Bad news for Kant's Aesthetics

My paper about Aesthetic Realism and normative aesthetic judgments, written with Florian Cova, is published. Abstract and extract are available on The Monist's website.

Micah True found an unending trail

On the 8th of March 2012, Micah True, a.k.a. Caballo Blanco or Whitehorse or Michael Randall Hickman or the Ghost of the Sierra Madre, wrote on his wall on Facebook: "The smiling little girl sitting on my knee says "Grampa Caballo, tell me some story."" This is how he answered: "Where to begin? The story/life, like korima, is a circle. There is no beginning. There is no end. The trail goes on forever. The Cosmos is a giant glittering electro-chemical-nuclear snake swallowing its own tail just for fun." Somewhere between the 29th of March and 1st of April 2012, Micah True found the trail with no end. His body was found by a search and rescue team after 4 days of searching.


I'm not going to give any details about his life, I don't know much about him, and much that we know is biaised by McDougall's book Born to run, where he's portrayed as the depositary of the Raramuri culture and running habits. Some aspects are factual. He was a boxer. And a pretty good one he was.









He met the Raramuri runners during the Leadville ultramarathon. He went to the Copper Canyon, a part of the state of Chihuahua, in Mexico. And he lived here. It's also true that he came to fame and that his masterwork, the Copper Canyon Ultramarathon came under the light thanks to Born to run and the famous 2006 run with Scott Jurek, Jenn Shalton, Christopher McDougall, Luis Escobar, Billy Barnett, Eric Orton, and Barefoot Ted McDonald (photos Luis Escobar). 


In the last photo, Micah True is discussing with McDougall in the background. This run is the origin of three distinct but correlated fame and destiny: Christopher McDougall and theoretical minimalism; Barefoot Ted and Luna Sandals's company; Micah True and the "globalization" (meaning that more runners from other countries come) of the Copper Canyon ultra marathon (CCUM), which existed since 2003.

But I'm not an expert of his biography, we weren't close friends, and he rejected explicitly to be a leader of the minimalism and bare feet trend that grew under Born to run's influence. "Less is more" was his motto in that area, meaning the shoes companies will find a way to make people pay more for less technology. When asked about his or the Raramuri running technique, two distinct aspects were tackled: i) how to run: "run light, smoooooth", with short steps were always his words, (along with "I don't care what you shoes are"); ii) the meaning and values of running, or why we run: hope, love, respect and peace, were always his words. I can't express them better than here.

The CCUM was his thing. Korima, as he said was everywhere. The Raramuri gave him much, and he gave back a lot:

Korima between traditional and modern world. "The Raramuri have helped us. WE help them. Korima: A circle of sharing. Run Free!", he wrote on Facebook the 27th of February 2012. Like Manuel Luna and Barefoot Ted in 2006 (origin of Luna Sandals):

Medias were more and more present in the CCUM: "Runners from 14 countries, and Hiroki Ishikawa, el Dragon de Japan wants to come, making it 15!....TV...press....journalists amd movie makers from all over the world [geeeezzzz--not my thing] but, said one; "its a public event. You have no control." Caballo has no control. I do have a voice.", he wrote the 12th of February. And yet his enthusiasm did not fade. The 26th of February, he wrote: "This next Sunday will be one of the greatest  races the world has never seen. And ya know who is going to see it? You....crazy people. Mas Locos. Mas Locos see things that "normal" people do not see. Who knows if we will get a chance like this again......Make the best of it [every day] and Run Free!" The 3rd of March, "Over 450 runners, including over 300 Raramuri are in Urique canyon for the the CCUM.....Mas Loco...….. All participants, from 15 countries along with over 300 raramuri [tarahumara runners] running for/in peace at the bottom of no-where. nowhere but beauty. kuira Ba--WE are one."  He wasn't an average race manager. He was fond of his runners, who answered to his fondness according to the humble man he was, and to the legend he was in the ultra-running community.


