The Zurich Epistemology Group on Rationality
(https://www.zegra-meylan.com/ <https://www.zegra-meylan.com/>) is
excited to announce our workshop on
*The Value of Irrationality from August 31^st to September 2^nd at the
University of Zurich.*
The workshop will revolve around theories of rationality and
irrationality and their implications for the (dis)value of
irrationality. We bring philosophers with different theoretical
backgrounds about rationality together in order to carve out different
routes of thinking about irrationality. The notion of 'value' will be
understood quite broadly and not be restricted to practical value. We
will have discussions about the deontic status of irrationality (Should
we sometimes be irrational? Do we often have a reason to be
irrational?), the blameworthiness of irrationality (Does irrationality
warrant epistemic blame or even moral blame?), and on why it matters to
be rational rather than irrational (or the other way around).
Our external speakers will be
Lisa Bortolotti (Birmingham, UK) – “Unshakable beliefs”
Miriam Schleifer McCormick (Richmond, USA) – “Engaging with fringe beliefs; why, when and how”
Veli Mitova (Johannesburg, South Africa) – “Motivated irrationality, epistemic innocence, and white ignorance”
Andrew Reisner (Uppsala, Sweden) – “The contribution of epistemic irrationality to wellbeing is the contribution of epistemic irrationality to determining what we ought to believe”
Asbjørn Steglich-Petersen (Aarhus, Denmark) – TBA
Alex Worsnip (North Carolina, USA) – “Making space for the normativity of coherence”
From the University of Zurich, we will hear
Marie van Loon – “Are delusions responsive to reasons?”
Anne Meylan – “Threefold rationality”
Melanie Sarzano – “Dangerous beliefs”
Sebastian Schmidt – “What is the point of the epistemic ‘ought’?”
The workshop will be held in a hybrid format, so that anyone can join us via Zoom. Participation in person might be possible, but spots would be limited. If you wish to participate, please contact
You will then receive a link for the Zoom meeting as well as further information in due time.