Final 2016 Conference Program
The Science of
Consciousness
April 25-30, 2016, Loews
Ventana Canyon, Tucson, Arizona
"To have a glimpse of what consciousness is would be the scientific achievement before which all others would pale." - William James
After 23 years, the seminal conference 'Toward a Science of Consciousness' is now simply 'The Science of Consciousness'. But as consciousness cannot be observed, scientifically explained, nor commonly defined, is there now truly a 'Science of Consciousness'? Are we there yet?
We do have essential questions. Is the brain a computer? Does it process or generate conscious information as output? When, where, and how did consciousness evolve? Can we have free will, or are we just 'along for the ride'? Will consciousness be reproduced through brain mapping, transhumanism and/or artificial intelligence? Or, does the brain 'tune into' and organize consciousness or its precursors existing naturally in the universe? What are the implications of either view on the nature of existence, and treatment of mental and cognitive disorders?
These and many other questions will be debated in a week-long gathering of 800 to 900 scientists, philosophers, artists, meditators and interested people from 50 countries at Loews Ventana Canyon, a luxurious eco-lodge in the mountains just north of Tucson, Arizona. The program will consist of Pre-Conference Workshops, Plenary talks, Concurrent talks, Posters, Exhibits, Social Events and Entertainment.
Sponsored
by
Center for Consciousness Studies, The
University of Arizona
Center for Consciousness
Science, The University of Michigan
Important Links
Conference Trailer Video
Link?
Conference Website
Registration Link
General Conference Sessions
PLENARY Program
Link to Plenary
Abstracts
Tuesday,
April 26, 2016 - 2:00 pm to 4:10
pm
PL 1 -Five Roads to
Consciousness (1)
Stanislas
Dehaene, NSERM-CEA, Paris
Anil
K. Seth, University
of Sussex, Brighton
Stuart Hameroff, University of Arizona, CCS, Tucson
Wednesday,
April 27, 2016 - 8:30 am to 10:40 am
PL 2 - Brain Biology
Rudolph
Tanzi, Harvard Medical School, Boston
Selen
Atasoy, Brain and Cognition, UPF, Barcelona
Anirban Bandyopadhyay, NIMS, Tsukuba
Wednesday,
April 27, 2016 - 11:10 am to 12:30 pm
PL 3 - Consciousness and
Reality
Deepak
Chopra, Chopra Foundation, UCSD
David
Chalmers, Australian National University, NYU
Wednesday,
April 27, 2016 - 2:00pm to 4:10 pm
PL 4 - Five Roads to Consciousness
(2)
Naotsugu
Tsuchiya, Monash University, Melbourne
Richard
Brown, CUNY, Laguardia College, New York
Jakob Hohwy, Monash University, Melbourne
Thursday,
April 28, 2016 - 8:30 am to 10:40 am
PL 5 - Conscious Intention and
Free Will
Aaron Schurger, Ecole
Polytechnique Federale, Lausanne
Panel - Time, Free Will and the
Brain
Ruth Kastner,
University of Maryland
Daniel Sheehan, University of San Diego
Ron Gruber, Stanford University
Martin Nowakowski, Gdansk University
Matti Vuorre, Columbia University
Julia Mossbridge, IONS
Thursday,
April 28, 2016 - 11:10 am to 12:30 pm
PL 6 - AI/Machine Consciousness
Hartmut
Neven, Google
Christian
Szegedy, Google
Friday,
April 29, 2016 - 8:30 am to 10:40 am
PL 7 - Quantum Approaches 1
Henry
Stapp, UC-Berkeley
Kelvin
McQueen, University of Tel Aviv
Alyssa
Ney, UC-Davis
Friday,
April 29, 2016 - 11:10 am to 12:30 pm
PL 8 - Evolution and
Consciousness
Terrence
W. Deacon, UC-Berkeley
Katherine
T. Peil, Northeastern U, Boston
Friday,
April 29, 2016 - 2:00 pm to 4:10 pm
PL 9 - 'Pribram Session' - Brain Dynamics
Anthony
Hudetz, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Walter
J. Freeman, UC-Berkeley
Gyorgy
Buzsaki, NYU Neuroscience Inst, NYC
Saturday,
April 30, 2016 - 8:30 am to 10:40 am
PL 10 - Scale and Connectivity
Alison
Gopnik, UC-Berkeley
Robin
