Using a Myth to Kill a Myth:
Cognitive Science and the Myth of the Given
by Carl B. Sachs
The American philosopher Wilfrid Sellars has become well-known for his criticism of "the Myth of the Given". But what the Myth is, and how it should be overcome, remain controversial. In this seminar, Carl B.Sachs will argue that overcoming the Myth requires what Sellars called "an adequate psychology of the higher processes" because we need an account of the causal processes that underpin and make possible our scientific achievements. Such an account would also need to illustrate the continuity between "preconceptual patterns of behaviour" and "conceptual thinking", and between the first episodes of conceptual thinking and the subsequent development of the science of mind. At the end of "Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind," Sellars introduces what he calls "the Myth of Jones" but adds, "but is my myth really a myth?". Sachs will argue that Sellars's philosophy of mind requires understanding the history of the sciences of the mind, including both how science itself emerged from earlier forms of human culture and how human culture evolved from earlier forms of hominid social behaviour.
About the Speaker:
Carl B. Sachs is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Marymount University (USA). His research interests include philosophy of mind, philosophy of nature, American pragmatism, and the Frankfurt School of critical theory. He has published articles on Sellars, Rorty, C. I. Lewis, McDowell, Adorno, and Merleau-Ponty. He is the author of "Intentionality and the Myths of the Given" (Routledge 2015) and a founding member of the Wilfrid Sellars Society.
Practical
The CLEA seminars are taking place simultaneously at the VUB campus in Etterbeek, Brussels, and online (via Zoom) and are open to everyone interested!
When. Friday February 10, 2023 from 14:00 until 16:00h
Where (live). VUB campus Etterbeek, room D.1.07
Online. You can follow the seminar online via Zoom. You may need a Meeting ID and passcode to enter.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82757798426?pwd=em9sQlJDVjJYTEFRNk01dEJLWGxGUT09
Meeting ID: 827 5779 8426
Passcode: 122127
Video of the seminar
