Schedule

Animal Consciousness: Evidence and Implications, a Harvard University Mind, Brain, and Behavior Group Symposium at William James Hall

Speaker Schedule for Saturday, November 15

8:30 am. Auditorium open for seating.

8:50 am. Introductions and Welcome by Dale Peterson

9:00 to 10:30 am. Interest Group 1: Tantalizing Surprises: Behavioral Evidence for Mental Continuity

9:00 to 9:25 am. Katy Payne. Researcher in Bioacoustics, Cornell University; Founder, The Elephant Listening Project.

“Evidence of Mind in Humpback Whales and Forest Elephants.”

9:25 to 9:50 am. Diana Reiss. Professor of Psychology, Hunter College, CUNY.

“Mirror Self-Recognition: Reflections of Consciousness in Dolphins and Elephants”

9:50 to 10:15 am. Alexandra Rosati. Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Psychology, Yale University.

“Evolving Volition: Evidence from Ape Decision-Making”

10:15 to 10:30 am. Questions directed to any or all of the three speakers.

Coffee break from 10:30 to 11:00 am.

11:00 am to 12:30 pm. Interest Group 2: Mental Continuity: The Darwinian Perspective

 11:00 to 11:25 am. David Edelman. Professor of Neuroscience, Bennington College.

“Awareness on the Horizon: Vision, Memory, and the Evolution of Consciousness.”

11:25 am to 11:50 am. Anna Henchman. Assistant Professor of English Literature, Boston University.

“Worm Minds and Worm Work in Darwin’s Last Book”

11:50 am to 12:15 pm. Peter Godfrey-Smith. Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the Graduate Center, City University of New York.

“On the Origins and Distribution of Consciousness”

12:15 to 12:30 pm. Questions directed to any or all of the three speakers.

Break for lunch from 12:30 to 2:00 pm.

2:00 to 3:30 pm. Interest Group 3: What Can We Know? Future Directions for and Possible Limits to Understanding Mental Continuity

 2:00 to 2:25 pm. Michael A. Cohen. McGovern Institute of Brain Research, Dept of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

“Using models of human consciousness as a foundation for studying animal consciousness.”

2:25 to 2:50 pm. Colin Allen. Professor of Cognitive Science and History & Philosophy of Science; Director, Indiana University Cognitive Science Program.

“Learning About Animal Consciousness from Animal Learning.”

2:50 to 3:15 pm. Daniel C. Dennett. University Professor, Tufts University; Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy, Tufts University; Co-Director of the Center for Consciousness Studies, Tufts University.

Title: “The Pendulum of Possibilities.”

3:15 to 3:30 pm. Questions directed to any or all of the three speakers.

Coffee break from 3:30 to 4:00 pm.

4:00 to 5:30 pm. Interest Group 4: What Shall We Do? Ethical, Practical, and Intellectual Implications of Mental Continuity

4:00 to 4:25 pm. Philip Low. Founder, Chairman, and CEO of NeuroVigil, Inc.; Research Affiliate, MIT Media Laboratory; Advisor to the White House and the US-Israel Science and Technology Foundation on health, medicine, and neuroscience policy.

“The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness: Causes and Consequences”

4:25 to 4:50 pm. Jaak Panksepp. Bailey Endowed Chair of Animal Well-Being Science and Professor of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University.

“The Neuroscientific Case for Homologous Primal Emotional Feelings in All Mammals: With a Focus on Psychiatric Implications.”

4:50 to 5:15 pm. Irene M. Pepperberg. Research Associate, Harvard University, Department of Psychology.

“Perceptual Awareness in the Grey Parrot.”

3:15 to 3:30 pm. Questions directed to any or all of the three speakers.

Speaker Schedule for Sunday, November 16. (Open to Harvard MBB Group and Harvard community only.)

8:30 am. Auditorium open for seating.

8:50 am. Introductions and Welcome by Dale Peterson

9:00 to 10:30 am. Interest Group 1: Tantalizing Surprises: Behavioral Evidence for Mental Continuity

Speaker and Panel Schedule: Day 2, Sunday, November 16, 2014.

8:30 am. Auditorium open for seating.

9:00 to 9:25 am. Opening remarks by Daniel C. Dennett. University Professor, Tufts University; Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy, Tufts University; Co-Director of the Center for Consciousness Studies, Tufts University.

“A Skeptic’s Challenge.”

9:30 to 10:30 am. Panel 1: Animal Consciousness: Behavioral Evidence

             Katy Payne. Researcher in Bioacoustics, Cornell University; Founder, The Elephant Listening

            Diana Reiss. Professor of Psychology, Hunter College, CUNY.

Alexandra Rosati. Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Psychology, Yale University.

Coffee break from 10:30 to 11:00 am.

11:00 am to 12:00 noon. Panel 2: Animal Consciousness: The Darwinian Perspective

             Peter Godfrey-Smith. Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. Email: pgodfreysmith@gmail.com.

Anna Henchman. Assistant Professor of English Literature, Boston University. Email: henchman@bu.edu.

            Jaak Panksepp. Bailey Endowed Chair of Animal Well-Being Science and Professor of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University.

Break for lunch from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm.

1:30 pm to 2:30 pm. Panel 3: Animal Consciousness: Directions for Research

             Colin Allen. Professor of Cognitive Science and History & Philosophy of Science; Director, Indiana University Cognitive Science Program.

            Michael A. Cohen. McGovern Institute of Brain Research, Dept of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

            Irene M. Pepperberg. Research Associate, Harvard University, Department of Psychology.

Coffee break from 2:30 to 3:00 am.

3:00 to 4:00 pm. Panel 4: Animal Consciousness: Implications and Actions

 David Edelman. Professor of Neuroscience, Bennington College.

Philip Low. Founder, Chairman, and CEO of NeuroVigil, Inc.; Research Affiliate, MIT Media Laboratory; Advisor to the White House and the US-Israel Science and Technology Foundation on health, medicine, and neuroscience policy.