Knowledge and Limitations Saturday, September 20, 2014 2:30-4:30pm Past Event Watch the video » What do we know about the universe and how do we know it? As John Locke would ask, what are the extent and limitations of human knowledge? Is our understanding of the laws of nature bound by limits on what the mind can grasp, or can formulate linguistically, or are there inherent limitations of physical and mathematical knowledge? Can metaphysics, a philosophy concerned with first and universal principles—the unseen and imperceptible—be integrated with an empirical theory of knowledge? Participants: Joseph Kohn Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, Princeton University Joseph Kohn was born in Prague, on May 18, 1932. He emigrated to Ecuador in 1939 and to the US in 1945. There, he received his BS at MIT 1953, and his Ph.D. at Princeton, in 1956. He served as a Professor at Brandeis University 1958-1968 and at Princeton since 1968. Professor Kohn’s research regards the Theory… read more » Tim Maudlin Professor of Philosophy, New York University Tim Maudlin is Professor of Philosophy at New York University. He received his B. A. in Physics and Philosophy from Yale and his Ph.D. in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Pittsburgh. His work centers on the interpretation of physical theory: how the mathematical structures used in physics may be understood as… read more » Priyamvada Natarajan Professor of Astronomy and of Physics, Yale University Priyamvada Natarajan’s research is focused on exotica in the Universe-dark matter, dark energy and black holes. She is noted for her key contributions to two of the most challenging problems in cosmology: mapping the distribution of dark matter and tracing the growth history of black holes. Her work using gravitational lensing has provided a deeper… read more » Dorothea von Mücke Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures, Columbia University Professor Dorothea von Mücke holds a Ph. D. in Comparative Literature from Stanford University and has been teaching at Columbia since 1988. She has held visiting professorships in Berlin and Giessen. Representative courses: Eighteenth-Century Semiotics and Aesthetics, Heinrich von Kleist, Rousseau and Goethe, The Romantic Fantastic, Paradigms of Feminist Scholarship, Survey of Eighteenth-Century Literature, Literature… read more »
Joseph Kohn Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, Princeton University Joseph Kohn was born in Prague, on May 18, 1932. He emigrated to Ecuador in 1939 and to the US in 1945. There, he received his BS at MIT 1953, and his Ph.D. at Princeton, in 1956. He served as a Professor at Brandeis University 1958-1968 and at Princeton since 1968. Professor Kohn’s research regards the Theory… read more »
Tim Maudlin Professor of Philosophy, New York University Tim Maudlin is Professor of Philosophy at New York University. He received his B. A. in Physics and Philosophy from Yale and his Ph.D. in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Pittsburgh. His work centers on the interpretation of physical theory: how the mathematical structures used in physics may be understood as… read more »
Priyamvada Natarajan Professor of Astronomy and of Physics, Yale University Priyamvada Natarajan’s research is focused on exotica in the Universe-dark matter, dark energy and black holes. She is noted for her key contributions to two of the most challenging problems in cosmology: mapping the distribution of dark matter and tracing the growth history of black holes. Her work using gravitational lensing has provided a deeper… read more »
Dorothea von Mücke Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures, Columbia University Professor Dorothea von Mücke holds a Ph. D. in Comparative Literature from Stanford University and has been teaching at Columbia since 1988. She has held visiting professorships in Berlin and Giessen. Representative courses: Eighteenth-Century Semiotics and Aesthetics, Heinrich von Kleist, Rousseau and Goethe, The Romantic Fantastic, Paradigms of Feminist Scholarship, Survey of Eighteenth-Century Literature, Literature… read more »
I am a Masters of Fine Arts student in Australia, with a background in counselling psychology. I am interested to develop my understanding of neuropsychoanalysis and in relation to visual arts. Having been interested in – yet felt foreshortened by – Antonio Damasio’s orientation, I have recently come across the works of Mark Solm, and feel attracted to his worldview. How may I best be able to network and receive details of the outcome or conversations that result from your talks and seminars. I am not in a position to visit New York to attend/participate, but an interested in gaining access and engaging with such issues with the Helix Center and with NYPSI. Please advise what members may be able to access remotely. I visited New York earlier this year, alas, before i knew of your existence! Loretta Picone Masters of Fine Arts student, University of Sydney, Sydney College of the Arts Reply