SUSANNA SCHELLENBERG

Susanna Schellenberg works on a range of topics in philosophy of mind, epistemology, AI, and neuroscience, including perception, mental representation, consciousness, evidence, knowledge, capacities, and imagination. 

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Talk Title: Subjective perspectives and self-representation

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Abstract: When an individual navigates her environment as a philosophy professor, her perspective is different than when she does so as a parent or a mountaineer. Her preferences are different, what evidence she pays attention to shifts, and which of her many beliefs are relevant changes. This paper explores the role of self-representation in our perspectives. I argue that how an individual represents herself is a critical part of her perspective. I argue moreover that how she represents herself can shift from moment to moment thus entailing shifts in her perspective. If this is right, then contra orthodoxy, a perspective is not a fixed point in intellectual space that changes only slowly over time. I show how including self-representation in AI systems can solve a host of open problems.

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The event is sponsored by the Dartmouth Society of Fellows, the Department of Philosophy, and the Cognitive Science Program.