Who he was? Why he was who he was? I don't know and I don't pretend to know the answer. I just like what he did and his choices. Highly honorable choices. Concerning who he was, I will let him answer that question: "Caballo Blanco is no hero. Not a great anything. Just a Horse of a little different color dancing to the beat of a peaceful drum and wanting to help make a little difference in some lives. If i were to be remembered for anything at all, I would want that to be that I am/was authentic. No Mas. Run Free!" (Facebook, 13th of January 2012).

Like many, when the search began, I thought he would survive this. I saw many travel to New Mexico to increase the ranks of the search teams, many to send messages, to find ways to keep others inform with up-to-date minutes. It was amazing. Korima again, he may have thought. He gave much to us, and we gave what we could. Seeing this must have been comforting for his family and his friends. And all my sympathy is with them. I don't know if life is like korima, but he launched a circle of sharing in life for many of us.



Extras:
A piece done posthumously by one of his friends. 

Patrick Sweeney's gallery of photos from CCUM 2012  (no offense intended, I grounded my choice to use this link on this message on Facebook: "Here's my entire gallery from the trip. Feel free to copy, post, or print and set on fire any pics you'd like.", 03/25/2012).

A montage of pictures of the late Micah True by P. Sweeney. 

A short film about Raramuri with appearances of Micah True.

Micah True did many appearances as a guest talk. Some versions were recorded and shared on the web. Like this talk. Many others are narrated on blogs.

McDougall on Micah True. His hommage on Outside.

A video where El Coyote Luis Escobar talks about Micah True and Barefoot Ted.

Caballo Blanco's Last Run, in the New York Times, by Barry Bearak. 

A discussion of Micah True's cause of death: It’s Not “Natural”, and Definitely Not Normal, to Die From Cardiac Arrest: The Death of Caballo Blanco, by Sock Doc.

Parutions du recueil "La Philosophie expérimentale"

Les éditions Vuibert font paraître un volume de recueil d'articles sur la philosophie expérimentale : Dutant, J., Machery, E., Knobe, J., Nahmias, E., Cova, F., Nichols, S., (eds) (2011), La Philosophie expérimentale. Paris : Vuibert. 

J'ai traduit l'article de Nahmias, Morris, Nadelhoffer, et Turner : L'incompatibilisme est-il intuitif ?

3 philosophy papers (2 published and 1 to be published)

1 chapter accepted and published:

• Pain, N. (2011), Mathematical Platonism, in Bruce, M. & Barbone, S. (eds), Just the Arguments: 100 of the Most Important Arguments in Western Philosophy, Oxford: Blackwell, 373-375.

 






 
1 paper accepted and published:

• Pain, N. (2011), Le coût de l'argument de l'indispensabilité des mathématiques, Répha, 3.

1 paper accepted and to be published:

• Cova, F. & Pain, N. (2012), Can folk aesthetics ground aesthetic realism (draft)? The Monist.

CALL FOR PAPERS: From Practice to Results in Logic and Mathematics

Philosophia Scientiae invites contributions for the following special topic: From Practice to Results in Logic and Mathematics. Thematic issue of Philosophia Scientiae 16/1 (February 2012)

Guest editors: Valeria Giardino, Amirouche Moktefi, Sandra Mols, and Jean Paul Van Bendegem

Submission Deadline: March 20, 2011 (extended deadline)
Acceptance Notification: June 1st, 2011

The PratiScienS research group, in collaboration with Prof. Jean Paul Van Bendegem, invites the submission of articles for a thematic issue of the journal Philosophia Scientiae dedicated to the role of practices in the establishment of results in logic and mathematics.

We look for papers on how the concrete practices of mathematicians and logicians may influence the results of their enquiries and, more broadly, the definition of what counts as proof. We are also interested in papers proposing a methodological reflection on the difficulties that a critical analysis of such practices in logic and mathematics implies, and on issues related to the development of the appropriate exploratory conceptual tools. Case studies are welcome, though authors should make explicit what they consider as practices and how their papers are related to the practice-focused theme of this issue of Philosophia Scientiae.

