Where? Milan

When? 5-6 June, 2023

Short Description: In recent years, there has been a surge of interest across a diverse range of fields in understanding the ways in which joint action can give rise to new norms. Philosophers have debated whether joint action is inherently normative, and under what conditions it gives rise to obligations and entitlements (Gilbert, 1990; 2009; Bratman, 1997; 2014; Roth, 2014; Alonso, 2009; 2016; Gomez-Lavin & Rachar, 2019; 2021; Löhr, 2021). Research in psychology has provided evidence that a sense of commitment to persist in a joint action can be enhanced by contextual factors such as the degree of coordination (Michael, Sebanz & Knoblich, 2016) or the investment of effort (Székely & Michael, 2018), or by conventional phrases, gestures and conversational implicatures (Bangerter & Clark, 2003; Mazzarella et al., 2018; Geurts, 2019), and that the context of joint action triggers norms related to fairness which govern the allocation of effort between joint action partners (Török et al, 2019; Curioni et al.2020; Székely & Michael, Under Rev). Using the methods of behavioral economics, it has also been shown that coordinated decision-making gives rise to norms through a process of conventionalization (Sugden, 2000; Guala & Mittone, 2010; Przepiorka et al., 2022). Insofar as the normativity of joint action might  — at least in some respects — be uniquely human, and might provide a basis for unique forms of human sociality, it is important to document variation in the normativity of joint action across species (Heesen et al, 2019, 2021; Westra & Andrews, 2021), across cultures (Michael et al, under review), and across development (Kachel et al, 2018a; 2018b; Gräfenhein et al, 2009). 

            In this workshop, we will bring together researchers investigating the normativity of joint action from various perspectives using diverse methods, and facilitate the transfer of insights and concepts across disciplines. A special emphasis will be placed on spelling out key questions to set the agenda for research on this topic moving forward, e.g.:

  • What are the cognitive mechanisms by which joint action generates norms?
  • What social mechanisms support the normativity of joint action? 
  • What cultural differences exist with respect to the normativity of joint action?
  • What are the key similarities and differences between humans and other species with respect to the normativity of joint action?
  • What are possibilities and challenges arising when diverse social groups with different norms and/or with different attitudes towards the normativity of joint action interact?)

Confirmed Speakers:

  • Stephen Butterfill (Warwick University, Coventry) CONFIRMED
  • Judith Burkart (Zürich University) CONFIRMED
  • Gina Török (MPI, Berlin) CONFIRMED
  • Patricia Kanngiesser (Plymouth University) CONFIRMED
  • Adrian Bangerter (Neuchatel University) CONFIRMED
  • Diana Mazzarella (Neuchatel University) CONFIRMED
  • Bart Geurts (Nijmegen University) CONFIRMED
  • Luca Tummolini (Rome) CONFIRMED
  • Francesco Guala (Unimi) CONFIRMED
  • John Michael (Unimi) CONFIRMED

We will accept a limited number of posters to be presented during the poster session. Please submit abstracts asap and we will get back to you on a rolling basis as space permits.

To register and/or to submit a poster, please send an email by 31 March 2023 to: jointactionmilan@gmail.com