UW Philosophers at Work

In an effort to promote the Wisconsin Idea, the UW–Madison Philosophy Department sponsors a lecture series entitled “UW Philosophers at Work.” Talks in the series are free and are open to everyone interested in attending. If you’d like to read an abstract of a given talk or see a video of the lecture, please see the UW Philosophers at Work Archive. The inaugural lecture was given in February 2012 by Herbert A. Simon and Hilldale Professor Dan Hausman, on the topic of preferential admissions at UW.

Poster for Professor John Mackays Talk

This year, Professor John Mackay will present

“How Logical is Our Language?: The case of the conditional”

at 7 pm CDT on Wednesday, October 21st, 2026.

To what extent does the language we use in ordinary reasoning resemble a system of formal logic? Are the differences between logic and language deep or superficial? I shall explore these questions by focusing on examples involving conditionals, which are sentences of the form “if A then B”. Conditionals are central to logical reasoning but they are often used in everyday discourse in ways that look different from how they are used in logic. They therefore provide a rich source of material for thinking about these broader themes. I will explore how conditionals illustrate the way that logically precise meanings interact with the more social and pragmatic elements of human communication.

You can attend the lecture in person in the Gale VandeBerg Auditorium at the Pyle Center. We invite you to join us and to invite others as well! This lecture is open and free to the public.