conference on Mind (fwd)

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 09:28:54 +0000 From: Stephen Clark <srlclark(a)LIVERPOOL.AC.UK> To: PHILOS-L(a)LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK Subject: conference on Mind (fwd) Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 22:39:27 +0000 (BST) From: Humanist Discussion Group <humanist(a)kcl.ac.uk> Mind 4 Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland, August 16-20, 1999 Theme: "Two Sciences of Mind" Confirmed invited speakers include: Bernard Baars David Galin Karl Pribram Stuart Hammeroff Kathy McGovern Steven Nachmanovitch Jacob Needleman Program Committee: Bernard Baars Mark Bickhard Robert Campbell Christian de Quincey Stuart Hammeroff Paul Mc Kevitt Kathy McGovern Steven Nachmanovitch Jacob Needleman Sean O Nuallain Yoshi Nakamura Max Velmans Terry Winegar Keynote addresses: Jabob Needleman: "Inner and Outer Empiricism in Consciousness Research" Bernard Baars: "The Compassionate Implications of Brain Imaging of Conscious Pain: New Vistas in Applied Cognitive Science." Stream 1: Outer and Inner empiricism in consciousness research This stream will feature papers that attempt to show how "inner" states can be elucidated with reference to external phenomena. "Inner empiricism" designates experience, or qualia. They are shaped (somehow) by brain processes or states which sense and interpret the external phenomena. The physical nature of these processes or states may tell us much about consciousness. Likewise, the argument that we are conscious of only one thing at a time because of the gating action of the nuclei reticularis thalami (Taylor, Baars, etc) is indicative of the kind of thinking we are trying to encourage. In this vein, pain experience and its imperfect relationship to neural activity are similarly relevant. We particularly welcome papers that feature empirical data, or, lacking these data, show a grasp of the range of disciplines necessary to do justice to the topic. Papers are also invited that - Interpret qualia in terms of a quantum-mechanics based panpsychism (or, in current terms, pan-protopsychism) - Establish links with developments like Whitehead's pan-experientialism and process thought -Interrelate physiological processes at the neural level with current thought in QM - Emphasize "relational empiricism", ie second-person considerations - Investigate the brain processes or states giving rise to qualia at whatever level the writer considers appropriate (eg intra-cellular cytoskeletal activities and/or quantum-level phenomena). - Involve studies of central pain states as well as other curiosities like allodynia, spontaneous analgesia, pain asymbolia, and hypnotic analgesia. The invited talks include: David Galin "The Experience of 'Spirit' in Cognitive Terms." Stuart Hameroff "Quantum Computing and Consciousness" Steve Nachmanovitch "Creativity and Consiousness" Each of these talks will be followed by a panel discussion discussing respectively, consciousness as explored experientially, through scientific investigation, and in the arts. Stream 2: Foundations of Cognitive Science Co-chairs: Sean O Nuallain Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland (sonualla(a)compapp.dcu.ie) Robert L. Campbell Department of Psychology, Clemson University, Clemson, SC USA (campber(a)clemson.edu) WHAT THE STREAM IS ABOUT Though deep and contentious questions of theory and metatheory have always been prevalent in Cognitive Science--they arise whenever an attempt is made to define CS as a discipline--they have frequently been downrated by researchers, in favor of empirical work that remains safely within the confines of established theories and methods. Our goal to is redress the balance. We encourage participants in this stream to raise and discuss such questions as: * the adequacy of computationalist accounts of mind * the adequacy of conceptions of mental representation as structures that encode structures out in the environment * the consequences of excluding emotions, consciousness, and the social realm from the purview of cognitive studies * the consequences of Newell and Simon's "scientific bet" that developmental constraints do not have to be studied until detailed models of adult cognition have been constructed and tested * the relationship between cognitive science and formal logic A wide range of theoretical perspectives is welcome, so long as the presenters are willing to engage in serious discussion with the proponents of perspectives that are different from their own: * Vygotskian approaches to culture and cognition * Dynamic Systems theories * Piagetian constructivism * interactivism * neuroscience accounts such as those of Edelman and Grossberg * accounts of emergence in general, and emergent knowledge in particular * perception and action robotics * functional linguistics * genetic algorithms * Information Procesing * connectionism * evolutionary epistemology ******************** Contributors will be asked to submit short papers (3000 word limit) in the form of ASCII text files (HTML files are also welcome, but are optional) to Robert Campbell (for stream 2) and Sean O Nuallain (stream 1). The deadline is March 1, 1999. We will email notification of acceptance or rejection by April 1. The standard presentations during the streams will be 20-minute talks and poster sessions. *********** The "MIND" conferences have normally had their proceedings published by John Benjamins. We have already been approached by prospective publishers for Mind 4. All accepted papers and posters will be included in a preprint. Robert L. Campbell Professor, Psychology Brackett Hall 410A Clemson University Clemson, SC 29634-1511 USA phone (864) 656-4986 fax (864) 656-0358 http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/index.html Editor, Dialogues in Psychology http://hubcap.clemson.edu/psych/Dialogues/dialogues.html