“Monthly Phenomenology” Talk: Joel Smith on ‘The Possibility of Communication’

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Friday 25 June 2021: Joel Smith (University of Manchester) on ‘The Possibility of Communication: Perceptual Demonstratives in the Logical Investigations’.

MONTHLY PHENOMENOLOGY
An online forum of discussion on recent work in phenomenology

Description: This series of talks gathers together scholars interested in phenomenology and its relation to contemporary issues in philosophy, especially in the philosophy of mind. It establishes a forum of discussion where people can meet on a regular basis and present their work-in-progress or recent publications. The topics addressed stretch from the history of early phenomenology to the systematic application of phenomenological insights to recent debates in analytic philosophy.

Schedule: The talks take place once a month on a Friday for 8 months (with a break in March). Time: 10:15am EST/EDT, 3:15pm GMT, 4:15pm CET. Talks last 90 minutes, including a 45 minutes Q&A.

Participation: Talks are held on zoom. To participate, please send an email to [email protected] with the heading “Registration Monthly Phenomenology”. You will be registered to our mailing list and a zoom link will be sent to you the day preceding each talk.

Joel Smith (University of Manchester)
The Possibility of Communication: Perceptual Demonstratives in the Logical Investigations
Friday, 25 June 2021
10:15am EDT, 3:15pm GMT, 4:15pm CET

Abstract: There is a well-known puzzle as to how successful communication is possible via the use of demonstrative and indexical terms. Focussing on the case of perceptual demonstratives, I outline the puzzle and explore a distinctively Husserlian solution. Leaning primarily on the account of “occasional expressions” in Logical Investigations, but drawing also on his later work, this solution involves thinking of the senses of demonstratives as less finely individuated than is sometimes presupposed. I briefly compare this view with more familiar direct reference, and moderate Fregean alternatives.

Upcoming talk:
Matt Bower (Texas State University)
The Problem of Objectual Phenomenology
9 July 2021

Convenors:
Guillaume Fréchette (University of Geneva)
Alessandro Salice (University College Cork)
Hamid Taieb (Humboldt University Berlin)
Íngrid Vendrell-Ferran (Goethe University Frankfurt)

Organized on behalf of the Network for Phenomenological Research