News

First CSLI Workshop on Logic, Rationality, and Interaction

The CFE is an enthusastic sponsor of this event at CSLI, Stanford.

June 1-3, Cordura Hall, CSLI, Stanford Universtiy

Organizers:

Johan van Benthem, Peter Hawke, Wes Holliday, Tomohiro Hoshi, Thomas Icard, Shane Steinert-Threlkeld.

Speakers:

Workshop web page

Interdisciplinary Workshop on the Foundations of Ockham's Razor

June 22-24, Adamson Wing, Baker Hall, Carnegie Mellon University

Rationale:

Scientific theory choice is guided by judgments of simplicity, a bias frequently referred to as "Ockham's Razor". But what is simplicity and how, if at all, does it help science find the truth? Should we view simple theories as means for obtaining accurate predictions, as classical statistics and machine learning urge? Or should we believe the theories themselves, as Bayesian methods seem to justify? The aim of this workshop is to re-examine the foundations of Ockham's razor, with a firm focus on the connections, if any, between simplicity and truth.

Speakers:

The workshop will coincide with the conclusion of the CMU Summer School in Logic and Formal Epistemology. Summer school students are welcome to attend, as is anyone else interested in the topic.

Workshop web page

Commemorative Collection for Horacio Arlo-Costa.

Horacio Arlo-Costa
(1956-2011)

To honor Horacio Arlo-Costa's memory and influence on all of us in the community, Jeffrey Helzner, Vincent F. Hendricks, Paul Pedersen and Gregory Wheeler will be editing a book with essays on his philosophy, his intellectual biography, his official obituary, words of remembrance from his friends and colleagues, his unpublished manuscripts and notes, and other relevant communications from or about Horacio. If you have words of remembrance, please feel welcome to post them at Choice and Inference under the entry In Memory of Horacio Arlo-Costa, as we will, with your permission, use your words of remembrance for the volume. Please send all other material (correspondences, notes, etc.) to any one of the editors:

Deadline for submissions is February 1, 2012.

GIRL (Games, Interactive Rationality and Learning)

conference at the University of Lund, Sweden, on April 19-21, organized by Emmanuel Genot, Justine Jacot, and Philip Paernamets. Co-sponsored by the CFE.

Workshop web page.

In Memoriam: Horacio Arlo-Costa (1956-2011)

We deeply regret the sudden passing of CFE Associate Director Horacio Arlo-Costa. The Center's ambitious schedule of six events in its first year of operation was due in large part to Horacio's indefatigable dedication. His stature in formal epistemology is familiar. His tireless enthusiasm, his widespread connections in the field and his renowned, encyclopedic knowledge of the literature and the contributions of others made him an indespensable partner in the wild adventure that constituted the Center's crucial first year of operation. He will be missed sorely. In spite of his many other duties and concerns, Horacio reveled in the CFE's rapid expansion . To vindicate his commitment, the CFE will redouble its efforts to facilitate the cause of formal philosophy in the coming years.

Horacio's obituary

Horacio's funeral arrangements

Horacio's CFE legacy

The Commemorative Colloquium for CFE Associate Director Horacio Arlo-Costa was held on November 19-20, 2011. Thanks to all the speakers for making the Colloquium a great success! Here is the schedule of talks.

The Episteme annual conference on Social Epistemology was held at the CFE on June 24-26, 2011 in coordination with Alvin Goldmanand Christian List.  Here is the revised schedule and a link to arrangements.

There was a joint CSLI-CFE-San Francisco State workshop on Logic and Formal Epistemology at CSLI, Stanford on May 14 and 15, 2011, organized by Johan van Benthem, Bas van Fraassen, and Kevin van Kelly.  The topics will be learning in epistemic logic and a re-examination of norms in empirical reasoning. Local organizers Peter Hawke, Wes Holliday, Tomohiro Hoshi, and Thomas Icard at Stanford did a fantastic job and the workshop was supported mainly by the generosity of Patrick Suppes and the Department of Philosophy at Stanford. We hope this is the beginning of a long tradition.

On March 16, 12:00-4:00 there was a symposium on uncertain acceptance involving Hannes Leitgeb, Horacio Arlo-Costa, Kevin Kelly, Paul Pedersen, and Hanti Lin in DH.  The symposium compared notes on three new but distinct approaches to the subject. 

The CFE Colloquium series for Spring 2011 was rich, varied, and exciting.  Speakers included Cosma Shalizi, Michiel van Lambalgen, Hannes Leitgeb, Anil Gupta, and Mic Detlefsen.

The workshop on Experience, Heuristics, and Choice: Prospects for Bounded Rationality on Dec 1, 2010 was a great success.  Thanks to all who participated.

The 2010 Nagel Lectures were delivered by Brian Skyrms on Oct. 19-21, 2010.
The CFE Opening Celebration Conference was held on June 26-27, 2010.  Thanks to all who contributed to make it such a huge success!


The CFE Masthead illustrates Doherty Hall,where the new CFE office wing is located  (the windows on the top floor).  Like most of the Carnegie Mellon Campus, Doherty hall was designed in the Beaux-arts style by American architect Henry Hornbostel (1867-1961).  The band across  the bottom of the masthead is taken from the terra-cotta thistle frieze, designed to commemorate Andrew Carnegie, that runs right below the windows of the CFE offices.

Center Overview

In October 2009, the Center for Formal Epistemology was founded to promote research and educational exchanges in Formal Epistemology worldwide. The Center adopts a broad perspective on Formal Epistemology, including philosophically and formally informed, interdisciplinary work in the following areas:

  • bayesian epistemology,
  • belief revision,
  • causation,
  • decision and game theory,
  • philosophical logic (conditional, epistemic, erotetic, dynamic, etc.),
  • formal learning theory,
  • formal approaches in cognitive science,
  • formal theories in the philosophy of science,
  • history of formal epistemology,
  • implicature and pragmatics,
  • philosophy of mathematics,
  • philosophy of statistics,
  • social epistemology.

    • Center activities include:

  • a Visiting Fellows program,
  • a graduate exchange program,
  • a Summer School in Logic and Formal Epistemology for prospective graduate students,
  • an annual, Focused Workshop in Formal Epistemology that rotates in topic,
  • an annual Colloquium Series in Formal Epistemology.