Lectures 2026

Rudolf-Carnap-Lectures 2026
May 27-29, 2026, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany
(Veranstaltungszentrum - Convention Center - Saal 3)

L.A. Paul (Yale University)
Transformative Experience

It’s an honor and a pleasure to announce next year’s Carnap Lecturer, Prof. L.A. Paul, who is Millstone Family Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Cognitive Science at Yale University. She is the author of Transformative Experience (OUP 2014) which received a lot of attention and initiated a whole new philosophical research program, including an entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Chan 2023). She is also the author of Causation: A User’s Guide (with Ned Hall, OUP 2013) and numerous scientific papers on topics such as subjectivity, phenomenal feel, self, and empathy, and on topics in metaphysics including causation and material constitution. Her recent work engages with knowledge in Large Language Models as well.

We are excited that her Carnap Lectures will feature her new forthcoming work on Transformative Experience:
Lecture 1: The Paradox of Transformation
Lecture 2 (Public): Transformative Change
Lecture 3: The Self in Time
Lecture 4: Varieties of Possibility

As always, Prof. Paul's lectures will be presented in the context of a Workshop with talks by early career researchers from philosophy and cognitive science, who present their work on topics related to the main lectures or engage with L.A. Paul’s work.

Scientific Organization: Tobias Schlicht & Albert Newen, Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Registration: Participation is free but seats are limited, so please send an email to [email protected] by May 15th 2026.