Dear All, A kind reminder: Subject: [CEU Cogsci Talks] Daniel Dor (Tel Aviv University), Wednesday November 19, 4 pm: ``Mimesis, Language and the Emergence of Collaborative Computation in Human Evolution`` The CEU Department of Cognitive Science cordially invites you to the following talk by: Daniel Dor<https://telaviv.academia.edu/DanielDor> (Tel Aviv University) Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2025 Time: 4 pm (to 5:30 pm) CET Venue: D002 (QS Vienna) and Zoom: https://ceu-edu.zoom.us/j/97850682852?pwd=5r6K3CIvcBXnPqPejCPAv0pb5bc7uS.1&… Meeting ID: 978 5068 2852 Passcode: 786581 Chair: Eva Wittenberg Title: Mimesis, Language and the Emergence of Collaborative Computation in Human Evolution Abstract: In this paper, I will present the backbone of a new perspective on human evolution. First, I will suggest that our uniqueness as a species lies in the fact that we base our survival on collaborative computation. The other animals (with the possible exception of social insects) rely on individualistic computation: even when they cooperate and communicate, learn from each other and (in the case of apes) read each other's minds, each individual involved makes all the mental computations required on its own, within its nervous system. Our nervous systems, on the other hand, while still partially autonomous, function as nodes (end-users) on our social networks - where the computational challenges (of perception, learning, memory, prediction, decision-making etc.) are met through intensive mental collaboration. Second, I will claim that Collaborative computation requires a new general type of communication, which I will call instructive communication: when A instructs B, A intervenes in B's mental dynamics, instructing it in the process of understanding the message. This is exactly what the other animals do not do when they communicate. This characterization of our uniqueness allows for a new two-staged perspective on the process of human evolution. In the first stage, from around two million years ago (in Homo erectus), collaborative computation was made possible for the first time by the uniquely human communicative toolkit of mimesis: mimetic communication, especially the pointing gesture, allows for the systematic instruction of the computations involved in perception, and thus allows for collaborative computation as long as the contents are available for direct experiencing by the participants. In the second stage (probably in late erectus), based on mimesis, language began to allow communicators to break the barrier of direct experiencing, and collaborate in the computation of contents that lie beyond the here and now. As I show in earlier publications, the architecture of language is specifically designed (by cultural evolution) for the instruction of the computations involved in imagination. *Anyone not affiliated with CEU wishing to attend in-person in Vienna must reply here<https://forms.office.com/e/PSZ6qREXTr> to get access to the lecture hall. Let Eva know, please, if you would like to schedule a meeting with the speaker. Best, Reka ------------------------------------------------------------------------ GyörgyNÉ Finta (Réka) Department Coordinator Department of cognitive SCience --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [cid:image001.jpg@01DC587F.6A2A9A20] CEU GmbH - CEU Central European University private university Quellenstrasse 51, A-1100 Wien, Room B502 Office: +43 125230 5138 cognitivescience.ceu.edu<https://cognitivescience.ceu.edu/>| www.ceu.edu<http://www.ceu.edu/> See CEU story: www.youtube.com/ceuhungary<http://www.youtube.com/ceuhungary> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CEU is committed to energy and environmental sustainability www.ceu.hu/sustainability<http://www.ceu.hu/sustainability> [https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4wJmntYV9xI46HE4vvhea1QVsjj…] Please, consider your environmental responsibility. Before printing this e-mail message, ask yourself whether you really need a hard copy. ______________________________________________ Subscribe by sending an empty mail to talks-subscribe(a)cogsci.ceu.edu Unsubscribe by sending an empty mail to talks-unsubscribe(a)cogsci.ceu.edu

Here is the title and the abstract of the talk next week (see the other details below): *** Title: Naturalizing Gricean Communication: An Intentional Stance Approach Speaker: Ronald J. Planer (University of Wollongong) Abstract: Many theorists of language origins now view language as a cultural-evolutionary product of the human capacity for Gricean communication. However, basically no attention has been paid by these theorists to the naturalistic credentials of Grice's model of communication. The crux of the problem is that Grice's model is steeped in folk-psychological terms, and yet the question of how to locate folk-psychological states and their properties within a scientific-naturalistic worldview has proven to be among the most recalcitrant in the whole of the philosophy of mind and psychology. In this talk, I develop one way we might attempt to settle this theoretical debt by showing how Gricean communication - and, by extension, public language items - can be naturalized using Dennett's intentional stance theory of folk