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University of Wyoming
 

Franz-Peter Griesmaier

 

Associate Professor

Philosophy
 

Areas of Specialization

History and philosophy of science, theory of knowledge, philosophy of mind.

Areas of Competence

Advanced logic, philosophy of physics, philosophy of technology, philosophy of film, 20th Century analytic.

 

Academic Appointments

2006, Department of Philosophy, University of Wyoming, Associate Professor.

2000–2006, Department of Philosophy, University of Wyoming, Assistant Professor.

1999–2000, Department of Philosophy, Lehigh University, Visiting Assistant Professor.

1997–1999, Department of Philosophy, Lafayette College, Visiting Assistant Professor.    

 

Education

1997            University of Arizona, Ph.D. (Philosophy).

                    Dissertation: Simple Minds: A Cognitive Account of Theoretical
                     Simplicity and the Epistemology of Human Understanding.

                    Advisor: Cummins. Committee: Lehrer, Pollock.

1988            University of Colorado, M.A. (Philosophy).

1986            University of Vienna, B.A-equivalent (Philosophy).

 

Publications

Articles

"Explanatoriness, Causality, and Understanding as Modelling"

Journal for General Philosohpy of Science, forthcoming (2006)
"Kitcher-Style Unificationism and Explanatory Relevance"

Dialectica, 59, 1 (2005): 37-50
“On explaining phenomenal consciousness”

Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Artificial Intelligence, 15 (2003): 227-242.
“Representationality and realism: A new look at contemporary Austrian experimental poetry ”

In Literature, Film, and the Culture Industry in Contemporary Austria, M. Lamb-Faffelberger, Ed., New York: Peter Lang Publishing, (2002): 77-97.

 

Work-in-Progress

Books

Searching for Simplicity. Understanding a Complex World through Simple Models.

In progress.

 

Articles

 “Simplicity and error avoidance”

Completed, under review.
"The Evidential Status of Conceivability Beliefs"

Completed, under review.
“Explanatory relevance. An outline”

 Completed, under review.  

        

Papers Presented

2006            “Error Risk and Epistemic Justification”

Invited Talk, The Epistemology of Natural and Artificial Systems, Long Beach, California

 

2005            "Norms of Rationality and Levels of Epistemic Sophistication"

Invited Talk, Department of Philosophy, University of Vienna, Austria

Invited Talk, Reasoning, Rationality, and Know-How, Long Beach, CA

 

2004            "The Evidential Status of Conceivings"

Eastern Division APA, Boston, MA

 

“Simplicity and error avoidance”

Pacific Division APA, Pasadena, CA.

 

2003            “Simplicity and error avoidance”

Mountain-Plains Philosophy Conference University of Wyoming, Laramie.

 

2003            “Explanatoriness and causality”

Inland Northwest Philosophy Conference,  Moscow, ID.

 

2002            “Theoretical simplicity and robustness of justification”

54th Northwest Conference on Philosophy, Portland, OR.

 

2002            “On explaining phenomenal consciousness”

Invited talk, Cognitive Science in the New Millennium: Foundations, Directions, Applications, and Problems, Long Beach, CA.

 

2001            “On explaining phenomenal consciousness”

53rd Northwest Conference on Philosophy, Pullman, WA.

 

2001            “Simplicity, scientific understanding, and the realism/anti-realism debate”

Invited talk, The Vienna Circle and Empiricism: Re-Evaluation and Future of the Research and Historiography, Vienna, Austria.

 

2000            “Unificationism and understanding”

Mountain-Plains Philosophy Conference, Topeka, KS.

 

1999            “Representationality and realism. Lessons from the lab of contemporary Austrian experimental poets”

Invited talk, 12th Bi-Annual Conference on Austrian Culture, Lafayette College, Easton, PA.

1999            “Explanation, understanding, and accuracy”

Invited talk, Portland State University, Portland, OR.

 

1990            “Parallels between aestethic criteria in science and art”

Invited talk, University of Bratislava School of Music, Bratislava, Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia).

 

1988            “Constructing Scientific Domains”

12th Regional Conference on the History and Philosophy of Science, Boulder, CO.

 

Presented Commentaries

2001            Comments on Ian Smith, “What Does It Mean to Accept”

Northwest Conference on Philosophy, Pullman, WA.

 

2001            Comments on Comments on Greg Hodes, “Realism vs. anti-realism”

Mountain-Plains Philosophy Conference, Topeka, KS.

 

Fellowships and Awards

Extraordinary Merit in Teaching Award, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Wyoming (2003).

Departmental Service

2003, Graduate Advisor.

2000–2003, Philosophy Club Faculty Sponsor.

 

Courses

Undergraduate (frequently taught)

  • History of Science

  • Philosophy of Science

  • Advanced Logic

Recent Graduate Seminars

  • Idealization, Simplification, and Approximation in Science

  • Representing, Thinking, Believing

  • Philosophy of Space and Time (and Spacetime)

  • Scientific Explanation