Consciousness, Volition, and Action: Symposium on Ben Libet

I have learned from Walter Sinnott-Armstrong about the following event, sure to interest many of our readers:

Symposium on Real-Time Consciousness, Volition and Action - A Tribute to Ben Libet

Sponsored by the Macarthur Law & Neuroscience Project, and
The University of Arizona Mind, Brain and Society Program.

This symposium consists of two 4 hour sessions to honor the work  of Benjamin Libet and its implications for moral and legal responsibiity. Libet, who died in the summer of 2007, was well known  for his ingenious experiments that seemed to show that conscious will occurs after readiness potentials in the brain. These striking results are often interpreted as showing that conscious will does not cause actions or that we do not have free will, but only free won't. We want to bring together some psychologists and philosophers who support this interpretation together with others who reject it, as well as scientists who are doing new work that builds on Libet's findings. We will also bring philosophers and lawyers to discuss the implications of Libet's work for freedom and responsibility.

April 7, 2:00-6:00 p.m. Workshop on Libet and Conscious Will

The Neuroscience of Conscious Will
Speaker 1 (30 minutes): Hakwan Lau and Brian Maniscalco (Columbia)
Speaker 2 (30 minutes): Sue Pockett (Otago)
Speaker 3 (30 minutes): Angela Sirigu (Institut des Sciences Cognitives)
Panel Discussion (30 minutes)

The Psychology of Conscious Will
Speaker 1 (30 minutes): Thalia Wheatley (Dartmouth)
Speaker 2 (30 minutes): Carey Morewedge (Carnegie Mellon University)
Speaker 3 (30 minutes): Terence Horgan (Arizona)
Panel Discussion (30 minutes)

April 8, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Workshop on Libet, Free Will, and Responsibility

Philosophical Implications of Libet's Work on Conscious Will
Speaker 1 (30 minutes): Derk Pereboom (Cornell)
Speaker 2 (30 minutes): Al Mele (Florida)
Speaker 3 (30 minutes): Adina Roskies (Dartmouth)
Panel Discussion (30 minutes)

Legal Implications of Libet's Work on Conscious Will
Speaker 1 (30 minutes): Walter Sinnott-Armstrong (Dartmouth)
Speaker 2 (30 minutes): Michael Moore (Illinois Law)
Speaker 3 (30 minutes): Larry Alexander (UCSD Law)
Panel Discussion (30 minutes)