We are happy to announce that the seventeenth edition of the graduate conference Open Minds organised by postgraduate Philosophy researchers at The University of Manchester will be held from 19th TO 20th OF SEPTEMBER, 2024. We are looking forward to exciting talks by MA and PhD researchers, learning from two relevant career workshops, and engaging with this years’ keynote speakers.
Open Minds is a two-day conference which offers graduate students working in all areas of philosophy an opportunity to present their work and receive valuable feedback in a welcoming and friendly environment. With the two parallel workshop streams - Applied Philosophy and Theoretical Philosophy - our goal is to provide a platform for aspiring philosophers at both Master’s and PhD levels to engage in robust discussion on all areas of philosophy. We hope that all speakers and participants at Open Minds XVII will develop valuable skills and working relationships with each other. To this end, we shall host two workshops which will allow students to deepen their understanding of philosophy within and outside academia. One workshop will address academic publishing, whereas the second will address interesting ways philosophers can engage with philosophy publicly.
Open Minds XVII are generously supported by the Society for Applied Philosophy, The Royal Institute of Philosophy, Analysis Trust, Aristotelian Society, and the Department of Philosophy at The University of Manchester.
LOCATION: Roscoe Building, Rooms 3.4 & 3.2 & 1.009
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME AND BOOK OF ABSTRACTS: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1So7mf1TDlfwWzn9iwd8E-Czqct8Icu_A/edit
REGISTRATION: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/open-minds-xvii-tickets-1007016703067?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl
KEYNOTE SPEAKER 1: Dr Cristina Voinea (University of Oxford) -- ' From Loss to Code: How Griefbots Shape Our Practical Identity'
ABSTRACT: Digital doppelgängers are LLMs-based conversational agents trained on individuals’ data to mimic their speech style, mannerisms, and personality. When they replicate individuals who have passed away, they are referred to as ‘griefbots’. In this presentation, I explore how interactions with digital doppelgängers can influence users’ practical identities, both positively and negatively. Even if I primarily use the example of griefbots, the discussion applies to other forms of digital doppelgängers, including those representing living individuals.
I start by stressing the importance of relationships in shaping our practical identities. Next, I explain how digital doppelgängers work, distinguishing task-specific and relational doppelgängers. Empirical studies already show that people have a sense of developing relationships with their digital companions. This means that just as human relationships shape our practical identities, so relationships with digital doppelgängers have the same potential. I then consider the positive and negative implications of these technologies on individuals’ practical identities. On the positive side, digital doppelgängers could help individuals bring their practical identity into a state of coherence following a significant loss and assist users in maintaining the continuity of values and commitments central to their identity. Conversely, they could also foster emotional dependency or be used for manipulation, potentially directing users' identities in ways that do not align with their interests.
Whether the impact of digital doppelgängers on users’ practical identity is beneficial or harmful largely depends on their design. Ultimately, I argue that through design interventions, digital doppelgängers can be developed to maximize benefits while minimizing risks.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER 2: Dr Raamy Majeed (University of Manchester) -- 'Is there a Science of Longterm Emotions?'
ABSTRACT: Emotions in scientific research are typically portrayed as short-lived responses or dispositions to manifest such responses. Some philosophers have argued that this fails to capture longterm emotions (e.g., love, hate, and grief). This paper examines whether the emerging field of affect dynamics (or emotion dynamics), which studies how emotions fluctuate over time, can address the philosophical critique. I argue that there are still aspects of longterm emotion missing from affect dynamics. I end by proposing a few positive steps those working in the field can take to address these concerns.
WORKSHOP 1: Dr David Liggins -- 'Publishing Philosophy Journal Articles'
WORKSHOP 2: Dr Leonie Smith -- 'Being a Philosopher Outside of The Academic Journal'
ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION:
Physical access: The venue for the event is accessible, but please contact the organisers if you have any specific questions or needs relating to access. We are happy to provide detailed routes and photos of the venue in advance to help with planning your trip and will do what we can to facilitate specific access requests advised in advance. For more information on venue accessibility, including parking information for blue badge holders, please visit the UoM website: https://www.accessable.co.uk/the-university-of-manchester/access-guides/roscoe-building
General: The organising committee are committed to providing a supportive and welcoming environment at this and each future workshop. Anyone is free to leave the conference room at any time for any reason. If you have any other access requirements, in terms of equipment, reading materials, or any other aspect that will help facilitate your attendance and / or ability to present, please let us know by communicating members of the organising committe via openmindsxvii@gmail.com / when registering to attend.
POLICY: The philosophy department at The University of Manchester (UoM) subscribes to the BPA/SWIP Good Practice Scheme. All session chairs will be following the UoM philosophy department seminar chairing policy. Details of this, along with The University of Manchester's good conduct event policy, can be found at the following location:
http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/philosophy/connect/events/events-policy/.
For any questions write to openmindsxvii@gmail.com or to one of the organisers: Patrick (patrick.ben@manchester.ac.uk); Octavio (octavio.graciaaguilar@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk);Lucija (lucija.duda@manchester.ac.uk); Jack (jack.morganjones@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk)
