On the first day, speakers will provide an instructive introduction to laws and explanations in metaphysics and science. On the subsequent day, there will be workshop talks on topics outlined and discussed during the introductory part.

• Anna-Sofia Maurin (University of Gothenburg)
• Kristie Miller (University of Sydney)
• Jonathan Schaffer (Rutgers University)
• Naomi Thompson (University of Southampton)

Aims & Scope

In recent metaphysics, there has been a great interest in the metaphysical notion of grounding, which links metaphysics and explanation in a novel way. Grounding is claimed to be the common element in various “in-virtue-of” claims such as “I am in pain in virtue of certain activation-patterns of my nervous system (c-fibre firing).”
In philosophy of science, scientific, i.e., causal and nomological explanation has long been the focus of reflection.
This spring school introductory course and workshop focusses on the relation between metaphysical grounding on the one hand and scientific explanation on the other.
In particular, we want to ask questions such as what the characteristic features of these two notions of explanation are, whether grounding explanations in metaphysics can play an analogous role to causal or nomological explanations in the sciences, and whether metaphysical grounding and scientific explanations can be treated in a unified framework.

Please visit http://dclps.phil.hhu.de/lems/ for details and registration.