Calendar - Department of History and Philosophy of Sciencehttps://calendar.pitt.edu/department/department_of_history_and_philosophy_of_science/calendarCalendar - Department of History and Philosophy of ScienceWed, 16 Sep 2026 18:30:57 -040060en-usLocalistOct 16, 2026: The Department of Philosophy Presents Jeremy Heis on October 16, 2026. at Cathedral of LearningTitle and abstract to be announced.

View on site | Email this event

]]>tag:localist.com,2008:EventInstance_5369127201059040.444422-79.95481Fri, 16 Oct 2026 15:30:00 -04002026-10-16T15:30:00-04:00https://calendar.pitt.edu/event/the-department-of-philosophy-presents-jeremy-heis-on-october-16-2026Lectures, Symposia, Etc.Oct 30, 2026: The Wesley C. Salmon Memorial Lecture at Cathedral of LearningPresenting the Wesley C. Salmon Memorial Lecture, Friday, October 30, 2026, at 3:30 PM

Cathedral of Learning 1008

The Department of History and Philosophy of Science, The Department of Philosophy, and The Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh Present:

Michael Strevens, NYU

"Do Large Language Models Understand What They Are Talking About?"

According to certain liberal accounts of meaning, the words produced by a large language model represent the things that they appear to represent. LLMs, in that case, make meaningful statements. But do they understand what they say? This paper uses contemporary accounts of understanding to explore the prospects for a positive answer to the question. A significant obstacle to understanding is LLMs’ isolation from the world that their words (arguably) depict. Nevertheless, an account of what it is for human thinkers to understand esoteric terms in scientific theories holds out the promise that current or future LLMs are capable of some degree of understanding in an interesting and substantive sense.

View on site | Email this event

]]>tag:localist.com,2008:EventInstance_5388549493732640.444422-79.95481Fri, 30 Oct 2026 15:30:00 -04002026-10-30T15:30:00-04:00https://calendar.pitt.edu/event/the-wesley-c-salmon-memorial-lectureLectures, Symposia, Etc.Dec 4, 2026: Tamara Horowitz Memorial Lecture - Elizabeth Anderson December 4, 2026 at Cathedral of LearningTitle and abstract to be announced.

View on site | Email this event

]]>tag:localist.com,2008:EventInstance_5369148013061240.444422-79.95481Fri, 04 Dec 2026 15:30:00 -05002026-12-04T15:30:00-05:00https://calendar.pitt.edu/event/tamara-horowitz-memorial-lecture-elizabeth-anderson-december-4-2026Lectures, Symposia, Etc.Feb 19, 2027: The Department of Philosophy Presents Lara Buchak on February 19, 2027 at Cathedral of LearningTitle and abstract to be announced.

View on site | Email this event

]]>tag:localist.com,2008:EventInstance_5369154305759740.444422-79.95481Fri, 19 Feb 2027 15:30:00 -05002027-02-19T15:30:00-05:00https://calendar.pitt.edu/event/the-department-of-philosophy-presents-lara-buchak-on-february-19-2027Lectures, Symposia, Etc.Mar 5, 2027: The Department of Philosophy Presents Karl Schafer on March 5, 2027 at Cathedral of LearningTitle and abstract to be announced.

View on site | Email this event

]]>tag:localist.com,2008:EventInstance_5369162739860640.444422-79.95481Fri, 05 Mar 2027 15:30:00 -05002027-03-05T15:30:00-05:00https://calendar.pitt.edu/event/the-department-of-philosophy-presents-karl-schafer-on-march-5-2027Lectures, Symposia, Etc.Apr 16, 2027: Tamara Horowitz Memorial Lecture - Wendy Salkin - April 16, 2027 at Cathedral of LearningTitle and abstract to be announced.

View on site | Email this event

]]>tag:localist.com,2008:EventInstance_5369168372696340.444422-79.95481Fri, 16 Apr 2027 15:30:00 -04002027-04-16T15:30:00-04:00https://calendar.pitt.edu/event/tamara-horowitz-memorial-lecture-wendy-salkin-april-16-2027Lectures, Symposia, Etc.