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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Johns Hopkins Natural Philosophy Forum
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260310T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260310T190000
DTSTAMP:20260605T165521
CREATED:20260130T152850Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260302T030524Z
UID:311-1773162000-1773169200@www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org
SUMMARY:Fourth Annual Distinguished Lecture: P. James Peebles
DESCRIPTION:P. James Peebles\, Princeton University. \n\nThe Physicists’ Philosophy of Physics \nAbstract: \nI will argue that physicists share an implicit but well-defined way of thinking that amounts to a  philosophy\, though one that I expect is more tightly prescriptive than many discussed by real philosophers. The physicists’ philosophy differs from that of the other natural sciences by its reliance on tests of reliable predictions of theories that we think are useful approximations to our notion of reality. I will offer examples of applications of this philosophy to the small scales of quantum physics and the large scales of cosmology. Both physics pass demanding tests that establish them as useful approximations to our reality\, but they are not consistent. It can be compared to Snow’s two cultures. The two cultures differ more broadly than the two physics\, but they share the separating effects of different working conditions. It’s difficult to imagine that someone capable of creating a notable history of philosophy could make significant contributions to physics. It’s easier to imagine someone making key contributions to small-scale and large-scale physics\, but I cannot think of anyone who managed it in the past century or two. The two cultures and two sciences might profit by closer interactions. \nThe lecture will be held at 5:00pm in the Schafler Auditorium (room 272)\, Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy \n(note: not the Bloomberg Student Center)
URL:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/event/fourth-annual-distinguished-lecture-p-james-peebles/
LOCATION:272 Bloomberg Center for Physics & Astronomy\, 3701 San Martin Dr\, Baltimore\, MD\, 21218\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Peebles_WEB-1200x800-731747048.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251105T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251105T173000
DTSTAMP:20260605T165521
CREATED:20250901T201801Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251030T174903Z
UID:293-1762358400-1762363800@www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org
SUMMARY:Seminar: Heather Demarest
DESCRIPTION:Heather Demarest is a professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado\, Boulder. \nTitle: “Macrostates\, Natural Kinds\, and Statistical Mechanics” \nAbstract: The second law of thermodynamics states that entropy (almost) always increases over time. However\, different systems do this in very different ways. In some systems\, like boxes of gas\, entropy increases smoothly and uniformly. In other systems\, such as refrigerators\, crystals\, trees\, zebras\, and human brains\, entropy decreases in parts of the system\, while increasing in other parts. A zebra (together with its environment) does not violate the second law\, but there is an important sense in which the zebra resists (or perhaps more accurately\, exploits) the second law. The zebra maintains or reduces its entropy by shunting its extra entropy into its environment. This is possible because the zebra consumes highly ordered\, low-entropy energy (grass) and excretes higher entropy waste (heat and manure). In this paper\, I defend a metaphysical account of this difference in terms of multiple realizability—the fewer microphysical realizers a kind has\, the more it is able to resist the second law. I make this notion precise with functional information (Hazen 2007; Wong 2023) of macrostates in the phase space of statistical mechanics.
URL:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/event/seminar-heather-demarest/
LOCATION:217 Maryland Hall\, Johns Hopkins University\, Baltimore\, MD\, 21218\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2025-06-04-15.42.18.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250912T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250912T143000
DTSTAMP:20260605T165521
CREATED:20250901T201442Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250902T151958Z
UID:291-1757682000-1757687400@www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org
SUMMARY:Work in Progress Seminar: John MacNeill Miller
DESCRIPTION:John MacNeill Miller is the author of The Ecological Plot: How Stories Gave Rise to a Science. \nTitle: The Poetics of Science \nAbstract:\nWhen it comes to categorizing knowledge\, academic institutions are divided—and increasingly unclear about what their divisional categories even are or should be. Terms with long institutional histories (the arts and sciences; the humanities\, the natural sciences and the social sciences) jostle uneasily with newer constructions (such as STEM and STEAM) amidst insistent calls for greater interdisciplinarity. This seminar will focus on one longstanding intellectual division—the infamous “two cultures” of literature and science—and outline a potential schema for uniting them by considering their shared foundations. Most attempts to bridge the gap between literature and science are relatively superficial and one-directional: they explore how scientific ideas might influence or be communicated through literary techniques. This seminar\, by contrast\, will investigate how scientific modes of thought could be understood as inherently literary\, exploring how plotting\, metaphor\, and other literary techniques prove necessary to—and enlightening about—the practice of science. \nThese seminars are to discuss projects in early stages: the discussion will be multidisciplinary\, collaborative and informal. Everyone welcome!
