MENTALCAUSE · The Ontology of Mental Causation

The ontology of mental causation

The project consisted in a 12-month visit by Dr Mariusz Grygianiec, of the Department of Philosophy of Science at the University of Warsaw, to the Department of Philosophy at Durham University, in order for Dr Grygianiec to conduct research on the topic of the ontology of mental causation, under the guidance of Professor E. J. Lowe. During the course of the visit, Dr Grygianiec met regularly with Professor Lowe, on approximately a weekly basis for at least one hour on each occasion, in order to discuss his on-going research on the project's topic and to receive feedback and guidance from Professor Lowe on his work. Dr Grygianiec made extensive use of the library facilities at Durham University in order to gain deeper knowledge of the current literature on his topic. During the course of his visit, he prepared a number of research papers for publication in academic journals and/or presentation at conferences. Some papers of his were published during the course of his visit and others are forthcoming in various journals. The details are provided in a later section of this report. In addition to researching and writing on the project topic, Dr Grygianiec used the opportunity of his visit to Durham University to engage in a number of other academic activities conducive to his career development as a teacher and researcher in philosophy at university level. First, Dr Grygianiec was able to benefit for a period of his visit by participating in another research project in the Durham University Philosophy Department that was closely related to his own research project. This was the AHRC-funded two-year project 'The New Ontology of the Mental Causation Debate', led by Dr S.C. Gibb in collaboration with Professor E. J. Lowe, and which was nearing its conclusion when Dr Grygianiec began his visit to Durham. Dr Grygianiec was able to attend the final international workshop of the AHRC project, which took place in late September 2010, and to participate in the discussions that were conducted on that occasion. The fact that Dr Grygianiec's own project overlapped the AHRC project during this short period was particularly felicitous and gave an important initial impetus to Dr Grygianiec's own research during his visit to Durham. It was also of great benefit to the Philosophy Department that the work of the AHRC project could be continued and complemented by Dr Grygianiec's project, thereby maintaining the momentum of the Department's work in this field of metaphysics and the philosophy of mind. Towards the end of Dr Grygianiec's visit, he was also able to participate in a related international conference held the University of Casimir the Great in Bydgoszcz, on 'Ontological Proofs Today', at which Professor E. J. Lowe was a main speaker, thereby further cementing important academic ties between UK and Polish researchers working in the area of analytic ontology and metaphysics. Second, Dr Grygianiec was able to make fruitful use of some of his time in Durham to extend his knowledge of UK university teaching practices and methods, by attending various courses of lectures given by Durham Philosophy Department staff, in particular the following: Philosophical Logic (Professor E. J. Lowe), Philosophy of Mind (Dr D. O'Conaill and Professor N. Zangwill), Metaphysics (Dr S. C. Gibb), and Current Issues in Metaphysics (Dr S. C. Gibb and Professor E. J. Lowe, an MA course in which Dr Grygianiec contributed a presentation himself). Dr Grygianiec also attended the Philosophy Department's weekly Research Seminar and Royal Institute of Philosophy Lectures, at which visiting speakers presented papers, followed by general discussion. All of these activities served in addition to help Dr Grygianiec to further improve his facility with academic English, both spoken and written, which was already of a very good standard prior to his visit.

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