"Hallucination on Crete," Universities of Glasgow and Crete, September 11-14, 2008.

Sponsored by Centre for the Study of Perceptual Experience, University of Glasgow and Department of Philosophy and Social Studies, University of Crete. Description: The traditional problem of hallucination in the philosophy of perception and epistemology has always attracted attention. However, over the last few years, neuroimaging techniques and scientific findings on the nature of delusion, together with the upsurge of interest in new theories of perception in philosophy, such as representationalism and disjunctivism, have brought the topic of hallucination to the forefront of philosophical thinking. The importance of the phenomenon of hallucination is such that it deserves extensive treatment; it has a direct impact on a wide range of issues in the philosophy of perception and epistemology, including:

• the question of whether we directly see the world
• the nature of perception and perceptual experience more generally
• the nature of our knowledge of our own mental states
• the nature of our knowledge of the external world
• questions about what we can learn about the mind, and the nature of hallucination, from empirical results in psychology and brain science.

The conference will bring together philosophers and psychologists to debate and discuss these topics.

Invited Speakers:

• Richard P. Bentall (Psychology, Bangor)
• Alex Byrne (Philosophy, MIT)
• Tim Crane (Philosophy, University College London)
• Katalin Farkas (Philosophy, Central European University)
• C. P. Fernyhough (Psychology, Durham)
• Dominic H ffytche (Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London)
• Matthew Nudds (Philosophy, Edinburgh)
• Howard Robinson (Philosophy, Central European University)
• Susanna Schellenberg (Philosophy, Australian National University)
• Brad Thompson (Philosophy, Southern Methodist University)

Call for Papers:

We invite papers by philosophers and psychologists and cognate disciplines, accessible to an interdisciplinary audience, on the topic of hallucination. Papers should be suitable for presentation in no more than 45 minutes. Papers should be original and unpublished and authors should be willing to submit their papers for consideration for inclusion in an edited volume arising from the conference. The papers will be chosen by the organizers on the basis of an abstracts of between 500 - 1000 words.

For more information, visit: http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/philosophy/cspe/presentfutureevents/hallucinationoncrete/.

Kenneally, Christine. "When Language Can Hold the Answer." NEW YORK TIMES April 22, 2008.

In stark form, the debate was: Does language shape what we perceive, a position associated with the late Benjamin Lee Whorf, or are our perceptions pure sensory impressions, immune to the arbitrary ways that language carves up the world? Naming, Dr. Lupyan concluded, helps to create mental categories. . . . Read the whole article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/science/22lang.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin.

CFP: "Aspects of Vision," Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, July 17, 2008.

This conference is dedicated to the exploration of aspects of vision. The aim of this conference is to foster relations among scholars from a variety of different backgrounds and disciplines, whose research incorporates some aspect of vision theory, considered in a broad sense. Without placing strictures on the possible relevance of any specific discipline, it is anticipated that philosophical, psychological, historical and literary approaches will be of import. Preference will be given to submissions which bridge disciplinary boundaries, or are amenable to audiences drawn from various disciplines. Submission Guidelines: We welcome submissions from both faculty and graduate students. The new extended deadline for submissions is May 23rd 2008, though early submissions are encouraged. Please submit an abstract for blind review, of no more than 300 words in Word or RTF format, to the organisers Orla Slattery or Steven Bond , via the following address aspectsofvision@gmail.com. Submissions should be accompanied by a cover sheet containing the proposed paper title, as well as the author’s name, institutional affiliation and status (if any), and email/postal addresses. Successful applications will be acknowledged by May 30th, 2008. Accepted papers should be no more than 3,000 words, with an expected reading time of thirty minutes, allowing ten to fifteen minutes for discussion. We would like to inform all interested applicants that travel costs and accommodation expenses during the conference are the exclusive responsibility of the participants.