Colin will be appearing at the Adelaide Festival of Ideas July 10, 11: http://www.adelaidefestivalofideas.com.au/
Friday July 10, 2.30 - 4.00pm
Bonython Hall
The Mind: Mind over Matter?
Colin Allen
Natasha Mitchell
(Participating Chair)
Mandyam Srinivasan
Saturday 11 July, 10.00 - 10.45am
Elder Hall
Robot Morality
Colin Allen
Mind Over Matter
Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, Brain Science: whatever you call it, over the last ten years, amazing advances in brain imaging and neural recording techniques have led to a revolution in how we think about thinking. Every edition of popular science magazines such as New Scientist or Scientific American features new discoveries in brain function: what is deja vu? how might you see sound? why should someone disown part of their own body?
Increasingly cognitive neuroscientists are venturing into domains once thought to be outside the limits of any kind of experimental enquiry. Perhaps now data exist to answer questions previously only considered by philosophers. Are moral beliefs absolute? Is the concept of God a natural consequence of our neural circuitry? Can the mind exist distinct from any physical reality? How could we ever decide?
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