We are also strongly interested in papers linking the issue’s theme with that at the core of PratiScienS, that is, the issue of practices in their relations with the construction and validation of scientific knowledge. Therefore, we are also looking for this special issue for papers discussing practices and results in logic and mathematics in relation with PratiScienS’s main research topics: the "Wimsatt-like" concept of robustness, the role of tacit aspects, and the contingency vs. inevitability issue, as in the case of mathematics and logic.

Manuscripts should be submitted in English or French, and prepared for anonymous peer review. Abstracts in French and English (200-300 words) should be included.

Guidelines for authors are to be found on the journal’s website.

Papers should be sent by e-mail to Valeria Giardino: Valeria.Giardino@ens.fr

For more information on the PratiScienS group, its research themes and its activities, please visit its website.

Call for papers : The Extended Mind

The Extended Mind

In the decade or so since the publication of Clark and Chalmers' seminal paper, the extended mind thesis has had a highly significant influence on the philosophy of mind and cognitive science. This comes from the fact that it promotes a view of mind and cognition that breaks away from other such views popular in the late 20th century. Thus, the extended mind thesis promotes: one, functionalism, without the restrictions imposed by biological implementational structure; two, externalism, not only regarding mental contents, but also regarding the vehicles of content; and three, postcognitivism, where cognition is not simply a matter of internal symbol manipulation. The result is, thus, a view that could be labelled "situated and embodied functionalism".
Critics have reacted in different ways. Some have objected, on behalf of intracranialism, that the extended mind thesis is too radical, in that it flouts the distinction between intrinsic and derived intentionality in the characterization of the mental; or in that it mistakes extracranial aids to cognition for the real vehicles of cognition. Other critics, though, have argued that the development of Clark and Chalmers' insights has sometimes been too conservative, insofar as it supports a representationalist, rather than an antirepresentationalist, version of postcognitivism; or insofar as it continues to give pride of place to processes in the brain/CNS, precluding the extension of the idea of cognition to other less complicated life forms.
Teorema invites submissions on these and related topics for a special issue to be published in 2011. Papers must be written in English or in Spanish, and should not exceed 6000 words. For the presentation of their manuscripts, authors are requested to adhere to the details that can be found at Teorema. Electronic submissions, both in .doc and .pdf formats and prepared for blind refereeing, must be sent to the Editor by October 1st, 2010. Notification of intent to submit including title (tentative) and subject matter (a brief abstract) will be greatly appreciated as it will assist with the coordination and planning of the special issue.

Contact details for queries and submissions:

Teorema
Prof. Luis M. Valdés Villanueva
Director de teorema
Departamento de Filosofía
Universidad de Oviedo
E-33071 Oviedo (España)
E-mail: lmvaldes at uniovi.es

The Geometry of Visual Space and the Nature of Visual Experience, by Farid Masrour

Next Tuesday, June 29th at the Colloquium du DEC, (12h à 13h3O – Salle Paul Lapie – 29 rue d’Ulm – 1er étage) : The Geometry of Visual Space and the Nature of Visual Experience, Farid Masrour (Assistant Professor, NYU).

Abstract :

Empirical research shows that we see bent lines as straight, we see an object oriented along the depth axis as having a different size than a same-sized object oriented along the horizontal axis, as a result objects seem to change their shape as they rotate in space. Our visual experiences seems to systematically falsify some of the basic principles that are required to make sense of fundamental geometrical notions such as straight lines, distances and planes. This paper argues that these results have significant philosophical implications about the nature of our perceptual experience. In particular, I shall argue that they put pressure on accounts that regard our visual experiences as constituted by relations to external facts, as well as those accounts that assimilate our visual experience to pictures.

