Braintrust: A public conversation about Morality and the Brain

http://www.thesciencenetwork.org

This conversation was recorded at Havemeyer Hall, Columbia University March 30, 2011 and presented by NeuWrite, with generous support from The Dana Foundation, Society for Neuroscience, and Columbia University.

Patricia Smith Churchland is a Professor Emerita of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego. She is also an adjunct faculty member at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Her research focuses on the interface between neuroscience and philosophy. Her books include "Brain-Wise: Studies in Neurophilosophy," "Neurophilosophy: Toward a Unified Science of the Mind-Brain" and "On the Contrary: Critical Essays 1987-1997," with husband Paul M. Churchland. Her newest book, "Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us About Morality," has just come out.

Jesse Prinz is currently Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the City University of New York and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prinz is a notable expert in philosophy of psychology. His research focuses on the integration of neuroscience, anthropology, and related disciplines to inform philosophical accounts of the mental. He is also a proponent of experimental philosophy. Prinz is the author of a trilogy of books paralleling the structure of David Hume's Treatise of Human Nature which includes Furnishing the Mind: Concepts and Their Perceptual Basis; Gut Reactions: A Perceptual Theory of the Emotions; and The Emotional Construction of Morals. His forthcoming books are Beyond Human Nature and The Conscious Brain.

Roger Bingham, director of The Science Network, is a member of the research faculty at the Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, focusing on theoretical evolutionary neuroscience. He is the co-author of The Origin of Minds: Evolution, Uniqueness, and the New Science of the Self that describes a new evolutionary model of the mind. Previously, he was a visiting associate in biology at the California Institute of Technology, and the creator and host of award-winning PBS science programs on evolutionary psychology and cognitive neuroscience.

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[IrelandsDestiny]

1:06:53 - Patricia - "So I actually worry, that we haven't learnt anything" - Brilliant :)

[AstronautDown]

@shakyl008 Really? On this video?

[HeySenthil]

Stuart looks like Jerry Springer and talks like him too! lol

[JadeChaos]

That was great. Thanks for sharing.

[THEHARMONIKZ]

Fascinating talk, although I must say it has left me rather sympathetic toward Harris' objective.

[shakyl008]

first!