Mitch Herschbach

I have paper in progress laying out my own views on simulation theory and anti-localizationist accounts of brain function (which I presented on at the SPAN @socphilneuro.bsky.social l‬ meeting in May). If anyone wants to see a draft, just let me know! /3

The central issue is fleshing out the notion of simulation in the simulation theory (ST) of mentalizing, and how well it deals with more complex accounts of how mental functions relate to neural structures. I argue that Yousefi Heris's approach abandons what distinguishes ST from theory theory. /2

Revising Simulation Theory Beyond Recognition: A Reply to Yousefi Heris (2024) - Erkenntnis (Yousefi Heris, Erkenntnis, 2024) offers a version of simulation theory, building on (Goldman, Simulating minds: The philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience of mindreading, Oxford University Press, 2...

Proud to say I have my first publication is quite a long time! It is a critical discussion of Ali Yousefi Heris's recent paper "Mental simulation: From neural resemblance to representation" (which builds on my 2012 Synthese article on mirroring and simulation). doi.org/10.1007/s106...

YouTube video by nandert Cut & Cover for LA's K Line Northern Extension

Please ‪@metrolosangeles.bsky.social‬ consider this plan for the K Line Northern Extension!

A Neuro-Philosophical Approach to Understanding the Brain

Check out this great article about SPAN2025 written by the Dana Foundation!

dana.org/article/a-ne...

Not sure how many rugby (unions) fans are out there, but I've always found rucks to be philosophically really interesting and possibly confused (esp. conditions under which they begin vs. end). I can't tell if this is something philosophers would actually care about...

The disparity btwn what’s actually happening in Los Angeles and the way it’s being mischaracterized is one of the biggest stress tests of modern media in recent memory. Botted socials, AI, old clips, declining literacy—it’s like seeing a broken emergency response system hit by a storm.

I get that sentiment. but it really feels wrong to me to let students get good grades for turning in AI written papers. Writing their papers in Google Docs doesn't require any extra work on their part, but the version history at least provides something to go in cases where you suspect AI was used

PHOTOS | SPAN

SPAN2025 was truly amazing-- a genuine feeling of community and belonging with 3 days packed with incredible talks and wonderful people. Photos are on our website now!

www.philandneuro.com/photos

It was so excellent!! Thanks for your leadership in putting together such an awesome conference

It might just be that we’ve been doing this research long enough that we’re running out of names to easily demarcate all the relevant research programs. “4E” lumps together a bunch of thing and doesn’t even include “ecological”. “radical” is getting added to “embodied” and “enactive”…

Guess I should have read the Bruenig review before chiming in. No idea why they contrasted an abundance agenda with social welfare and other egalitarian ideals. I think this framing might be more of Thompson’s influence. It does seem like a mistake to make abundance a solitary policy goal

I can put that on my CV now right? Recognizing quotes from papers has to be a marketable skill…

But they also really care about scientific/technological innovation, and the welfare benefits they bring.

I think they’re saying there are certain beneficial outcomes for people that really do involve building/creating stuff, and just moving money around doesn’t create those benefits for people. Housing and energy infrastructure are their main building stuff examples.

I’ve heard especially Ezra talk about their view in the following way: liberal politicians have often simply touted their successes in terms of the amount of money devoted to a project, instead of the beneficial outcomes they’ve achieved—and that requires significant systemic changes

Is that the blindfold test paper?

PROGRAM | SPAN

The SPAN2025 full program is now available for viewing! Check out the complete list of speakers and remember, you can attend even if you aren't presenting! 🤩

www.philandneuro.com/program

The full SPAN2025 program just dropped and it’s 🔥

would students interested in say philosophy of cognitive science be a good fit for this program? Or is more general philosophy of science topics be the main target?

I’m at a CSU and I’ve only seen faculty respond with anger at this AI initiative…

If you’re looking for the theory behind Severence, look no more. My paper “The Polysemy of ‘I’”, in press at M&L, is your friend. #severence 🤖🧠👩‍🔬🧪
philpapers.org/archive/SCHT...

And just like that, the SPAN2025 invited program is complete. Submissions are open to both philosophers and neuroscientists at philandneuro.com!

just checked and our 50% of CSUN students are on Pell grants. Tuition was due before our semester started, so maybe we won't have students dropped from classes? But if they don't get money for living expenses....

Just looked it up. It would be horrific if this holds up and disbursements are missed

are they paid out each semester? Monthly?

You’re probably eight because the AI hype is so strong.

I think that depends on our norms. If the education system buys into the idea that AI should be used by students, you’re right. But I don’t think that is some inevitable consequence of the mere existence of the technology.

For the present, the analogy between LLMs and calculators doesn’t hold well since LLMs make plenty of mistakes. Without subject matter knowledge you couldn’t evaluate the output.It’s fine to outsource to a tool when you have the abilities needed to evaluate the tool’s output. When you don’t….

I don’t think that’s possible when your learning outcomes include writing argumentative essays. In class writing can assess some of those skills but not all of them unless you have students do the writing across many class meetings. And that dramatically cuts into other uses for that time.