CartThe Revenge of Reason:
On Inference and its Consequences Instructor: Peter WolfendaleProgram: Critical Philosophy, Information Architecture & Intelligence Design, Transdisciplinary StudiesCredit(s): 2Date: April 25, May 2, 9 16, 23, 30, June 6, 13Time: 09:00-11:30 ET
DESCRIPTION: What is the fate of Reason in the twenty-first century? Is its invocation nothing but a cipher for earthly powers that diffuse and retrench as the political terrain shifts, or is Reason the only force capable of eroding the unthinking intuitions upon which those powers thrive? Can it be mobilized into concrete systems of uncommon sense, collective weapons to dispatch all self-serving rationalizations and vacuously ‘reasonable’ banalities? Or will it be dissolved without remainder in the Bayesian dance of expected utility? This Workshop outlines a Neorationalist conception of Reason that resists postmodern critique and Bayesian dissolution alike. Deploying a collection of texts written over more than fifteen years, it presents an integrated philosophical perspective that delves into the epistemic, semantic, and logical mysteries of inference and extrapolates their metaphysical, aesthetic, and ethical consequences. Lectures will explore theoretical tendencies such as Prometheanism, Inhumanism, and Computationalism, and address questions ranging from ‘What is a game?’ and ‘What is the value of art?’ to ‘What is real?’ and ‘Why does anything matter?’
Almost all session readings are taken directly from The Revenge of Reason. The rest will be made available. Readings in bold are mandatory; the others are recommended.
Session 1: Introduction / Neorationalism in Outline, ‘On Neorationalism’, ‘Prometheanism and Rationalism’
‘Philosophy and Normativity’
Session 2: Computational Kantianism / ‘On Transcendental Logic’, ‘On Computational Asymmetry’
Session 3: Inferentialism and Inhumanism / ‘The Reformatting of Homo Sapiens’, ‘Artificial Bodies and the Promise of Abstraction’
Session 4: Hegelian Minimalism / ‘Essay on Transcendental Realism’, ‘The Greatest Mistake’
Session 5: Biology and its Discontents / ‘Beyond Survival’, ‘Incarnation’
Session 6: Personhood and its Problems / ‘On Containing Multitudes’, ‘Not So Humble Pie’
Session 7: Art and Agency / ‘Art and Value’, ‘What’s in a Game?’
Session 8: Beauty and Freedom / ‘Why Does Anything Matter?’, ‘The Weight of Forever’
IMAGE: Matt Bovingdon, Revenge of Reason, 2025
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