The Manipulation Argument Conference: Extended Deadline

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL 15
MARCH, 2012. 

This is a call for postgraduate respondents for an upcoming conference on
the Manipulation Argument.

The conference will be held in Budapest in early June 2012. Deadline for
applications: 15 March, 2012. Please find details below.

***

Conference Title: The Manipulation Argument
Place: Central European University (Budapest, Hungary)
Date: 7-9 June, 2012

Confirmed invited speakers:
- Ish Haji (University of Calgary)
- Michael McKenna (University of Arizona)
- Al Mele (Florida State University)
- Derk Pereboom (Cornell University)
- Paul Russell (University of British Columbia)

Organizers:    
- Michael McKenna & Andras Szigeti (Lund University/CEU)

The event forms part of 'What it is to be human?' project
(http://humanproject.ceu.hu/) hosted by the Philosophy Department of Central
European University (http://philosophy.ceu.hu/) and funded by the National
Development Agency/MAG Zrt.

*Call for Postgraduate Respondents*

The conference contributions will discuss different aspects of the
Manipulation Argument, arguably the most influential argument for
incompatibilism. We invite postgraduate students to present brief replies
(15-25 minutes) to the talks given by the speakers listed above. The papers
to be commented upon will be made available to prospective commentators by
the end of April. Please note that we are not able to cover the costs of
participation.

To apply please send by email to szigetia@ceu.hu:
- your name and institutional affiliation
- CV
- a brief statement of up to 200 words explaining the relevance of the
themes of the conference to your research
- names of up to 3 speakers, in order of preference, you would like to
respond to.

Deadline for application: *15 March, 2012*
Notifications of acceptance: *1 April, 2012*

In addition to this call for respondents, the conference is open to all
interested philosophy students and researchers (at any career stage) from
all countries as (non-speaker) participants. Registration is free. No
financial support for travel and accommodation expenses can be provided.

Deadline for registration: *15 May, 2012*

To register and for more information, please send an email by 15 May to
Andras Szigeti (szigetia@ceu.hu) or check here:
https://humanproject.ceu.hu/events/2012-06-07/workshop-on-the-manipulation-argument

Michael McKenna

Comments

[Manuel "Don't Get Mad at Me Michael McKenna, Because I Really Am Curious" Vargas]

I think I'm missing something. The line up looks terrific, obviously, but is the idea that grad students (i.e., people who are broke and have no guarantee of future employment) will pay thousands of dollars to fly to Hungary and put themselves up so that they can provide roughly 20 minute replies to senior people in the field whose support they'd like to cultivate? Am I reading this right? I can't imagine having done this as a grad student. But maybe the idea is to get local grad students to do it? Or maybe rail fare for students in Europe is super cheap?

And, um, women?

[Michael McKenna]

Hi Manuel,

About the issue of grad student support, I agree that of course it would be better were there financial support for students. But the CEU just does not have it available in this case. I would, however, note that when I team-taught a two week intensive course on free will there two summers ago, I was heartened to learn that many grad students from other universities in the U.S. and throughout Europe were able to attend CEU events with some funding support from their home institutions. Also, while the CEU does not have funds for students in this case, as I understand it, overall they have been very supportive of fostering international travel for students with respect to other events. In this way, they are a force for good amongst grad students both at their own institution, CEU, and around the globe.

As for the matter of the all-male line up, I certainly agree that it is better when excellent women philosophers are also part of the mix. Indeed they should be featured at conferences on free will and moral responsibility since there are certainly excellent women philosophers in our sub-discipline. But I will say that Andras and I were alive to this matter, and part of what made it difficult to be accommodating is that the topic is so limited—recent and sustained work on the manipulation argument. There are just not that many senior people, men or women, writing on that issue. So there’s not a big population to work with.

I hope that these concerns have not cast a shadow over this event. I would ask all of you who read this blog to consider attending, and those grad students who are able to do so, please consider applying for a position as a commentator. Budapest is a lovely and stimulating city. So is the CEU, where you’re likely to meet excellent people from all over.

Finally, let me say that the concerns Manuel has picked up on here should not reflect on Andras Szigeti . Andras is a young Hungarian philosopher from CEU who is just getting his career under way, and as with other major events he has organized, he is doing a great job organizing this one.

Best,
Michael

[Manuel "Sheepish" Vargas]

That makes sense. I hadn't realized the track record of success there for this sort of thing, or that there are grad students who can get this kind of support. On the gender front, the topic is obviously pretty focused, so I can well imagine lineup issues would have been tricky.

It really does look like a great conference. I'm sorry my remarks were chippy, as Dan would say. I obviously didn't know the whole story, but it sounds like you and Andras are alive to both of the worries I had. I'm sorry, too, if my remarks have colored anyone's perceptions about the conference. I've been thinking a lot about these kinds of issues in the larger profession, and I was obviously prematurely trigger-happy here.

If you are a grad student reading this thread, and you have the means to go, you should go. This is obviously a great opportunity with some really big time folks, and I'm sure it will be great.

[Michael McKenna]

That was very cool of you, Manuel. Thanks!