Dear all, MICHAEL HANNON (Queen's University) is visiting Cambridge. He will be giving a talk on WEDNESDAY 17th AUGUST from 3PM-4PM in the Philosophy Faculty Boardroom. All welcome.
Title: What's the Point of Understanding? Abstract: Why do humans care about understanding? In this paper, I propose a method of philosophical investigation called 'function-first epistemology' and use this method to investigate the nature and value of understanding. I argue that the concept of understanding serves the practical function of identifying good explainers. This hypothesis sheds light on a variety of issues in the epistemology of understanding, including the role of explanation in understanding, the relationship between understanding and knowledge, and the value of understanding. I argue that understanding is valuable and yet knowledge might play a more important role in our epistemic life. Web: http://mjhannon.com Best, Chris Cowie. _____________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from the CamPhilEvents mailing list, or change your membership options, please visit the list information page: http://bit.ly/CamPhilEvents List archive: http://bit.ly/CamPhilEventsArchive Please note that CamPhilEvents doesn't accept email attachments. See the list information page for further details and suggested alternatives.
