Workshop on the methods for studying imagination

Imagination has been the subject of philosophical inquiry for its role in domains like art, fiction, scientific modeling, and mental processes such as dreaming and remembering. This wide range of functions has led to philosophical disagreements about the contexts and explanations in which imagination is relevant. These disagreements may stem from differing, often unexamined, methodological assumptions about how imagination should be studied. The purpose of this workshop is to bring together philosophers from different backgrounds who work on imagination to discuss these methods and underlying assumptions.

Institute of Philosophy and Semiotics, University of Tartu
Jakobi 2, room 336

12 December

10:00–11:00 Lucia Oliveri (Münster), “Imagination Through its History: Why and How?”
11:00–11:20 Break
11:20–12:20 Max Jones (Bristol), “Naturalism, Eliminativism, and the Value of Imagination”
12:20–13:20 Roomet Jakapi (Tartu), “The Limits of Imagism in Early Modern Empiricist Philosophy”
13:20–15:00 Lunch
15:00–16:00 Jimena Clavel Vazquez (Tilburg), “Paths towards an Articulation of Collective Imagination”
16:00–16:20 Break
16:20–17:20 Nicholas Wiltsher (St Andrews), “Imagination as a Social Kind”

13 December

10:00–11:00 Uku Tooming (Tartu), “Uses and Abuses of History in Philosophy of Imagination”
11:00–11:20 Break
11:20–12:20 Sofia Pedrini (Bochum), “Why Phenomenology Matters: Rethinking the Epistemic Role of Imagination”
12:20–13:20 Julia Langkau (Geneva), “Empirically Informed Introspection in Imagination Research”
13:20–15:00 Lunch
15:00–16:00 Mike Stuart (York), “Using Qualitative Methods to Study Scientific Imagination” (online)

The workshop is supported by the Estonian Research Council grant PRG2721 “Imagination in Cognition: Contemporary and Ancient Perspectives”, led by Uku Tooming.