[PHILOS-L] Book launch: The Idealized Mind by A/Prof. Michael D. Kirchhoff (School of Liberal Arts, University of Wollongong)
Elena Walsh
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You are warmly invited to the launch of The Idealized Mind: From Model-based Science to Cognitive Science — a new book by A/Prof. Michael D. Kirchhoff (School of Liberal Arts, UOW), published by the MIT Press.
Date: Thursday 2 October 2025
Time: 14.30-16.00
Location: ASSH Seminar Room, Building 19, Room 2072B (Research Hub), University of Wollongong
About the book: The Idealized Mind seeks to establish three claims: (a) contrary to prevailing assumptions, some of the most foundational concepts in cognitive science — representation and computation — are akin to idealized concepts in other sciences such as ideal gases, infinite populations and frictionless planes; (b) that scientific models are abstract explanatory devices that exist mainly in the imagination of the communities that use them to describe, explain, and predict aspects of the natural world; and, finally, (c) that none of this precludes endorsing scientific realism in the context of scientific modeling in cognitive science.
- Praise: "Rich in insights from philosophy of science and concrete examples from natural science, Michael Kirchhoff’s The Idealized Mind argues compellingly for an acceptable scientific realism without requiring that scientific idealizations literally describe reality. Kirchhoff expertly charts this difficult course and successfully tests his account on the premier model of the mind. This book helps us understand what scientific models really teach us about nature, including our own minds." - Jakob Hohwy, Director of the Monash Centre for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies, Monash University; author of The Predictive Mind and The Self-Evidencing Agent
- Praise: "This book offers a forensic — yet friendly — philosophical treatment of the science of mind. It is forensic in its rigor and friendly in its disclosure of the idealizations we appeal to when making sense of our lived world. I especially liked the denouement of these arguments, as exemplified by the free energy that is — in and of itself — an account of sense making. The ensuing narrative is deeply layered, challenging, yet consistent and deeply compelling." - Karl Friston, Professor, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London.
Link to the open access file for the book:
https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262552936/the-idealized-mind/
Program:
- Welcome by Sr/Prof. Daniel D. Hutto (School of Liberal Arts, UOW)
- Author talk: A/Prof. Michael D. Kirchhoff (School of Liberal Arts, UOW)
- Responses from Dr. Ron Planer (School of Liberal Arts, UOW)
- Open Q&A
- Reception
Whether your interests lie in neuroscience, philosophy, AI, psychology, or the foundations of cognitive science, this event is a chance to engage with timely ideas and foster interdisciplinary conversation for new directions in the sciences of the mind and brain.
Please RSVP by 20 September via this link.
For further inquiries, please email: sola-...@uow.edu.au.
Best wishes,
Elena
Dr. Elena Walsh
Lecturer
School of Liberal Arts
Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities | 94.19
University of Wollongong NSW 2522 Australia
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SOLA Events
Dear colleagues,
You are warmly invited to the launch of The Idealized Mind: From Model-based Science to Cognitive Science — a new book by A/Prof. Michael D. Kirchhoff (School of Liberal Arts, UOW), published by the MIT Press.
Date: Thursday 2 October 2025
Time: 14.30-16.00
Location: ASSH Seminar Room, Building 19, Room 2072B (Research Hub), University of Wollongong
About the book: The Idealized Mind seeks to establish three claims: (a) contrary to prevailing assumptions, some of the most foundational concepts in cognitive science — representation and computation — are akin to idealized concepts in other sciences such as ideal gases, infinite populations and frictionless planes; (b) that scientific models are abstract explanatory devices that exist mainly in the imagination of the communities that use them to describe, explain, and predict aspects of the natural world; and, finally, (c) that none of this precludes endorsing scientific realism in the context of scientific modeling in cognitive science.
- Praise: "Rich in insights from philosophy of science and concrete examples from natural science, Michael Kirchhoff’s The Idealized Mind argues compellingly for an acceptable scientific realism without requiring that scientific idealizations literally describe reality. Kirchhoff expertly charts this difficult course and successfully tests his account on the premier model of the mind. This book helps us understand what scientific models really teach us about nature, including our own minds." - Jakob Hohwy, Director of the Monash Centre for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies, Monash University; author of The Predictive Mind and The Self-Evidencing Agent
- Praise: "This book offers a forensic — yet friendly — philosophical treatment of the science of mind. It is forensic in its rigor and friendly in its disclosure of the idealizations we appeal to when making sense of our lived world. I especially liked the denouement of these arguments, as exemplified by the free energy that is — in and of itself — an account of sense making. The ensuing narrative is deeply layered, challenging, yet consistent and deeply compelling." - Karl Friston, Professor, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London.
Link to the open access file for the book:
https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262552936/the-idealized-mind/
Program:
- Welcome by Sr/Prof. Daniel D. Hutto (School of Liberal Arts, UOW)
- Author talk: A/Prof. Michael D. Kirchhoff (School of Liberal Arts, UOW)
- Responses from Dr. Ron Planer (School of Liberal Arts, UOW)
- Open Q&A
- Reception
Whether your interests lie in neuroscience, philosophy, AI, psychology, or the foundations of cognitive science, this event is a chance to engage with timely ideas and foster interdisciplinary conversation for new directions in the sciences of the mind and brain.
Please RSVP by 20 September via this link.
For further inquiries, please email: sola-...@uow.edu.au.
Best wishes,
Elena
—
Elena Walsh (she/her)
Lecturer
School of Liberal Arts
Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities | 94.19
University of Wollongong NSW 2522 Australia
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