Microsoft Teams: https://go.um.edu.mo/eab6bban   Abstract Higher-order (HO) theories of consciousness aim to resolve the “hard problem of consciousness,” arguing that what renders a mental state phenomenally conscious is that it is, or is disposed to be, the object of a HO mental state. While various versions of HO theories of consciousness are widely discussed, some HO theories have been expanded to explain the first-personal and reflexive nature of self-consciousness and its psychopathology, yet these explanations have received little attention. This is unfortunate, since a theory of self-consciousness is essential for a theory of consciousness. In this talk, I mainly discuss Rosenthal’s higher-order thought (HOT) theory of self-consciousness. I argue that his HOT theory fails to explain alleged which-object self-misidentification, a […]

Microsoft Teams: https://go.um.edu.mo/5lvjfwfl   Abstract There is a crisis of certainty in public life. Epistemic arrogance, closed mindedness, and deep disagreement have a close relationship to certainty, and are especially challenging online due to epistemic bubbles and echo chambers. In order to address these problems, we need to understand how it is rational to relate to certainty. When is it reasonable to be certain, and when not? Is certainty only a danger in public life, or can it be a value? This project addresses these questions by proposing and applying a theory of certainty. This theory is based on recent developments in 'hinge epistemology', which holds that belief, doubt, and inquiry are only possible given that we hold some core […]

Microsoft Teams: https://go.um.edu.mo/a1xhwfq8   Abstract The Youming Lu (Stories of Darkness and Brightness), a compilation of works ascribed to Liu Yiqing (403–444) of the Liu-Song dynasty, is examined in this study as a document that illustrates the incorporation of Buddhist and native Chinese ideas about the afterlife in early medieval China. The paper demonstrates how Buddhist concepts, such as karma and rebirth, were localized within Chinese cosmological frameworks, particularly through bureaucratic and familial structures, by closely examining a select group of stories. According to the Youming Lu, the netherworld underwent a transitional period during which it gradually changed from an unspecified and indeterminate realm to a methodically structured system controlled by bureaucratic administration and karmic retribution. The major themes examined in […]