Do not read, unless you are a weak speaker and a strong reader.
Prepare and practise your presentation thoroughly. Do not wing it.
Get the length right: For a standard colloquium or job talk, do not go more than 45-50 minutes.
Have an introduction and a conclusion. Be well organized.
Keep the level of detail appropriate for the audience.
Explain difficult claims and concepts clearly and thoroughly.
Use humour as appropriate.
Use effective visual aids: overheads, Powerpoint, handouts.
Engage your audience with eye contact and enthusiasm.
Listen carefully to understand questions and answer them fully but concisely.
Jan. 24: Dave DeVidi, Rationality and Logic
Jan. 31: Brian Orend, Rationality and Human Rights
Feb. 7: Paul Thagard, Wisdom
Feb. 14: Joe Novack, Axiomatic systems in antiquity
Feb. 28: Chapman, Martin, Sand, Sheehan (Mind)
Mar. 7: Finn, Pecoskie, Riarh, Toombs (Science)
Mar. 14: Bullen, Christelis, Dumsday, Heffernan (Knowledge)
Mar. 21: Kulic, Menken, Pollon, Stumpf (Action)
Possible areas of irrationality in law:
Sources of irrationality of judges and jurors
What makes a law irrational? Controversial examples:
What is the relation between rational laws and morality?
How do we determine what are the most rational legal institutions?
Extracts from "Belief Revision", by Peter Gardenfors and Hans Rott, in Handbook of Logic in Artificial Intelligence and Logic Programming (vol 4), Gabbay, Hoggen and Robinson, eds, Oxford: Clarendon, 1995. Available in the Philosophy Department office.
"On
the Logic of Belief", by Newton C.A. da Costa and Steven French, Philosophy
and Phenomenological Research 49 (1989) 431--446.
"A
Paraconsistent Theory of Belief Revision", by Edwin D. Mares, Erkenntnis
56 (2002) 229-246.
One-page essays are not required for all the remaining sessions. But class attendance and participation still matter.
Computational Epistemology Laboratory.
This page updated Jan. 16, 2006