Conference: Imaging 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.

Imaging the Mind? Taking stock a decade after the “Decade of the Brain”

International conference on the relation between neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy and the prospects of the scientific endeavor of understanding the mind, April 1-3 2011, Amsterdam

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

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

11:30 Adina Roskies (Dartmouth): The assumptions of imaging the mind and their impact on psychology and philosophy of mind*
12:15 (invited psychologist-neuroscientist)

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*

16:30 (invited social psychologist-neuroscientist)
17:15 Final discussion: Imaging the Mind? Taking stock at the end of the conference

Sunday, April 3; Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Amsterdam
Workshops on principles of brain functioning (held by Michael Anderson), ethical implications of neuroscience research and technology (held by Adina Roskies), basics of neuroscience methods, and neuroscience and culture.

Organization team: Stephan Schleim (Groningen) in cooperation with Machiel Keestra (Amsterdam)

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

* preliminary title