<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div><div dir="ltr"><div style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><font face="arial, sans-serif">The Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh invites you to join us for our March lectures. All lectures will be live streamed on YouTube at
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg" id="m_4278133308671017754m_4749157170904203258OWA0304b346-e40f-2c27-59e3-1053e0f5adb6" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);text-align:left" target="_blank">
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg</a>.</font></span></div>
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If you would like information about applying to be a 2026 - 2027 Fellow at The Center for Philosophy of Science, please visit the websites listed at the bottom of this email.</font></div>
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<b><font face="arial, sans-serif">Lunch Time Talk - Aliya Rumana</font></b></div>
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<span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><b><font face="arial, sans-serif">Tuesday, March 11th @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EDT</font></b></span></div>
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In person at 1117 Cathedral of Learning (11th Floor) or to follow along via Zoom:
<b><a href="https://pitt.zoom.us/j/96457118345" id="m_4278133308671017754m_4749157170904203258OWA8cc43f7b-1fde-8cee-9b23-a78d03016beb" target="_blank">https://pitt.zoom.us/j/96457118345</a></b></font></div>
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<span style="font-weight:bolder"><font face="arial, sans-serif">Title: A deflationary account of DCNN-based models in visual neuroscience</font></span></div>
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<font face="arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-weight:bolder">Abstract: </span>Deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) have achieved extraordinary accuracy at predicting electrophysiological data in the ventral visual stream (VVS). What explains these predictive successes? According
to Cao & Yamins (2024), these models are so predictively successful because (a) they near-optimally perform the same tasks as the VVS (e.g., image classification) and (b) they perform these tasks in the same kind of way due to their shared mechanistic structure.
For the latter reason, DCNNs are often touted as mechanistic models of the VVS. In this presentation, I’ll argue that a weaker version of the first reason is sufficient: these models are so predictively successful just because they near-optimally perform proper
parts (approximately half) of the tasks that the VVS performs—not because they share any mechanistic structure. Any structural similarities between DCNNs and the VVS is incidental to their predictive success, so I conclude that DCNNs do not provide plausible
mechanistic models of the VVS.</font></div>
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<b><font face="arial, sans-serif">Featured Former Fellow - Vera Matarese</font></b></div>
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<span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><b><font face="arial, sans-serif">Tuesday, March 18th @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EDT</font></b></span></div>
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<font face="arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-weight:700"><i>ONLINE ONLY </i></span><span style="color:rgb(0,86,172)"><b><i><a href="https://pitt.zoom.us/j/92701773861" id="m_4278133308671017754m_4749157170904203258OWA5798caad-dd72-06a5-5abf-1ac06943b382" style="color:rgb(0,86,172);margin:0px" target="_blank">https://pitt.zoom.us/j/92701773861</a></i></b></span></font></div>
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<b><font face="arial, sans-serif">Title: The Epistemic Saliency of Exoplanet Atmosphere Retrieval Models</font></b></div>
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<font face="arial, sans-serif"><b>Abstract: </b>Retrieval models are crucial in exoplanetary science, given the severe observational limitations inherent in the field. They are particularly indispensable for reconstructing the atmospheric conditions of exoplanets. But a pressing question
remains: do they provide some form of epistemic evidence, or are they merely heuristic tools with a tenuous epistemic status? To assess this, I will analyze their hybrid nature, the kind of scientific reasoning they incorporate, and their representational
function.</font></div>
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<font face="arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:13pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><b>This is an online only event. Watch live using this
</b></span><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><b>Zoom Link: </b>
</span><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(0,86,172)"><b><a href="https://pitt.zoom.us/j/92701773861" id="m_4278133308671017754m_4749157170904203258OWAbff34e27-0ed4-4858-5f98-44a5ac9688ce" style="color:rgb(0,86,172)" target="_blank">https://pitt.zoom.us/j/92701773861</a></b></span></font></div>
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<font face="arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-weight:700">Annual Lecture Series</span> - <b>Samir Okasha</b></font></div>
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<b><font face="arial, sans-serif">Friday, March 21st @ 3:30 pm - 6:00 pm EDT</font></b></div>
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<font face="arial, sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">In person in room 1008 (10th floor) Cathedral Learning or join online at: Zoom:<b>
</b></span><span style="color:rgb(0,86,172)"><a href="https://pitt.zoom.us/j/91859551683" id="m_4278133308671017754m_4749157170904203258OWA0c0f5336-20a3-0bdd-6d58-cd51e430670c" style="color:rgb(0,86,172);text-align:left" target="_blank">https://pitt.zoom.us/j/91859551683</a></span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><b> </b></span></font></div>
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<b><font face="arial, sans-serif">Title: The “Philosophy of Fitness” revisited</font></b></div>
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<font face="arial, sans-serif"><b>Abstract:</b> The "philosophy of fitness'' was a disparaging name given to the philosophy of biology in the 1970s by critics who felt that practitioners of this emerging sub-discipline spent too much time analyzing the concept of fitness, to the exclusion
of other topics. Despite the critics, the philosophical discussion of fitness has burgeoned since then. Oddly, though, this discussion makes little contact with the technical literature on fitness in evolutionary theory itself, where there are ongoing disagreements
over what the "right" definition of fitness and / or the "right" mathematical measure of fitness is, in different contexts, and why. The existence of parallel literatures on a single topic is not uncommon in philosophy of science but is rarely ideal. Better
integration is needed.</font></div>
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This talk is part of a broader project that re-visits the concept of fitness, tries to make sense of the controversies surrounding it, and to integrate the philosophical and biological discussions. The basic idea is to regard "fitness" as a theoretical term
