You are warmly invited to the first MQ Philosophy Work in Progress (WIP) seminar for 2026 which will be given by Toby Handfield from Monash.
The details are as follows: Date: Tuesday 24th of February Time: 13:00-14:00 Room: 17WW 113 Title: Modelling Cooperative Dilemmas for Science Abstract: Scientists have complex motivations: pure curiosity, prestige, status, citations, grant dollars, and more. Scientists are also embedded in strategic contexts – their best choice of research strategy often depends on what other scientists are doing. In this work we develop a model of scientists engaged in a simplified process of inquiry via falsification, and show that even with very simple, primarily epistemic motivations, strategic tensions arise between different scientific groups. This can lead to paradoxical results, where scientists who are more motivated by truth are slower to achieve the true theory than more conservative scientists who are more reluctant to abandon their preferred views. We discuss implications for how scientific communities should balance openness to new evidence against the stability needed for productive research. Further information about the seminar series including the zoom link and details on future talks can be found at the seminar webpage: https://mqphilosophy.github.io/seminars <https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmqphilosophy.github.io%2Fseminars%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cemily.hughes%40mq.edu.au%7Cd8e5f17ffdd4450b38de08de693638e9%7C82c514c1a7174087be06d40d2070ad52%7C0%7C0%7C639063878780121827%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=0gGyRMtTIimEnL6XqfNGIpGgRgNP1WsePODMpogQAiE%3D&reserved=0> We look forward to seeing you there. Dr Emily Hughes (she/her) ARC Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) Fellow in Philosophy School of Humanities, Faculty of Arts Michael Kirby Building, 17 Wally's Walk Level 2, Room 233 Macquarie University – Wallumattagal Campus, Dharug Country NSW 2109 Australia E: [email protected] W: https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/emily-hughes I acknowledge that Macquarie University stands on the land of the Dharug Nation, land that was never ceded. I pay my respects to the Dharug people, the Wallumattagal clan, and their Elders past and present. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land. --------- SydPhil mailing list To unsubscribe, change your membership options, find answers to common problems, or visit our online archives, please go to the list information page: https://mailman.sydney.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/sydphil
