On June 5th, TINT will organize a joint session together with Helsinki Philosophy Colloquium, where Lorenzo Casini (University of Bologna) will give a talk on his joint work with Alexander Gebharter titled "Realization Independence and the Epiphenomenalist Revenge".
The session takes place live in Metsätalo sali 2 and via Zoom from 12 to 14 on Thursday the 5th of June 2025.
This event is organized by TINT – Centre for Philosophy of Social Science at the University of Helsinki together with Helsinki Philosophy Colloquium. More information about the seminar can be found on the TINT webpage tint.helsinki.fi.
What: ”Realization Independence and the Epiphenomenalist Revenge” by Lorenzo Casini
When: Thursday 05.06.2025 from 12 to 2 pm (EEST, Helsinki time)
Where: Metsätalo (room 2), and Zoom.
Zoom link: https://helsinki.zoom.us/j/62863218907.
Abstract:
For the last two decades, James Woodward has been attempting to defend mental causation against ephiphenomenalism by drawing on his interventionist theory of causation. Recently, he has imposed a “realization independence” condition, aiming to address a charge of underdetermination levelled by Michael Baumgartner. If sound, Woodward’s proposal promises to solve an age-old metaphysical debate based on ideal experimental evidence.
Here, we argue that the proposal runs into a dilemma: Either it contradicts the core tenet of interventionism and leads to absurd consequences or it cannot escape the underdetermination charge. This renders it vulnerable to what we call the epiphenomenalist revenge: the most plausible way out of the dilemma is to give up mental causation altogether. More generally, our argument undermines the claim that the mental causation problem can be solved on evidence-based grounds.
Bio:
I am a philosopher of science specializing in causal inference, and working on conceptual and methodological issues in the special sciences, more generally. After obtaining my PhD in Philosophy from the University of Kent in 2013, I held positions at Konstanz, LMU Munich, Geneva, the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, and the IMT School for Advanced Studies in Lucca. Currently, I am Assistant Professor in Logic and Philosophy of Science at the University of Bologna.