1-3 April, 2011
Amsterdam

International conference on the relation between neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy and the prospects of the scientific endeavor of understanding the mind.

Will science provide answers to the final questions concerning human thought and consciousness? What kind of relation is there between neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy? Will neuroscience even make psychology and philosophy superfluous in the future? Theoretical and empirical researchers have been investigating these questions for a while already. Particularly neuroimaging research received a lot of attention during the last twenty years. However, there are more critical questions doubting the explanatory value for understanding the human mind with these methods. We want to take stock of the state of the art on our conference from April 1 till 3 in Amsterdam and to provde an outlook into the future development of the three disciplines.

Conference:

Friday, April 1; Shaffyzaal, Felix Meritis, Keizersgracht 324:

  • 15:00 Arrivals with coffee and tea
  • 15:30 Welcome Address (Trudy Dehue, Groningen) and Introduction (Stephan
  • Schleim, Groningen)
  • 16:00 Peter Hagoort (Nijmegen): Cognitive neuroscience beyond philosophy
  • 17:00 Peter Hacker (Oxford): What philosophy can contribute to cognitive neuroscience
  • Break
  • 18:30 Bernhard Hommel (Leiden): Psychology between methodological pluralism and theoretical reductionism. Cognitive neuroscience as challenge and opportunity
  • 19:30 Discussion with the speakers and the audience, moderated by Douwe Draaisma (Groningen)
  • 20:30 Reception with snacks and drinks (until approximately 22:00 o’clock)

Saturday, April 2; Doelenzaal, University Library, University of Amsterdam:

  • 09:15 Introduction into the second day (Machiel Keestra, Amsterdam)
  • 09:30 Katrin Amunts (Aachen): Brain anatomy – Landmarks and challenges in the identification of brain areas*
  • 10:15 Michael Anderson (Lancaster, PA): How to drink from a firehose: What we have learned, and how we can keep learning from neuroimaging data
  • Break
  • 11:30 Adina Roskies (Dartmouth): The assumptions of imaging the mind and their impact on psychology and philosophy of mind*
  • 12:15 Kirsten Volz (Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Tübingen)
  • Break
  • 14:30 Timothy Bayne (Oxford): Imaging and the Study of Consciousness
  • 15:15 Andre Aleman (Groningen): Self-reflection, hallucination and identity in the brain scanner*
  • Break
  • 16:30 (TBA)
  • 17:15 Final discussion: Imaging the Mind? Taking stock at the end of the conference

Workshops for selected participants:

Sunday, April 3; Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Amsterdam:

  • Subsequent to the two day conference, several international presenters will offer 2-hour workshops on Sunday, April 3, at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Amsterdam.

  • Workshops are planned on principles of brain functioning held by Michael Anderson, ethical implications of neuroscience research and technology held by Adina Roskies, Kirsten Volz on the basics of neuroscience methods, and neuroscience and culture (TBA).

  • A motivated application letter and CV are invited from potential workshop participants. These can be sent to the organization team.

Registration for conference participation in advance is required and the number of participants is limited. Participation costs are € 40 for Friday and € 70 for Saturday or € 100 for both days together. Coffee, tea and pastry during the breaks are included. Snacks on Friday evening are included but drinks have to be paid at the bar. Bachelor and master students receive a 25% discount on the conference participation fee. The workshops are € 30 each and the number of participants is strictly limited to a maximum of 20 to guarantee a high quality.

This conference and workshops are a joint endeavour of the dept. Psychology of Groningen University, the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies & Cognitive Science Center Amsterdam of University of Amsterdam and are sponsored by the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences (KNAW).

Please visit http://www.imagingthemind.info for the full program, more information and conference updates.