Carhart Harris, Imperial College, London
Martin
Monti, Psychology, UCLA
Saturday,
April 30, 2016 - 11:10 am to 12:30 pm
PL 11 - Quantum Approaches 2
Dean
Radin, IONS, Petaluma
Stuart Kauffman, Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle
Saturday,
April 30, 2016 - 2:00 pm to 4:10 pm
PL 12 - NCC 3 -Anomalous
Conscious Experience
George
Mashour, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Jimo
Borjigin, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Peter
Fenwick, Kings College, Southampton
|
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
Concurrent Sessions C1-C8 |
Tuesday
April 26, 2016 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm
C1
Knowledge Argument, Explanatory Gap and Conceivability
C2
Panpsychism, Idealism and Metaphysics 1
C3
Agency and Mental Causation
C4
Neural Correlate Of Consciousness (NCC) I
C5
Quantum Approaches
C6
Time and Consciousness
C7
Psi and Non-Locality
C8
Meditation and Technology
Concurrent Sessions (C9-C16)
Wednesday
April 27, 2016 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM
C9
Phenomenal Consciousness
C10
Panpsychism, Idealism and Metaphysics 2
C11
Agency and Free Will
C12
The Extended Mind
C13
Neural Correlates of Consciousness 2
C14
Vibrations, Scale and Topology
C15
Cellular and Intra-Cellular Processes
C16
Meditation 2
Concurrent Sessions (C17-C24)
Friday April 29, 2016
5:00 PM to 7:30 PM
C17 Metacognition
and Agency
C18
Panpsychism, Idealism and Metaphysics 3
C19
Unity and Self
C20
Ketamine and Anesthetics
C21
Sleep and Dreaming
C22
Machine Consciousness
C23
Quantum Biology
C24
Arts and Entertainment
POSTER SESSIONS
Poster Session 1
Wednesday April 27, 7:00 -
10:00 pm
Poster Session 2
Friday April 29, 7:00 pm to
10:00 pm
Link to Poster Abstracts
ART/TECH/HEALTH EXHIBITS
Session 1
Wednesday April 27-
7:00-10:00pm
Session 2
Friday April 29 - 7:00-10:00pm
Art-Tech Design, Health Technology
Exhibits and Vendors?
SOCIAL EVENTS
CONSCIOUSNESS CENTRAL
Daily roundup with speakers, guests, commentators and fun from The Science of Consciousness Conference, hosted by Nick Day and Cameron Keys
Pre-Conference
Workshops April
25 and 26 (Optional)
Workshop Descriptions and Speaker Bios - here
Monday-Saturday daily sessions
7:00 am - 8:00 am
Tenniscentric
Approach to Consciousness
Thursday, April 28 Tournament
3:00 pm
Full
Day East-West Forum
Sponsored
by Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Agra
Monday
April 25, 9:00am to 5:00pm
The
East-West Forum is now a familiar feature at the TSC series of conferences,
starting with TSC 2012 at Tucson,
TSC 2013 at DEI, Dayalbagh,
India, TSC 2014 at Tucson again, and TSC 2015 at Helsinki, Finland.
The Fifth East-West Forum
at TSC 2016 will be yet another landmark integration effort as part of the
TSC-series.
The above quote rather
prophetically captures these momentous events, when not just two strong men
from
East and West stand face
to face, but in fact, two galaxies of strong men and women from East and West
meet
at Tucson, Arizona (USA) and Dayalbagh,
Agra (India) also through video-conferencing.
Pre-Conference Workshops-Link to Descriptions
Monday Morning, April 25, 2016 9:00am-1:00pm
Consciousness versus
Attention
PSI Research and
Consciousness
Consciousness, Memory and
Music
Curriculum for Consciousness
Studies
DEI East-West Forum
full day
Kant and the Conscious
Mind-Salon
Altered State Healing in the
Amazon
Quantum Biology - Nature of Life
Monday Afternoon, April 25, 2016 2:00pm-6:00pm
Consciousness in Animals
Consciousness and the Arts,
I
Designing a Conscious
Robot
DEI East-West Forum, II
Naturalizing the Conscious
Mind?
Transformative Technology
Unity of Consciousness
Monday Evening, April 25, 2016
7:30pm-10:00pm
Super
Genes - Can Consciousness Guide
Evolution?