Second Paris-Nancy PhilMath Workshop

November 17-19, 2010, Paris

This is the second in an annual series of workshops on the philosophy of mathematics organized by a team of scholars from Paris, Nancy and elsewhere in France. The three-day meeting will feature both invited and contributed talks. The invited speakers, who have confirmed their participation, are:

- Patricia Blanchette (Notre Dame University)
- Jacques Bouveresse (Collège de France, Paris)
- John Burgess (Princeton University)
- Gabrielle Crocco (University of Provence, Aix-Marseille)
- Gilles Dowek (Ecole Polytechnique, Paris)
- Ignasi Jané (University of Barcelona)

Call for papers

Submissions of full-text papers are invited in the philosophy of mathematics for presentation at the workshop as one of six contributed talks. The languages of the workshop are English and French. Presentations should be no longer than 45 minutes, and will be followed by 30 minutes of discussion. In particular younger scholars and graduate students working on their dissertations are encouraged to submit, as the workshop provides them with an opportunity to discuss their work with experts from around the world. The deadline for submission is August 31st. Receipt of submissions will be acknowledged by email. The Program Committee will evaluate all papers and announce its decisions by the end of September. The papers should be sent by email in DOC, RTF, or PDF format to the following address: Marco.Panza@univ-paris1.fr

Steering Committee: M. van Atten, D. Bonnay, G. Crocco, J. Dubucs, S. Gandon, G. Heinzmann, P. Mancosu, S. Shapiro, I. Smadja.

Program Committee: A. Arana, M. Detlefsen, B. Halimi, P. Nabonnand, M. Panza, J.-J. Szczeciniarz, S. Walsh

Local Organizing Committee: M. Panza, P. Cardon, M. Detlefsen, A. Rodin, J.-J. Szczeciniarz.

Schedule

Call for papers: June 10st

Deadline for submission of papers: August 31st

Notification of acceptance: September 30st

Support: Chaire d’excellence ANR (senior) Michael Detlefsen.

Jean Nicod Prize 2010 : Tyler Burge

Tyler Burge (University of California, LA) was awarded the Jean Nicod Prize (2010). The Jean Nicod Prize winner will give 4 conferences in a few days in Paris. (More details here).

(Photo : T. Burge, on the right, with Jerry Fodor. Source : Alan Chalmers.)

Journée à la mémoire de Marie-Claude Lorne

L'IHPST organise une journée à la mémoire de Marie-Claude Lorne. Une brève présentation de ses travaux et de sa vie, et des hommages peuvent être lus ici et ici.

Le Philosophe dans la Cité, Florian Cova et moi

Florian Cova et moi avons publié sur le site Philosophe dans la Cité. Il a fourni un intéressant article d'introduction à la philosophie morale dans la tradition analytique. Et j'ai proposé un article sur la manière dont Bouveresse interprète le postmodernisme et le post-structuralisme dans Rationalité et Cynisme.

Le Philosophe dans la Cité propose des documents remarquables, notamment le tout récent "La société et l'État chez Marx et Honneth" (Julien Rajaoson), ou des tables rondes (sur Entre d'eux, le 15 mai 2010, dans l'Amphithéâtre Guizot de la Sorbonne, avec l'auteur Céline Huot, et Laura-Maï Gaveriaux), etc. Mais aussi un blog, une École, des réflexions sur l'art et la littérature... Bref, un site très complet à découvrir.

Paraconsistent Foundations of Mathematics : a weblog.

Paraconsistent Foundations for Mathematics is a new blog created for a new project at the University of Melbourne. The project is under the direction of Pr. Graham Priest, Ass. Pr. Greg Restall, and a research associate Francesco Berto. Zach Weber is the author of the blog. I am looking forward to read the next posts !

(Introduction to Paraconsistent Logic.)

Descartes and his missing letters

A letter written by Descartes to Father Mersenne has been recently discovered. A very interesting letter indeed, because it is about the effects of censorship. All the story here.