See below and here for information about an upcoming symposium at the University of Missouri. Steven Pinker will give the keynote address:
For several decades now, neuroscientists have used technology to produce images of the brain in action. But what do such pictures tell us? Should they change the way we think about personal identity and free will? Can they reveal whether a person is capable of making moral decisions, or whether a person is telling the truth? If so, brain imaging technology seems to hold great promise for the criminal justice system. However, allowing brain scans to be used as evidence in trials for conviction or sentencing raises many questions about the nature of responsibility, the nature of fairness, and the public perception of science and technology.
The 2011 LSSP symposium, Ethics & the Brain, will bring to campus seven leading researchers from the fields of neuroscience, law, psychology, philosophy, anthropology, and theology to discuss these issues.
The symposium will take place on the flagship campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. It is free and open to the university community and the public and is designed to encourage dialogue across methodologies and backgrounds.
Speakers:
Keynote:
Steven Pinker (Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology; Harvard University) is world-renowned for his work examining language and mind, and social and moral decision-making, from an evolutionary perspective. His best-selling books include How the Mind Works (1997) and The Blank Slate (2002). Time Magazine named Pinker one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2004.
Patricia Churchland (Professor of Philosophy; University of California, San Diego; Adjunct Professor, Salk Institute) is a pioneer in the field of neurophilosophy. Her recent work focuses on the implications of neuroscience for our understanding of rationality, morality, and the self.
Joseph Dumit (Director of Science and Technology Studies; Professor of Anthropology; University of California, Davis) is a biomedical anthropologist who studies the complex entanglements of medicine and society, with a particular focus on brain imaging.
Adam Kolber (Professor of Law; Brooklyn Law School) is the founder of the Neuroethics & Law Blog and a leading scholar of the possible implications of neuroscience for the legal system. He writes at the intersection of criminal law, health law, and neuroethics.
Nancey Murphy (Professor of Christian Philosophy; Fuller Theological Seminary) is a philosopher and theologian who has written about the implications of neuroscience for thinking about moral responsibility, moral personhood, and free will in relation to biological processes.
Jesse Prinz (Distinguished Professor of Philosophy; City University of New York, Graduate Center) studies the cognitive and neurobiological foundations of the mind, focusing particularly on emotional, experiential, and cultural contributions to thought and morality.
Adrian Raine (Richard Perry University Professor in the Departments of Criminology, Psychiatry, and Psychology; University of Pennsylvania), an internationally renowned expert in the emerging field of neurocriminology, integrates neuroscientific and social perspectives in the prediction and explanation of violent behavior, particularly in psychopaths.
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