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Counterfactual Knowledge from the Imagination

Objective

Thoughts about counterfactual situations are a central feature of human cognition, key to planning in any domain of activity: What would happen if I missed a mortgage payment? What if Britain were to leave the EU? It seems that knowledge about counterfactual situations is possible under some circumstances. The project’s general aim is to improve our understanding of those circumstances, and what role the imagination plays in specifying them. The specific objectives are to investigate: (1) the connection between the epistemology of counterfactual conditionals and the epistemology of claims involving modal terms like “possible”, “necessary”, and “can”, (2) the role of the imagination in the epistemology of thought experiments in science, and (3) the cognitive architecture underlying counterfactual thinking. Over the course of investigating (1)-(3), I develop and defend the view that certain constrained imaginative exercises can provide knowledge about counterfactual situations.

I will carry out this research within the interdisciplinary setting of the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation and the Department of Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. My supervisor Francesco Berto is investigating questions highly relevant to my project’s, especially in his current work that develops a logic of conceivability. I will also make two visits to Oxford Philosophy to discuss my project research with Timothy Williamson, who has made some of the key contributions to the epistemology of counterfactual thinking and the imagination to date.

The project will give me the opportunity to establish myself as an important scholar in analytic philosophy. By the project’s end, I will have submitted four articles to internationally leading journals in the field. The project will also enhance cooperation between UvA (ILLC/Philosophy) and Oxford (Philosophy).

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2016

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Coordinator

THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 165 598,80
Address
WELLINGTON SQUARE UNIVERSITY OFFICES
OX1 2JD Oxford
United Kingdom

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Region
South East (England) Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Oxfordshire
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 165 599,30

Participants (1)

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