URL:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/event/work-in-progress-seminar-john-macneill-miller/
LOCATION:288 Gilman
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/foxheadshot_orig.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Jenann Ismael":MAILTO:jismael1@jhu.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250529T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250529T200000
DTSTAMP:20260605T165521
CREATED:20240904T192102Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250520T175724Z
UID:244-1748545200-1748548800@www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org
SUMMARY:Third Annual Distinguished Lecture: Alison Gopnik
DESCRIPTION:Alison Gopnik\, UC Berkeley \n7:00pm\, Glass Pavilion\, Johns Hopkins Homewood Campus \nThe Evolution of Human Intelligences: Exploit\, Explore\, Empower \nA common model of AI suggests that there is a single measure of intelligence\, often called AGI\, and that AI systems are agents who can possess more or less of this intelligence. Cognitive science\, in contrast\, suggests that there are multiple forms of intelligence and that these intelligences trade-off against each other and have a distinctive developmental profile and evolutionary history. Exploitation\, the pursuit of goals\, resources and utilities\, is characteristic of adult cognition. I argue however\, that two very different kinds of cognition characterize childhood and elderhood. Childhood is characterized by exploration. In particular\, children seek out information about the world. However\, forgoing reward for exploration requires support and nurturance from others – it requires care and teaching. Care and teaching are particularly characteristic of elders and the intelligence of care has a distinctive structure – it involves empowering others – giving them the resources they need to be effective The combination of these different kinds of intelligence across the course of a life explains human success\, and this has important implications for AI.
URL:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/event/third-annual-distinguished-lecture-alison-gopnik/
LOCATION:Glass Pavillion\, Levering Hall\, Johns Hopkins University\, Baltimore\, MD\, 21218\, United States
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250529
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250601
DTSTAMP:20260605T165521
CREATED:20240904T191413Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240904T191413Z
UID:240-1748476800-1748735999@www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org
SUMMARY:Natural Philosophy Symposium 2025
DESCRIPTION:The Natural Philosophy Forum will be hosting an international symposium\, May 29-31 2025\, covering a variety of topics under the Natural Philosophy umbrella. Details here.
URL:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/event/natural-philosophy-symposium-2025/
LOCATION:Baltimore Marriott Waterfront\, 700 Aliceanna St\, Baltimore\, 21202\, United States
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240506T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240506T133000
DTSTAMP:20260605T165521
CREATED:20231211T190751Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240426T205043Z
UID:208-1714996800-1715002200@www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org
SUMMARY:Work in Progress Seminar: E.J. Green
DESCRIPTION:E.J. Green\, Johns Hopkins \nReconsidering the Role of Imagery in Perception\n\nAbstract: Perception is not a passive receptacle for impressions made by the world upon the mind; it involves constructive processes that supplement the information available in sensory input. To recover an object’s 3D shape\, for instance\, our visual system must supplement the 2D image it projects to the retina. A recent movement within philosophy and cognitive science holds that the constructive character of perception depends integrally on mental imagery (i.e.\, the same sort of capacity you exercise when you visualize your childhood bedroom\, or imagine the brassy sound of a trumpet). On this constitutive view of imagery’s role in perception\, perceptual representations routinely have imagistic elements. I will challenge this view. First\, I raise problems for the expansive conception of imagery on which the constitutive view relies. Roughly\, this conception takes imagery to encompass any form of perceptual processing that is not directly caused by sensory inputs. I argue that this conception is ill-defined and fails to capture a unified psychological kind. I then consider perceptual completion\, a constructive perceptual process that figures centrally in recent arguments for the constitutive view. I argue that there is little explanatory utility in construing perceptual completion as a form of imagery. More broadly\, the constructive character of perception is best understood on its own terms\, rather than by reference to imagery.\n(Based on joint work with Kevin Lande\, York University)
URL:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/event/work-in-progress-seminar-e-j-green/
LOCATION:288 Gilman
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240412
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240414
DTSTAMP:20260605T165521
CREATED:20230914T194310Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230914T194310Z
UID:171-1712880000-1713052799@www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org
SUMMARY:Workshop: The Arrow of Time
DESCRIPTION:Invitation only.
