[spsp-members] Next Week's Lunch Time Talks - Alexandre Billon 2/11 and Sven Neth

[Center for Phil Sci]

The Center for Philosophy of Science invites you to join us for our Lunch
Time Talks .  Attend in person, room 1117 on the 11th floor of the
Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh or visit our live
stream on YouTube at *https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg
<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg>*.

*LTT:  Alexandre Billon*
5 Minute Fellow video:  *https://youtu.be/-imFr5EjjmM
<https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2F-imFr5EjjmM&data=05%7C02%7CSnodgrassC%40pitt.edu%7Cc0b2176a1e8b407e117908dd46211d61%7C9ef9f489e0a04eeb87cc3a526112fd0d%7C1%7C0%7C638743830220554368%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=kqBIPwAcjahTPsVDT214xjnIOtL57fuaSxak2qPm94A%3D&reserved=0>*

*Tuesday, February 11th @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EST*

This talk will be available online with the following Zoom link, found
here: https://pitt.zoom.us/j/91379267711


Title: Depersonalization derealization disorder: the philosophical take
home message
Abstract:
Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder (DDD) is a psychiatric condition
characterized by a profound sense of alienation from oneself and the world.
Individuals with DDD may experience a detachment from their body, actions,
and sense of self (depersonalization), a feeling of unreality in their
surroundings (derealization), and even a distorted perception of time
(detemporalization). This intriguing disorder, with its potential to
illuminate the nature of selfhood, time, and reality, has captivated
philosophers since its recognition in the late 19th century, drawing the
attention of luminaries such as Bergson, Sartre, Dilthey, and
Merleau-Ponty.  However, much of the philosophical discourse surrounding
DDD has been fragmented and lacking empirical grounding. This presentation
aims to offer a unified and empirically informed account of the
philosophical insights gleaned from DDD. I will propose that DDD can be
broadly understood as a disruption of subjective perspective, and, perhaps
surprisingly, that it offers a unique opportunity to, at least partially,
vindicate the very nature of subjective experience.



*LTT: * *Sven Neth*

*Friday, February 14th @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EDT*

Zoom link:  *https://pitt.zoom.us/j/93319281376
<https://pitt.zoom.us/j/93319281376>*

*Title: Against Optimization*
*Abstract:  *Value is complex and hard to measure. So we often measure and
optimize a simplified proxy metric. It’s easy to feel uneasy about this.
For example, Nguyen (2024) describes this phenomenon as “value capture” and
thinks it is bad. Similar phenomena are discussed as “Goodhart’s law” and
“reward hacking”. But it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what is going
wrong here. I will (i) discuss a theorem which attempts to give a general
explanation of why optimizing a proxy metric is bad, (ii) ask whether the
theorem rests on plausible assumptions and (iii) speculate about what this
means for consequentialism, capitalism and various other topics.
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