. From his background in a Christian culture Weber points out: “It is really a question not only of alternatives between values but of an irreconcilable death-struggle, like that between ‘God’ and the ‘Devil’. Between these, neither relativization nor compromise is possible”.
Weber’s diagnosis is of particular relevance for a country like modern Turkey that is still struggling to find a common ground. Not only are the values of the part of society that considers itself secular in conflict with the ones of the part that regards itself religious; the value of the nation is itself contested by the incompatible values of different social groups, which have conflicting world views, think in categories of “us” and “them”, and have opposing attitudes toward human rights and the universal value of life. This has become particularly evident when the moments of silence called for the victims of the Ankara and Paris bombings were interrupted by booing crowds in October and November 2015.
The workshop investigates modern pluralism and the clash of values by critically reexamining Max Weber’s insights on these topics with the aim of applying them to the Turkish reality today. The most challenging aspect of Weber’s philosophy of conflicting values is his claim that there “is no (rational or empirical) scientific procedure of any kind whatsoever which can provide a decision here”. For Weber, the struggle between conflicting values and ends in life cannot be arbitrated. Everyone is forced to take his or her own decision regarding which of the conflicting values is ruled by God and which by the devil. This attitude is closely related to the “Dezisionismus (Desicionism)” of Carl Schmitt, which will be included in the discussions of the workshop, since he argues that political and legal decisions “are born out of nothingness” which also means that they have no rational basis.
Despite Weber’s bleak diagnosis, the workshop will close by exploring options for reconciliation or compromise between values. How much room is there for negotiation between values? There are certainly values that derive from the same family of orientation or from the same foundations which should make negotiations and reconciliation easier. Is the dualism between people who consider themselves secular and those who regard themselves religious really an unchangeable opposition or a passing historical phenomenon and a difference that could be construed in alternative ways? To be sure, one appropriate response to modern value pluralism is tolerance as an attitude and virtue that allows people to permit those values that they don’t approve.
The conference is organised a part of the joint Boğaziçi -Southampton Newton-Katip Çelebi project “Agency and Autonomy: Kant and the Normative Foundations of Republican Self-Government”, run by Lucas Thorpe (Boğaziçi) and Andrew Stephenson (Southampton).
Talk by Kamuran Osmanoğlu at Bilkent
Abstract: Biological racial realism (BRR) continues to be a much-discussed topic, with several recent papers presenting arguments for the plausibility of some type of “biological race.” In this paper, the focus will be on the phylogenetic conceptions of race, which is one of the most promising views of BRR, that define races as lineages of reproductively isolated breeding populations. However, I will argue that phylogenetic conceptions of race fail to prove that races are biologically real. I will develop and defend my argument against the phylogenetic views of race by relying on current research in population genetics, human evolution, and social sciences. Ultimately, I will argue that (i) race is not a biologically legitimate category and (ii) philosophers should direct their resources to understand problems that arise due to racialization, and thereby they should find solutions to those problems.
Aeneas Sanat ve Felsefe Günleri: 18-20 Mayıs 2018
Bu sene ikincisi 18-20 Mayıs 2018 tarihlerinde Altınoluk Aeneas Butik Otel’de gerçekleşecek olan Aeneas Sanat ve Felsefe Günleri, İTÜ, M.S.G.Ü., ODTÜ, 9 Eylul ve Boğaziçi Üniversitesi’nden eğitimcilerin felsefe üzerine sohbet seansları, müzik dinletileri ve gezi aktivitelerinden oluşmaktadır. Etkinliğe katılım ücretsizdir. Katılımcılara etkinlik sonunda katılım sertifikası verilecektir. Etkinlikler ücretsiz olmakla birlikte, rezervasyon gereklidir ve katılımcı sayısı sınırlıdır.