URL:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/event/workshop-the-arrow-of-time/
LOCATION:MD
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240411T161500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240411T173000
DTSTAMP:20260605T165521
CREATED:20231002T125806Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240326T000212Z
UID:184-1712852100-1712856600@www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org
SUMMARY:Work in Progress Seminar: Carlo Rovelli
DESCRIPTION:Carlo Rovelli\, Aix-Marseille University \n“Why Do Effects Come After Causes?” \n4:15pm\, Nolan Room (Gillman 132)\, Johns Hopkins Homewood Campus
URL:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/event/work-in-progress-seminar-carlo-rovelli/
LOCATION:MD
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240304T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240304T133000
DTSTAMP:20260605T165521
CREATED:20231127T204955Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240228T192031Z
UID:191-1709553600-1709559000@www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org
SUMMARY:Work In Progress Seminar: Norberto Grzywacz
DESCRIPTION:Norberto Grzywacz\, Loyola University Chicago & Johns Hopkins \nThe Dynamics of Aesthetic Values \nPersonal aesthetic values are constantly evolving.  Our recent studies have shown that the temporal dynamics of this evolution are complex\, individualized\, and occur at different time scales.  In this seminar\, I will describe our work in progress to elucidate the mechanisms of these dynamics.   In the first part\, I will describe preliminary results using social-influence models based on both value-distance rules and reinforcement learning.  I will also describe new experiments that we are preparing to test these models.  If time allows\, I will describe in the second part of the seminar ideas on the effect of choice on these dynamics.  These ideas stem from the well-established result that choices being made now tend to be consistent with those made in the past\, probably to avoid cognitive dissonance.  Thus\, our own choices\, not only exposure to the world\, can affect our aesthetic values.
URL:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/event/work-in-progress-seminar-norberto-grzywacz/
LOCATION:288 Gilman
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240227T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240227T200000
DTSTAMP:20260605T165521
CREATED:20230914T194540Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240207T154520Z
UID:173-1709056800-1709064000@www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org
SUMMARY:Second Annual Distinguished Lecture: Geoffrey West
DESCRIPTION:Geoffrey West\, Santa Fe Institute \n6:00pm in the Glass Pavilion\, Levering Hall \nThe Simplicity\, Unity and Complexity of Life from the Biosphere to the Anthroposphere \nAlthough Life is probably the most complex and diverse phenomenon in the Universe\, having evolved by the “random” forces of natural selection\, many of its most fundamental characteristics scale with size in a remarkably simple universal fashion. From lifespans and growth rates to genomes\, brains and tree heights and ranging from cells to whales\, life manifests a systematic regularity following common universal laws dominated by the number four. Likewise\, social organisations whether cities\, companies or universities exhibit a similar systematic scaling: wages\, profits\, patents\, crime\, police\, disease and infrastructure all scale in an approximately “universal” fashion across the globe. These laws\, which transcend history\, geography and culture\, and which constrain much of the organisation and dynamics of life will be reviewed. A quantitative\, predictive unified theory for their origin\, and for understanding the coarse-grained dynamics\, growth and organization of these systems\, will be discussed. It is based on the underlying generic principles and mathematical properties of the networks that sustain life\, ranging from vascular systems of organisms to the social and infrastructural networks of cities and social organizations. Their consequences have dramatic implications for growth\, development\, mortality and long-term global sustainability.
