CALL FOR PARTICIPATION SUMMER SCHOOL 2004

THE REFERENCE TO OBJECTS LANGUAGE, PERCEPTION, CONCEPTS

6-12 June 2004, Vieille Perrotine, Ile d’Oleron, France Eligible candidates:

CNRS Researchers; researchers, teachers and doctoral students of French and foreign educational establishments, in the following disciplines: Philosophy, Linguistics, Cognitive Science, Social Sciences, Psychology of perception, Psychology of action, Cognitive Neuroscience

Monday 7June François Recanati (Institut Nicod) Indexical reference to objects Tuesday 8 June Paul Bloom (Yale University) Bodies and souls Wednesday 9 June Daniel Povinelli (University of Louisiana) Physical objects for great apes Thursday 10 June Zenon Pylyshyn (Rutgers) Objects and visual attention www.institutnicod.org

Convenor: Roberto Casati Scientific Committee: Elisabeth Pacherie, Jérôme Dokic, Pierre Jacob Organization: Roberto Casati, David Nicolas, Institut Nicod, 1 bis av. de Lowendal, 75007 Paris Gwladys Maure (CNRS Paris A) Tel. : +33.1.53593280. - Fax : +.33.153593299. – E-mail : [email protected] www.institutnicod.org The theme of the school is the role of physical objects in cognition (in apes, in attention, in visual perception, language, in the course of development). ! The topic: In the last fifteen years considerable developments in the cognitive sciences have given rise to a number of methodological and foundational problems. In particular, interdisciplinary communication and the comparison of results have proved to be at times difficult. In this context we can mention the debates spurred by the July 2001 issue of Cognition on object cognition and its study by the different disciplines in cognitive science. By ‘object’ here is meant material bodies or three-dimensional entities existent in time and capable of movement in space. Different cognitive systems are dedicated to the processing of information concerning objects viz. the perceptual systems, language, reason and action. One can make the following observations (in order of their decreasing generality): (i) Neither is there as yet any consensus about the nature and the properties of the entities of the external world which are supposed to be grasped by the cognition of objects nor about the mechanisms dedicated to the perception of objects. (ii) That which “counts as an object” in the disciplines that deal with each of these cognitive systems varies in a subtle manner from one discipline to another, or from one sub-discipline to another. Thus stimuli presented on a screen are perfectly acceptable in the psychology of visual perception for studying the perception of objects, but less so for the psychology of action. This creates a problem in so far as perception and action are regarded as inter-linked, with perception controlling action and action influencing perception. There is to date no shared or agreed vocabulary among the different disciplines of cognitive science that enables us to bridge the gap between them. (iii) Within each of the disciplines the role of objects in cognition is a matter of debate. For example, in the psychology of perception some theories propose that the processes involved in reproducing a visual scene confer a central role to the constitution and recognition of objects, others confer a more marginal role upon objects. (iv) Finally, within each discipline the nature and the precise role of the mechanisms for the processing of information concerning objects have been the subject of controversy. Thus in the psychology of perception some theories favor “object-centered” mechanisms for selection and recognition of objects and others the mechanisms “based on the point of view” of the subject. Questions such as these are salient in other domains too (indexical reference to objects in linguistics, object-representation in apes, etc.), making the problem of inter-disciplinary communication even more general and crucial. These issues are now the subject matter of philosophical discussions and have stirred up earlier debates, like those on the nature of the faculties and communication between them (Molyneux’s problem) and on the metaphysics of the physical world.

! the structure of the school and its expected outcome: The school, conceived on the model of a “think tank” for advanced research, envisages certain consequences: (1) As far as the subject-matter is concerned the project aims at establishing links between the disciplines within the scope of the theme (representation of objects) and also seeks to construct a common vocabulary. (2) As for the teaching format, this is a writing intensive school, as there will be three “ written passages” by the participants. We wish (1) to clarify the problems posed by the notion of an object, as far as possible, so as to (2) make possible a veritable exchange of hypotheses between the different domains concerned with this notion, and (3) formulate new hypotheses and define new perspectives of research.. This should lead to various results: producing of scientific interdisciplinary literature; exchanging of knowledge at a high level to benefit not only researchers but also doctoral students; promoting interdisciplinary exchange and favoring the creation of new exchange networks; providing a favorable environment for small research networks in the field of cognitive science. ! Teaching methods: The organisation of the school is indeed along the lines of an actual “school” and is not just a conference in disguise. Institut Nicod has a record of successful events of this kind. We have already organised two programs of this type at Pontignano (Siena, Italy) and in Paris (Jackendoff workshop, Institut Nicod). The articles recommended by the lecturers are made available to the participants two months in advance, three “written passages” are then expected: (1) e-mails of individual readings are to be sent by the participants to the organisers one week before the school begins, (2) collective work in breakout groups leads to a daily short mid-term report, (3) joint-authored final papers. The objective is to write articles which are short but of publishable quality as e.g. the commentaries of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Analysis, Linguistics and Philosophy, or Perception. (One such final article of the Jackendoff workshop produced by four students and a lecturer was accepted for publication in Behavioral and Brain Sciences). Our lecturers are leading authorities in their respective fields. Each day will be devoted to interaction with one of them. The school will go on from Monday to Saturday. The following is a first presentation of the program (the order is subject to possible changes) Monday 7 June

François Recanati, Institut Nicod : Indexical reference to objects.