psychology. I then consider an important challenge to the proposed naturalization pathway. Put simply, the challenge concerns the possibility of residual intentional properties at the level of subpersonal cognitive mechanisms. I conclude by distinguishing three lines of response that remain open to a proponent of my version of naturalism about Gricean communication and language. *** On 21/11/2025, at 10:48, Gyorgyne Finta &lt;Szabor(a)ceu.edu&gt; wrote: The CEU Department of Cognitive Science cordially invites you to the following talk by: Ronald Planer (University of Wollongong)<https://scholars.uow.edu.au/ronald-planer> Date: Wednesday, November 26, 2025 Time: 4 pm (to 5:30 pm) CET Venue: D001 (QS Vienna) and Zoom: https://ceu-edu.zoom.us/j/92670851861?pwd=kIgYbPv4fbLuK8opQcyVyOaapAgVpW.1&… Meeting ID: 926 7085 1861 Passcode: 898270 Chair: Gergely Csibra Title: TBA Ronald Planer received his PhD in Philosophy from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, in 2015. His doctoral research was in the philosophy of science, with a special focus on the biological and cognitive sciences, particularly where those fields overlap. The character of Ron’s current research might be described as the philosophy of human nature: it is aimed at understanding—and ideally developing testable models of—the biocultural evolution of some of the most fundamental aspects of human beings; for example, our linguistic abilities, our social-cognitive abilities, and our moral and political attitudes. Ron takes a highly interdisciplinary approach to this research, incorporating and using ideas from anthropology, archaeology, primatology, neuroscience, linguistics, computer science, and other fields. His work has appeared in some of the very best philosophy and science journals, such as Biology and Philosophy, Biological Theory, Current Anthropology, Mind and Language, and The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. In 2021, Ron completed his first book (co-authored with Professor Kim Sterelny), entitled From Signal to Symbol: The Evolution of Language (MIT Press). More broadly, Ron remains interested in core debates in the philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology, philosophy of language, and philosophy of science. Let Mariem know, please, if you would like to schedule a meeting with the speaker. Best, Reka ------------------------------------------------------------------------ GYÖRGYNÉ FINTA (RÉKA) DEPARTMENT COORDINATOR DEPARTMENT OF COGNITIVE SCIENCE --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <image001.jpg> CEU GMBH – CEU CENTRAL EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY PRIVATE UNIVERSITY Quellenstrasse 51, A-1100 Wien, Room B502 OFFICE: +43 125230 5138 cognitivescience.ceu.edu<https://cognitivescience.ceu.edu/>| www.ceu.edu<http://www.ceu.edu/> SEE CEU STORY: www.youtube.com/ceuhungary<http://www.youtube.com/ceuhungary> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CEU is committed to energy and environmental sustainability www.ceu.hu/sustainability<http://www.ceu.hu/sustainability> [https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4wJmntYV9xI46HE4vvhea1QVsjj…] Please, consider your environmental responsibility. Before printing this e-mail message, ask yourself whether you really need a hard copy. ______________________________________________ Subscribe by sending an empty mail to talks-subscribe@cogsci.ceu.edu<mailto:talks-subscribe@cogsci.ceu.edu> Unsubscribe by sending an empty mail to talks-unsubscribe@cogsci.ceu.edu<mailto:talks-unsubscribe@cogsci.ceu.edu> ______________________________________________ Subscribe by sending an empty mail to talks-subscribe(a)cogsci.ceu.edu Unsubscribe by sending an empty mail to talks-unsubscribe(a)cogsci.ceu.edu

The CEU Department of Cognitive Science cordially invites you to the following talk by: Ronald J. Planer<https://scholars.uow.edu.au/ronald-planer> University of Wollongong Visiting Fellow, KLI Date: Wednesday, November 26, 2025 Time: 4 pm (to 5:30 pm) CET Venue: D001 (QS Vienna) and Zoom: https://ceu-edu.zoom.us/j/92670851861?pwd=kIgYbPv4fbLuK8opQcyVyOaapAgVpW.1&… Meeting ID: 926 7085 1861 Passcode: 898270 Chair: Gergely Csibra Title: Naturalizing Gricean Communication: An Intentional Stance Approach Many theorists of language origins now view language as a cultural-evolutionary product of the human capacity for Gricean communication. However, basically no attention has been paid by these theorists to the naturalistic credentials of Grice's model of communication. The crux of the problem is that Grice's model is steeped in folk-psychological terms, and yet the question of how to locate folk-psychological states and their properties within a scientific-naturalistic worldview has proven to be among the most recalcitrant in the whole of the philosophy of mind and psychology. In this talk, I develop one way we might attempt to settle this theoretical debt by showing how Gricean communication - and, by extension, public language items - can be naturalized using Dennett's intentional stance theory of folk psychology. I then consider an important challenge to the proposed naturalization pathway. Put simply, the challenge concerns the possibility of residual intentional properties at