(Deepak Chopra, Rudy Tanzi)
Tuesday Morning, April 26, 2016 9:00am-1:00pm
Anesthesia Research and
Consciousness
Complexity and Consciousness
Consciousness and the Arts
II
Hot Topics in Cognitive
Neuroscience
First Person-Third Person
Perspectives
Philosophical Theories of
Consciousness
Quantum AI and Machine
Consciousness
Walter Freeman Festschrift
Conference
Opening
Tuesday
April 26
1:45 Kiva
Co-Sponsors
The Center for Consciousness
Studies, The University of Arizona
The Center for Consciousness Science, The University of Michigan
Additional Sponsors
Dennis Balson
Mani Bhaumik
The Chopra Foundation
Crystal Globe, Shanghai
Alvin J. Clark
Ron Gruber
Irwin Klee, Quantum Gravity
Research
Sofia University
Yet-A-Del Foundation
Technology
Exhibitors
Dream Weaver
HeartMath
Neuroelectrics
SoundsSelf
Starlab
TruPhone
Quantum Gravity Research
MyHeadquarters
Additional
Exhibitors
JCS/Imprint Academic
CCS TUS Study
Erfan Keyhani (Halgheh)
Additional Cooperating
Organizations
Center
for Consciousness Studies, University of Arizona, TUS Study
College of Medicine, Department
of Anesthesiology, University of Arizona
UA Departments of Psychology,
Cognitive Science Program, Philosophy
Dayalbagh Educational Institute
Journal of Consciousness Studies - Imprint Academic
Society for Mind-Matter
Research
Consciousness Central TV
Swiss Biennial on Science,
Technics + Aesthetics
Human-Animal Interaction Research Initiative
Transformative Technology Lab
Advertising
Support
Journal of Consciousness Studies
American
Psychological Association
Prizes
Harmony Books /Penguin Random House
Head/Penn
OPRC KCUT
Whole Foods Tucson
Music
Dorian Electra and the
Electrodes
Michael P and the Gully Washers
Timbre Wolf
A/V
Commotion Studios
Program Committee
Stuart Hameroff, Co-Chair,
University of Arizona
George Mashour, Co-Chair,
University of Michigan
Abi Behar-Montefiore, CCS,
University of Arizona
Harald Atmanspacher, ETH Zurich
Brit Brogaard, University of
Miami
Hakwan Lau, University of
California at Los Angeles
Paavo Pylkkanen, Universities
of Helsinki and Skovde
Jay Sanguinetti, University of
Arizona
Marilyn Schlitz, Worldview
Enterprises; IONS
Gino Yu, Hong Kong, Polytechnic
Univ; SME Creativity Center
Press
Attn.: Abi Behar Montefiore
The Center for Consciousness Studies - Since 1994
The
Science of Consciousness (TSC) is the largest and longest-running
interdisciplinary conference emphasizing broad and rigorous approaches to
conscious awareness, the nature of existence and our place in the universe. TSC
brings together perspectives, orientations and methodologies from neuroscience,
philosophy, medicine, quantum physics, cosmology, biology, psychology,
anthropology, artificial intelligence, technology, contemplative and
experiential traditions, the arts, culture, humanities and others. Cutting
edge, controversial issues are emphasized.
TSC 2016 marks the 23rd annual TSC Conference and we are thrilled to return to Loews Ventana Canyon. The TSC conferences are held in Tucson biennially since 1994, and co-sponsored TSC conferences occur elsewhere around the world in odd-numbered years, most recently in Helsinki, Finland in June 2015, organized by Paavo Pylkkanen, The University of Helsinki, and Skovde University, Sweden. Next year, the 24th conference, TSC 2017, will be held in Shanghai, China, co-sponsored by Crystal Globe, Shanghai, China. TSC 2016 and future TSC conferences are co-sponsored and organized by the Center for Consciousness Studies at the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the Center for Consciousness Science, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
History of TSC
The first TSC conference was held in 1994 in DuVal Auditorium at the University of Arizona Medical Center, and subsequently elsewhere in Tucson in even-numbered years. These have alternated with co-sponsored international TSC conferences in various locations around the world in odd-numbered years. The Center for Consciousness Studies (CCS) at the University of Arizona was established in 1998 by the Arizona Board of Regents. TSC and CCS are due to the work over the years of Al Kaszniak, David Chalmers, Jim Laukes, Jay Sanguinetti, Stuart Hameroff and the late Alwyn Scott, a co-founder of CCS. Since 2007, CCS and TSC have been successfully managed by Abi Behar-Montefiore, subsisting entirely on TSC conference registration fees and sponsorships. CCS is hosted in the Department of Anesthesiology in the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and Banner-University Medical Center.
Thank
you to our international colleagues and friends who
helped
make TSC alternate year conferences possible:
1995 Ischia, Italy; Chloe Taddei-Ferretti
1997 Elsinore, Denmark; LO Skolen, Alwyn Scott
1999 Tokyo, Japan; UN University, Mari Jibu, Kunio
Yasue
2001 Skovde, Sweden; University of Skovde, Paavo
Pylkkanen
2003 Prague, Czech Republic; Ivan Havel
2005 Copenhagen, Denmark; Morten Overgard
2007 Budapest, Hungary; George Kampis
2009 Hong Kong, China; Hong Kong Polytechnic,
Gino Yu
2011 Stockholm, Sweden; Christer Perfjell
2013 Agra, India; Rev. Prof. PS. Satsangi; Vishal
Sahni
2015 Helsinki, Finland; University of Finland,
Paavo Pylkkanen
2017 Shanghai,
China - tba
Conference
Website