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--></style></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>The Center for Philosophy of Science invites you to join us for our Lunch Time Talks. Attend in person, Room 1117 on the 11th floor of the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh or visit our live stream on YouTube at </span><u><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:blue;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg" title="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg</a></span></u><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>. </span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'> </span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>The upcoming talks are presented by The Center for Philosophy of Science's Senior Visiting Fellow, Carl Hoefer and Visiting Fellow, Lucy James. If you would like information about these positions for the 2025-2026 academic year, please see the bottom of this notice.</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>LTT: </span></b><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#0056AC;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><a href="https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/fellows/carl-hoefer/"><span style='color:#0056AC'>Carl Hoefer</span></a></span></b><o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>Tuesday, October 8 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EDT</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>Title: Generic causation in complex, mind-dependent systems </span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>Abstract: </span></b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>Often, in medicine and social sciences, we are interested finding generic causal facts: facts of the form <i>X causes Y</i>, where X and Y are event types rather than specific individual (“token”) events. In these sciences, often we are interested because X is something that is at least partially under our control: e.g., an educational policy that can be implemented, or a public health intervention that can be made. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>The evidence-based medicine and evidence-based policy movements urge that we base medical and socio-political decisions on high-quality evidence that, ideally, strongly supports statements of this form, <i>X causes (or X prevents) Y</i>. It is a presupposition of these movements, and the forms of research they wish to rely on (including RCTs) that such facts about generic causation <i>exist</i>; our job is just to uncover them. But might this presupposition be mistaken, in some areas of human endeavour and inquiry?</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>In recent years I have become convinced that this presupposition is indeed mistaken, in at least some contexts that share these characteristics: complexity, strong dependence on initial conditions, and dependence on human behavior. Using examples from the recent covid19 pandemic, I will illustrate the possibility that certain generic causal facts may fail to exist: it is neither correct to assert that <i>X causes Y, </i>nor correct to assert <i>X does not cause Y</i>. The discussion will bring together ideas from several of my earlier works on causation and on objective chance.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>This talk will also be available live streamed on: Zoom </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#0056AC;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><a href="https://pitt.zoom.us/s/94175053924"><span style='color:#0056AC'>https://pitt.zoom.us/s/94175053924</span></a></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'> and </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>YouTube at </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#0056AC;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg"><span style='color:#0056AC'>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><div style='margin-top:12.0pt;margin-bottom:12.0pt;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;orphans:2;widows:2;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>LTT: </span></b><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><a href="https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/fellows/lucy-james/">Lucy James</a></span></b><o:p></o:p></p></div><div style='margin-top:12.0pt;margin-bottom:12.0pt;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;orphans:2;text-align:start;widows:2;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>Tuesday, October 29 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EDT</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div style='margin-top:12.0pt;margin-bottom:12.0pt;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;orphans:2;text-align:start;widows:2;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>Title:</span></b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'> <b>Primordial Black Holes in Perspective</b></span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div style='margin-top:12.0pt;margin-bottom:12.0pt;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;orphans:2;text-align:start;widows:2;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>Abstract:</span></b><o:p></o:p></p></div><div style='margin-top:12.0pt;margin-bottom:12.0pt;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;orphans:2;text-align:start;widows:2;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>This talk gives an illustration of some general ideas about perspectival disagreement, using the case of primordial black holes (PBHs). Some theoretical arguments for their existence are considered, alongside a cursory review of some literature discussing the possibility of acquiring empirical data that would distinguish primordial from astrophysical black holes. Finally, and most substantially, a putative explanatory role of PBHs is discussed in the context of matter formation and spacetime ’emergence’. Differences between the ways in which PBHs are understood from alternative perspectives are pointed out: PBHs have (some) different properties depending on whether they are being studied by the mathematical general relativist, the experimentally inclined astrophysicist, or the speculative cosmologist. Such perspectival disagreement need not be indicative of ontological pluralism. It is argued instead that instances of perspectival disagreement point to physics being an incomplete enterprise, whose evolution is unavoidably constrained by epistemic limitations. Unificatory projects are considered progressive, since such projects provide the most likely sources of metaphysical insight when they are successful. Adding precision to our understanding of the salient characteristics of the perspectives in question, when perspectival disagreement occurs, can pave the way for more successful unification projects.</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div style='margin-top:12.0pt;margin-bottom:12.0pt;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;orphans:2;text-align:start;widows:2;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>This talk will also be available live streamed on:</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div style='margin-top:12.0pt;margin-bottom:12.0pt;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;orphans:2;text-align:start;widows:2;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>Zoom: <a href="https://pitt.zoom.us/s/99322492076"><span style='border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>https://pitt.zoom.us/s/99322492076</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div style='margin-top:12.0pt;margin-bottom:12.0pt;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-numeric:inherit;font-variant-east-asian:inherit;font-variant-alternates:inherit;font-stretch:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-size-adjust:inherit;font-kerning:inherit;font-feature-settings:inherit;orphans:2;text-align:start;widows:2;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px'><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>YouTube at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg"><span style='border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg</span></a>.</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>Information about 2025 - 2026 Fellowships</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'> If you would like information about our Fellowships please visit our websites. Applications are now <b>open</b>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>Postdoctoral Fellowships: </span></b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'><a href="https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/programs/postdoc-fellowships/program-overview/"><span style='border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/programs/postdoc-fellowships/program-overview/</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>Visiting Fellows Program:</span></b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'> <a href="https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/programs/visiting-fellows/program-overview/"><span style='border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/programs/visiting-fellows/program-overview/</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'> </span><o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>