Tuesday 8 June

Paul Bloom, Yale University : Objects in language acquisition

Wednesday 9 June

Daniel Povinelli, University of Louisiana: Physical objects in apes

Recanati is the author of a number of works on the semantics and pragmatics of indexical expressions, and in 20012003 he lead the “Indexicality”seminar of the Institut Nicod .

Paul Bloom is well-known for his important works on language and evolution (with Steven Pinker), and recently for a book (How Children Learn The Meanings of Words, MIT Press 2000) on the structure of the acquisition of the lexicon. In particular, he presents a hypothesis that the object bias which is seen in language acquisition and in reasoning can be explained by the presence of a similar but more fundamental bias in visual perception. He will discuss the influence of social cognition on our perception and interpretation of objects, in particular artefacts and objects of art.

The work of Daniel Povinelli on the understanding of the physical world by apes in Folk Physics for Apes (Oxford 2002) re-shaped the theory of chimpanzees’ minds, replacing the hypothesis of higher level capacities (attribution of meta-representational mental levels, attribution of theories about the causal structure of the world in their use of implements) by “lower level” theories (sensitivity to the superficial properties of objects).

Thursday 10 June

Zenon Pylyshyn, Rutgers : Objects and visual attention

A cognitive scientist working in the field of experimental psychology and philosophy of cognitive science, Pylyshyn developed an experimental set-up, inspired by the specific constraints of indexical reference in language, which lead to the formulation of an hypothesis on the existence of non-conceptual “visual indexes” which are captured by object configuration. Pylyshyn is the recipient of the Jean Nicod Prize for 2004.

! Teaching plan: The participants will receive the assigned texts two months in advance (50 pages approximately for each teacher). They will be required to send their questions from the readings to the organisers one week before the school starts. The organisers will then collect the questions and submit them to the lecturers. The latter at the beginning of their lecture will provide a summary of the subject-matter (for about an hour) and conduct a question and answer session, which will continue for the rest of the morning. This is expected to maximize interaction with the lecturers. Before lunch-break the lecturer will assign four or five questions/topics for working in small groups in the afternoon. The groups (4 to 5 people, repetition of the topics is possible) will work for one and a half hour on the assigned question; one reporter from each group will write a short presentation of the group work. The aim of the exercise is to formulate the hypotheses discussed during the morning, articulate a problem in depth, define a target-question, plan an experimental situation etc. These presentations will occupy the rest of the day, with the lecturers commenting on the different presentations. Friday is reserved for the writing of the final articles, the subject matter of which will be decided during the preceding days. On Saturday these papers will be collectively presented before the whole group. The final articles will be very short but as well formulated as possible, aiming at publication at the highest possible level. As an example, one of the final papers at the spring school in 2003 on Jackendoff was accepted for publication in Behavioral and Brain Sciences. The plenary sessions and the texts provided will be in English. Special tutors will be present for facilitating informal group discussions. It is expected that the proceedings of the school, after its completion, will be hosted on the web on the forum www.interdisciplines.org ! Practical information : Accommodation for all participants is provided for by CNRS (Travelling expenses are covered for CNRS members only). The school is organised in an hotel at Vieille Perrotine in l’Ile d’Oleron, situated in an outstanding natural environment, surrounded by the Marais de Moëze, between Fort Royer and Fort Boyard, by the sea-side (http://www.caes.cnrs.fr/Vacances/Explorer/Oleron/). Special arrangements may be provided for the physically challenged

All interested to join the school are invited to send in the completed form for pre-registration (see below) along with a brief CV and a short letter of motivation and expectations before February 28, 2004 (by e-mail only) to David Nicolas [email protected] . The application of the doctoral students must be approved by their supervisors (preferably by e-mail) and accompanied by a short résumé of their thesis. The candidates will be selected on the basis of the documents submitted. The school is organised on a particular model. The lectures will be delivered in English, texts will be distributed in advance; work in small groups will result in the composition of short publishable articles. An active participation is indispensable before and during the school; the selected candidates will agree on respecting the modalities of participation. Calendar: 28.02.2004

Last date for submission of applications to [email protected]

15.03.2004

Selection of participants

22.03.2004

Acceptance of candidature will be sent to successful candidates .

31.03.2004

Last date for accepted candidates to confirm their participation (to be sent to [email protected])

31.03.2004

Sending of work documents to participants

26.04.2004

Sending of notification to the participants Sending travel documents to the participants(for those entitled)

! Application (simplified procedure) Fill in the following questionnaire and send it to David Nicolas [email protected] before 28th February 2004(cut and copy in an e-mail) --------------------Cut here : --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------To : [email protected] Subj : Oleron2004 Text : (A) Information : Name: Nationality: Educational qualification: Status: Affiliation: Laboratory: e-mail: Personal address: Personal telephone: Fax: Name of supervisor: (B): CV (1 page max. ; preferably by url) [...text of CV...] (C): Letter of motivation (1 page max.) – what do you expect from the school? [...text of the letter...] Moreover, for Ph.D. students: (D): -Résumé of the thesis (1 page max.) [...text of résumé...] (E): -An e-mail to be sent by your supervisor stating his/ her approval to your participation in the school. This information is intended for the organisation of the Theme School « The Reference to Objects » and for constituting a list of addresses to be used exclusively within the school. You have the right to access, modify, rectify and suppress the data which concerns you. (art.34 of the French law “Information Technology and Liberties”).To exercise your right write to Roberto Casati, Institut Nicod, 1 bis avenue de Lowendal, 75013 Paris, France, [email protected].