in science, and then to use the Ramsey-Carnap-Lewis technique to define it via its theoretical role. However, the situation is complicated by the fact that there is arguably more than one "fitness role". Moreover, in any particular evolutionary model, a given
quantity, definable from the model parameters, may realize one of these fitness roles but not others. Taken together, this explains why the fitness concept has caused so much confusion, why the term "fitness" is polysemic in evolutionary biology, and why theorists
can disagree about the "right" fitness measure despite the underlying science not being in dispute.</font></div>
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<span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><b><font face="arial, sans-serif">Lunch Time Talk - Andrea Roselli</font></b></span></div>
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<b><font face="arial, sans-serif">Tuesday, March 25 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EDT</font></b></div>
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<font face="arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:rgb(255,255,255);font-weight:bolder"> </span><span style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">In person at 1117 Cathedral of Learning (11th Floor)
or join online at </span><span style="font-size:14pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">: </span>
<span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(0,86,172)"><b><a href="https://pitt.zoom.us/j/93693674422" id="m_4278133308671017754m_4749157170904203258OWAe19b2549-c932-d8fb-0acb-86ba1cbcde33" style="color:rgb(0,86,172);text-align:left" target="_blank">https://pitt.zoom.us/j/93693674422</a></b></span></font></div>
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<b><font face="arial, sans-serif">Title: Emergent beasts and where to find them</font></b></div>
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<font face="arial, sans-serif"><b>Abstract: </b>Emergents are elusive beasts. The hunt has been going on for years, but despite the many ingenious tactics employed, they keep slipping through our metaphysical nets. In this paper, I propose a way to finally catch them. My strategy is the
following: first, unlike many dualist frameworks that distinguish weak from strong emergence, I contend that either emergence entails ontological novelty or it is not emergence at all – understanding emergence requires us to reconsider how new properties,
behaviors, and laws manifest without being reducible to pre-existing elements; then, I will propose a thought experiment based on Conway’s game of life to get an immediate intuitive grasp of the emergent beasts we are after; finally, I will explore various
metaphysical implications of such emergent properties, the relationship between emergence and causation, and the broader ramifications for fields such as physics, biology, and cognitive science. Through this exploration, I aim to clarify the criteria necessary
for identifying true emergent phenomena and provide a robust framework for understanding their place in the ontological structure of the universe.</font></div>
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<span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><b><font face="arial, sans-serif">Lunch Time Talk - Mahdi Khalili</font></b></span></div>
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<b><font face="arial, sans-serif">Friday, March 28 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EDT</font></b></div>
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In person at 1117 Cathedral of Learning (11th Floor) </font></div>
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or to follow along via Zoom, use this link: <span style="color:rgb(0,41,82)">
<b><u><a href="https://pitt.zoom.us/j/97141615142" id="m_4278133308671017754m_4749157170904203258OWAf96f05f6-ebe9-1170-2c51-f58ebe97cdc5" style="color:rgb(0,41,82);text-align:left" target="_blank">https://pitt.zoom.us/j/97141615142</a></u></b></span></font></div>
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<b><font face="arial, sans-serif">Title: Ramsey Meets Ptolemy: Perspectivism about Theory Change</font></b></div>
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<font face="arial, sans-serif"><b>Abstract:</b> A Ramsey-sentence is defined as an existential sentence that is equivalent to a scientific theory. In this talk, I use the Ramsey-sentence approach to argue that past theories can contain truthful content. I begin by reviewing its applications
in the work of structural realists and David Papineau before outlining my own use of the approach. I then apply it to explain the success of the Ptolemaic model in predicting the positions of the outer planets. Finally, I draw lessons about theory change in
the history of science, offering a perspectivist interpretation.ent phenomena and provide a robust framework for understanding their place in the ontological structure of the universe.</font></div>
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<b><font face="arial, sans-serif">Information about 2026 - 2027 Fellowships</font></b></div>
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If you would like information about our Fellowships please visit our websites. Applications will open late Fall.</font></div>
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<font face="arial, sans-serif"><b>Postdoctoral Fellowships: </b><a href="https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/programs/postdoc-fellowships/program-overview/" id="m_4278133308671017754m_4749157170904203258OWA4d55012d-bba4-f827-3025-c940ab65a8b7" title="https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/programs/postdoc-fellowships/program-overview/" style="margin:0px" target="_blank">https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/programs/postdoc-fellowships/program-overview/</a></font></div>
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<font face="arial, sans-serif"><b>Visiting Fellows Program:</b> <a href="https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/programs/visiting-fellows/program-overview/" id="m_4278133308671017754m_4749157170904203258OWAe9e72dfc-c467-d0a6-483d-f5dbcb6080d7" title="https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/programs/visiting-fellows/program-overview/" style="margin:0px" target="_blank">https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/programs/visiting-fellows/program-overview/</a></font></div>
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<font face="arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">The 2026 - 2027 Fellows will join
<b>Senior Visiting Fellow, </b></span><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(36,36,36)"><b>Nick Huggett</b> -
</span><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(70,120,134)"><u><a href="https://phil.uic.edu/profiles/huggett-nick/" id="m_4278133308671017754m_4749157170904203258OWA97b80836-3062-5706-4f3d-aeb0057a9226" title="Original URL: https://phil.uic.edu/profiles/huggett-nick/. Click or tap if you trust this link." style="margin:0px" target="_blank">Huggett,
Nick | Philosophy | University of Illinois Chicago</a></u></span></font></p>
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