the level of subpersonal cognitive mechanisms. I conclude by distinguishing three lines of response that remain open to a proponent of my version of naturalism about Gricean communication and language. *Anyone not affiliated with CEU wishing to attend in-person in Vienna must reply here<https://forms.office.com/e/EKwni8cN4W> to get access to the lecture hall. Let Mariem know, please, if you would like to schedule a meeting with the speaker. Best, Reka ------------------------------------------------------------------------ GyörgyNÉ Finta (Réka) Department Coordinator Department of cognitive SCience --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [cid:image001.jpg@01DC5EE4.78F77530] CEU GmbH - CEU Central European University private university Quellenstrasse 51, A-1100 Wien, Room B502 Office: +43 125230 5138 cognitivescience.ceu.edu<https://cognitivescience.ceu.edu/>| www.ceu.edu<http://www.ceu.edu/> See CEU story: www.youtube.com/ceuhungary<http://www.youtube.com/ceuhungary> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CEU is committed to energy and environmental sustainability www.ceu.hu/sustainability<http://www.ceu.hu/sustainability> [https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4wJmntYV9xI46HE4vvhea1QVsjj…] Please, consider your environmental responsibility. Before printing this e-mail message, ask yourself whether you really need a hard copy. ______________________________________________ Subscribe by sending an empty mail to talks-subscribe(a)cogsci.ceu.edu Unsubscribe by sending an empty mail to talks-unsubscribe(a)cogsci.ceu.edu

Dear All, This is a kind reminder: ********* The CEU Department of Cognitive Science cordially invites you to the following talk by: Maria Chait<https://www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-sciences/research/women-science/maria-chait>, UCL, Faculty of Brain Sciences Date: Wednesday, December 10, 2025 Time: 4 pm (to 5:30 pm) CET Venue: D001 (QS Vienna) and Zoom: https://ceu-edu.zoom.us/j/99827332409?pwd=JjwjgzxbR6ut794b0HzBG0hFZeUSnQ.1&… Meeting ID: 998 2733 2409 Passcode: 195696 Chair: Jozsef Fiser, Linda Garami Title: Discovery, Interruption, and Updating of Auditory Regularities in Memory: Evidence from Pupillometry and Low-Frequency Brain Dynamics in Human M/EEG Professor Maria Chait is an auditory cognitive neuroscientist at the Ear Institute and co-director of the Sensory Systems, Technologies and Therapies (SenSyT) PhD programme. Abstract: During passive listening, the brain maintains a hierarchy of predictive models to track the statistical structure of its surroundings. A key question pertains to understanding how such models are established in and retrieved from memory as well as the conditions under which they are activated and interrupted. Over the last decade, accumulating work from my lab and others has shown that the automatic discovery of regular patterns is associated with a gradual increase in sustained tonic M/EEG activity-originating in auditory, hippocampal, and frontal regions-which reflects evidence accumulation and the establishment of a regularity model. Conversely, when a regular pattern is disrupted, this sustained activity drops, indicating disengagement from the model. Focusing on these neural signatures of statistical tracking, ongoing efforts in my lab are aiming to understand the brain heuristics associated with model updating and interruption and how they are affected by environmental volatility. In this talk, I will present recent M/EEG and pupillometry work examining how neural responses associated with model "establishment" and "interruption" are shaped by acoustic context and memory (i.e., novel versus resumed REG patterns). These findings reveal the temporal dynamics and neural networks that support the brain's construction, selection, and updating of predictive models used to monitor changes in sensory statistics. *Anyone not affiliated with CEU wishing to attend in-person in Vienna must reply here<https://forms.office.com/e/yLyn574U8r> to get access to the lecture hall. Let Linda know, please, if you would like to schedule a meeting with the speaker. Best, Reka ------------------------------------------------------------------------ GyörgyNÉ Finta (Réka) Department Coordinator Department of cognitive SCience --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [cid:image001.jpg@01DC691E.91D65370] CEU GmbH - CEU Central European University private university Quellenstrasse 51, A-1100 Wien, Room B502 Office: +43 125230 5138 cognitivescience.ceu.edu<https://cognitivescience.ceu.edu/>| www.ceu.edu<http://www.ceu.edu/> See CEU story: www.youtube.com/ceuhungary<http://www.youtube.com/ceuhungary> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CEU is committed to energy and environmental sustainability www.ceu.hu/sustainability<http://www.ceu.hu/sustainability> [https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4wJmntYV9xI46HE4vvhea1QVsjj…] Please, consider your environmental responsibility. Before printing this e-mail message, ask yourself whether you really need a hard copy. ______________________________________________ Subscribe by sending an empty mail to talks-subscribe(a)cogsci.ceu.edu Unsubscribe by sending an empty mail to talks-unsubscribe(a)cogsci.ceu.edu