URL:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/event/second-annual-distinguished-lecture-geoffrey-west/
LOCATION:MD
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231204T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231204T133000
DTSTAMP:20260605T165521
CREATED:20230914T194134Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231127T205806Z
UID:169-1701691200-1701696600@www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org
SUMMARY:Work In Progress Seminar: William Egginton
DESCRIPTION:William Egginton\, Johns Hopkins \n“De Anima: The Search for Intelligent life in Animals\, Machines\, Humans\, and Beyond”
URL:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/event/work-in-progress-seminar-2/
LOCATION:288 Gilman
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231106T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231106T133000
DTSTAMP:20260605T165521
CREATED:20230914T193956Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231127T205952Z
UID:166-1699272000-1699277400@www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org
SUMMARY:Work In Progress Seminar: Emily Riehl
DESCRIPTION:Emily Riehl\, Johns Hopkins\n“Psychological and sociological aspects of computer formalizations vs traditional pen-and-paper mathematics”
URL:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/event/work-in-progress-seminar/
LOCATION:288 Gilman
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231004T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231004T183000
DTSTAMP:20260605T165521
CREATED:20230914T193809Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230920T165857Z
UID:164-1696438800-1696444200@www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org
SUMMARY:Special Seminar: Scott Aaronson
DESCRIPTION:Scott Aaronson\, University of Texas – Austin \n“Neurocryptography and AI Alignment” \n 
URL:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/event/special-seminar-scott-aaronson/
LOCATION:111 Mergenthaler Hall\, 89HH+RP\, Baltimore\, MD\, 21218\, United States
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230422T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230423T180000
DTSTAMP:20260605T165521
CREATED:20230216T191720Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230415T131857Z
UID:152-1682157600-1682272800@www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org
SUMMARY:Conference: Humeanism and the Laws of Nature
DESCRIPTION:A conference on Barry Loewer’s upcoming book\, What Breathes Fire Into the Equations? \nTalk abstracts and participant list (pdf) \nSaturday  April 22: 10am-6pm Eastern \nRegistration URL: https://rutgers.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUpcu6hpz8rG9FW81SyqDMEiFRsjUNj4n1C \nSunday April 23: 10am-6pm Eastern \nRegistration URL: https://rutgers.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUrduyhqD0pEtIWK4_xjOlPaY4MRpi2LuJw \nSaturday\, April 22 \n9:45 – 10:00      Introductory Remarks \n10:00 – 11:30    David Albert (Columbia) \nBarry & Alison’s Idea about Evaluating Counterfactuals \n11:40 – 1:10      Harjit Bhogal (UMD College Park) \nDoes anything explain the regularity of the world? \n1:10 – 3:00        Lunch \n3:00 – 4:30        Heather Demarest (University of Colorado\, Boulder) \nPackage Deal Ontology \n4:40 – 6:10       Marc Lange (UNC Chapel Hill) \nA “misleading metaphor left over from the concept of law’s theological origin”? \nSunday\, April 23 \n10:00 – 11:30   Eddy Chen (UCSD) \nStrong Determinism \n11:40 – 1:10    Michael Hicks (University of Birmingham) \nUnpacking the Deal: How Can Properties Arise from Regularities? \n1:10 – 3:00        Lunch \n3:00 – 4:30      Isaac Wilhelm (National University of Singapore) \nSize \n4:40 – 6:10      Barry Loewer (Rutgers) \nWhat Breathes Fire into the Equations? \n 
URL:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/event/conference-humeanism-and-the-laws-of-nature/
LOCATION:110 Clark Hall\, Johns Hopkins University\, Baltimore\, MD\, 21218\, United States
ORGANIZER;CN="Jenann Ismael":MAILTO:jismael1@jhu.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230206T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230206T190000
DTSTAMP:20260605T165521
CREATED:20230201T010746Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230203T004607Z
UID:52-1675706400-1675710000@www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org
SUMMARY:First Annual Distinguished Lecture in Natural Philosophy: Daniel Dennett
DESCRIPTION:Featured Speaker: Daniel Dennett\, Tufts University. Monday 6 February\, 6:00 pm in the Glass Pavilion\, Levering Hall. \n \n 
URL:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/event/first-annual-distinguished-lecture-in-natural-philosophy/
LOCATION:Glass Pavillion\, Levering Hall\, Johns Hopkins University\, Baltimore\, MD\, 21218\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Daniel_dennett.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20221111T120000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20221111T133000
DTSTAMP:20260605T165521
CREATED:20230201T201406Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230201T201406Z
UID:136-1668168000-1668173400@www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org
SUMMARY:Informal Discussion: Introduction to Foundations of Physics
DESCRIPTION:Sean Carroll leads a discussion on why physicists (and others) might be interested in the foundations of physics.
URL:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/event/informal-discussion-introduction-to-foundations-of-physics/
LOCATION:462 Bloomberg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20221004T140000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20221004T160000
DTSTAMP:20260605T165521
CREATED:20230201T201215Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230201T201215Z
UID:135-1664892000-1664899200@www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org
SUMMARY:Informal Discussion: Malcolm MacIver
DESCRIPTION:Malcolm MacIver from Northwestern will lead a discussion on “Naturalizing Imagination.”
URL:https://www.naturalphilosophyhopkins.org/event/informal-discussion-malcolm-maciver/
LOCATION:109 Maryland Hall
END:VEVENT
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