Kayıt ve Rezervasyon için:
Aeneas Butik Hotel:
Telefon: +90 266 378 0969
Club Afrodit Tatil Köyü:
Telefon: +90 266 378 05 80
E-mail: afrodit@clubafrodit.com
www.aeneassanatvefelsefe.com
www.aeneas.com.tr
www.clubafrodit.com
Talk at Boğaziçi: Kamarun Ozmanoglu (Kansas) “It Just Looks the Same: Differences in Racial Cognition among Infants and Older Humans” (15/05/2018)
May 15, Tuesday, Kamuran Osmanoglu (Kansas) will give a talk on Racial Cognition.
.
Title: It Just Looks the Same: Differences in Racial Cognition among Infants and Older Humans
.
Date: May 15, Tuesday
Time: 17-19:00
Place: JF 507
.
Abstract: Forms of racial cognition begin early: from about 3 months onwards, many human infants prefer to look at own-race faces over other-race faces. What is not yet fully clear is what the psychological mechanisms are that underlie racial thoughts at this early age, and why these mechanisms evolved. In this paper, we propose answers to these questions. Specifically, we use recent experimental data to argue that early racial cognition is simply the result of a “facial familiarity mechanism”: a mental structure that leads infants to attend to faces that look similar to familiar faces, and which probably has evolved to track potential caregivers. We further argue that this account can be combined with the major existing treatments of the evolution of racial cognition, which apply to (near-) adult humans. The result is a heterogeneous picture of racial thought, according to which early and later racial cognition result from very different psychological mechanisms.
A Talk on Philosophy by Dr. Nazım Keven, Bilkent University; “Events, Narratives and Memory” at Koç University on 11th of May, 4 p.m. at SOS 143
“Events, Narratives and Memory”
Date: Friday, May 11, 2018-
Place: SOS 143 at 16:00- 18:00 at Koç University.
Abstract: Whether non-humans animals can have episodic memories remains the subject of extensive debate. a number of prominent memory researches defend the view that animals do not have the same kind of episodic memory as humans do, whereas others argue that some animals have episodic-like memory- i.e., they can remember what, where and when an event happened. Defining what constitutes episodic memory has proven to be difficult. In this talk I propose a dual systems account and provide evidence for a distinction between event memory and episodic memory. Event memory is a perceptual system that evolved to support adaptive short-term goal processing, whereas episodic memory is based on narratives, which bind event memories into a retrievable whole that is temporally and causally organized around subject’s goals. I argue that carefully distinguishing event memory from episodic memory can help resolve the debate.
Professor Manuel Knoll Istanbul Şehir University Three Proposals for the Reinterpretation of Ancient Philosophy. Istanbul Technical University. 07.05. 13:00-15:00
Seminar
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
7 May 2018, 1:00-3:00pm
Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi – ITB Seminar Room
Professor Manuel Knoll
Istanbul Şehir University
Three Proposals for the Reinterpretation
of the History of Ancient Philosophy
This talk proposes a reinterpretation of three prevalent views of the history of ancient philosophy: (1) the talk criticizes Aristotle’s account of Thales according to which water is the material cause of all things and suggests an alternative interpretation. (2) It argues against the popular concept of the “Presocratics” and stresses the essential role of Protagoras as a turning point in the history of ancient philosophy. (3) Based on the latest historical research, the talk criticizes the widespread narrative that explains the rise of the new schools of the Skeptics, Stoics, and Epicureans through the decay of the polis in the Hellenistic age.
Prof. Dr. Manuel Knoll earned a PhD in Philosophy, Political Science and History from the University of Munich in 2000. In 2008 he achieved his habiliation and venia legend in Political Theory and Philosophy. After lecturing at the University of Munich and at the Munich School of Political Science since 1998, he became a Professor of Philosophy at Fatih University, Istanbul, in 2011. In 2015 he became a Professor of Philosophy at Istanbul Şehir University, Istanbul. His main research and lecturing interests are Ancient, Modern and Contemporary Political Philosophy and Ethics, in particular Ancient and Contemporary Theories of Justice, Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Nietzsche, Rawls and Michael Walzer, Social Philosophy and Critical Theory, Ancient Greek Philosophy.
Hesperus is Bosphorus 