Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Symposium Series: Feminist Philosphy and...

Feminist Philosphy and Bias

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Lichthof in the Main Building, Unter den Linden 6 Thursday 25th August 2011 12.45 – 13.00 Coffee 13.00 – 13.15 Welcome (Mari Mikkola, HU Berlin) 13.15 – 14.45 Louise Antony (University of Massachusetts, Amherts) “Different Voices or Perfect Storm? Explaining the Dearth of Women In Philosophy” 14.45 – 15.45 Peter Kirwan (University of California, Irvine) “Implicit Bias: Mapping the Dark Matter of Social Psychology” 15.45 – 16.15 Coffee 16.15 – 17.15 Catherine Hundleby (University of Windsor) “Bias and Fallacies of Argumentation: The Case of Androcentrism” 17.15 – 18.15 Matthew Drabek (University of Iowa) “A Model of Feedback Bias in the Social Sciences” 18.30 - Reception (R3103 – free and open to all participants) Friday 26th August 2011 9.45 – 10.00 Coffee 10.00 – 11.00 Heidi Lockwood (Southern Connecticut State University) “Why does Diversity Matter in the Academy” 11.00 – 12.30 Jennifer Saul (University of Sheffield) “Formal Equality of Opportunity and Affirmative Action” 12.30 – 14.30 Lunch (own arrangements + coffee at the conference venue 14.15 – 14.30) 14.30 – 15.30 Kristen Intemann (Montana State University) & Inmaculada de Melo‐Martín (Weill Cornell Medical College) “Bias and the Commercialization of Scientific Research: Can a Feminist Conception of Impartiality Help?” 15.30 – 16.30 Susanne Pohlmann (Freie Universität Berlin) “Accountability and Underpinning Attitudes of Biased Beliefs” 16.30 – 17.15 End discussion
  • Feminist Philosphy and Bias
  • 2011-08-25T12:45:00+02:00
  • 2011-08-26T17:15:00+02:00
  • Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Lichthof in the Main Building, Unter den Linden 6 Thursday 25th August 2011 12.45 – 13.00 Coffee 13.00 – 13.15 Welcome (Mari Mikkola, HU Berlin) 13.15 – 14.45 Louise Antony (University of Massachusetts, Amherts) “Different Voices or Perfect Storm? Explaining the Dearth of Women In Philosophy” 14.45 – 15.45 Peter Kirwan (University of California, Irvine) “Implicit Bias: Mapping the Dark Matter of Social Psychology” 15.45 – 16.15 Coffee 16.15 – 17.15 Catherine Hundleby (University of Windsor) “Bias and Fallacies of Argumentation: The Case of Androcentrism” 17.15 – 18.15 Matthew Drabek (University of Iowa) “A Model of Feedback Bias in the Social Sciences” 18.30 - Reception (R3103 – free and open to all participants) Friday 26th August 2011 9.45 – 10.00 Coffee 10.00 – 11.00 Heidi Lockwood (Southern Connecticut State University) “Why does Diversity Matter in the Academy” 11.00 – 12.30 Jennifer Saul (University of Sheffield) “Formal Equality of Opportunity and Affirmative Action” 12.30 – 14.30 Lunch (own arrangements + coffee at the conference venue 14.15 – 14.30) 14.30 – 15.30 Kristen Intemann (Montana State University) & Inmaculada de Melo‐Martín (Weill Cornell Medical College) “Bias and the Commercialization of Scientific Research: Can a Feminist Conception of Impartiality Help?” 15.30 – 16.30 Susanne Pohlmann (Freie Universität Berlin) “Accountability and Underpinning Attitudes of Biased Beliefs” 16.30 – 17.15 End discussion
  • Was Conference Inaugural event
  • Wann 25.08.2011 12:45 bis 26.08.2011 17:15
  • Wo Humboldt-Universität Main Building, Unter den Linden 6, Berlin, Lichthof
  • iCal

The concept of bias has played a key role in shaping feminist epistemology and philosophy of science. It is not, however, an uncontested concept. Feminist philosophers disagree amongst themselves on how the concept should be understood, and whether bias is inevitable. They further disagree on how feminists should respond to and deal with bias. For instance, are biases always detrimental to our knowledge seeking activities? Or, can certain explicit biases (like feminist and anti-racist ones) make our epistemic practices more robustly truth-seeking?

More recently, political and ethical discussions have started making use of the concept of bias. Both philosophers and psychologists alike have begun examining certain sorts of widespread implicit biases about members of stigmatised social groups. The holders of these biases are generally unaware of them, and often have sincere and explicit egalitarian beliefs. On one understanding, implicit biases are unconscious prejudices that unduly affect our ways of both positively and negatively perceiving, evaluating, and interacting with others. The recognition and analysis of such biases has wide-ranging consequences for feminist philosophy and politics, as well as for every other movement seeking social justice. Implicit biases may explain why members of particular groups still find it hard to ‘make it’, despite the lack of overt obstacles to positions of power and authority.

Given its centrality to a number of feminist debates, this conference examines the notion of bias (broadly conceived).

Confirmed Speakers

 

  • Louise Antony (University of Massachusetts, Amherts, USA) "Different Voices or Perfect Storm? Explaining the Dearth of Women In Philosophy"
  • Jennifer Saul (University of Sheffield, UK) "Formal Equality of Opportunity and Affirmative Action"
  • Matthew Drabek (University of Iowa, US)“A Model of Feedback Bias in the Social Sciences”
  • Catherine Hundleby (University of Windsor, Canada) “Bias and Fallacies of Argumentation: The Case of Androcentrism”
  • Kristen Intemann (Montana State University, US)& Inmaculada de Melo‐Martín (Weill Cornell Medical College, US) “Bias and the Commercialization of Scientific Research: Can a Feminist Conception of Impartiality Help?”
  • Peter Kirwan (University of California, Irvine, US) “Implicit Bias: Mapping the Dark Matter of Social Psychology”
  • Heidi Lockwood (Southern Connecticut State University, US) “Why does Diversity Matter in the Academy”
  • Susanne Pohlmann (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany)“Accountability and Underpinning Attitudes of Biased Beliefs”

 

This conference also serves as the inaugural event for the new Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Symposium Series Feminist Philosophy and…. It will be followed by further regular events on topics relevant and of interest to feminist philosophers and all philosophers working on issues to do with social justice. Planned future topics include Feminist Philosophy and: Gender, Pornography, Race, Sex work.

Attendance is free but places are limited. To register, email feminism-hu@gmx.de by 11^th August 2011. For further information about the Symposium Series and the event on Bias, please contact Prof. Dr. Mari Mikkola (mari.mikkola@hu-berlin.de).