Call for Papers, etc. for a Conference on Consciousness & SELF

[Guest guest]

--

Greetings:

 

The third conference of the Association for the Scientific Study

of Consciousness will be held from June 4-7, 1999, at the University

of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, on the theme of "Consciousness

and Self". Interested members can check the details below.

 

 

Ram V. Chandran

Burke, VA

 

 

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By Patrick Wilken @cs.monash.edu.au

Thursday

December 17

1998

 

 

ASSOCIATION FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF CONSCIOUSNESS

 

CALL FOR PAPERS, POSTERS & WORKSHOP PRESENTERS

FOR A CONFERENCE ON:

 

CONSCIOUSNESS AND SELF: NEURAL, COGNITIVE, AND PHILOSOPHICAL

ISSUES

 

UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO

 

JUNE 4-7, 1999: LONDON, ONTARIO, CANADA

 

The third conference of the Association for the Scientific Study

of Consciousness will be held from June 4-7, 1999, at the University

of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, on the theme of "Consciousness

and Self".

 

Consciousness involves not just the passive experience of sensory

contents,

but the active involvement of an agent. Phenomena such as volition,

social

cognition, metacognition, self-recognition, self- modeling, reflection,

and

planning all suggest that self-related phenomena may be central to an

understanding of consciousness.

 

Recent neurophysiological and neuroimaging research has linked

these self-related activities to specific brain activities, especially

in prefrontal cortex. Neuropsychologists have studied numerous

disorders

of the self, often forcing our intuitive ideas about self to be

revised. Psychologists have investigated the role of self and agency in

memory, personality, volition, metacognition, and many other areas.

Cognitive models have suggested a central role for executive systems

in understanding these self-related phenomena of consciousness.

And philosophers have analyzed the relationship between consciousness,

self, and self-consciousness, with some arguing that self-directed

cognition

is at the core of consciousness. The third ASSC conference will

bring together researchers from numerous disciplines to discuss these

issues. Topics that will be discussed include:

 

--the role of executive systems in conscious agency

--neuropsychological disorders of the self

--brain imaging of self-related processes

--the role of prefrontal cortex

--self-recognition in animals and humans

--consciousness and metacognition

--self-knowledge and theory of mind in schizophrenia and autism

--the relationship between consciousness and self-consciousness

--the role of self-knowledge in memory

--the role of self-models in spatial cognition and action

--the relation between sensory perception and controlled action

--the unity or multiplicity of "the self"

--cross-cultural conceptions of self

--face perception and consciousness

 

Confirmed speakers include: Jonathan Cole, Chris Frith, George Gallup

Jr., Marc Jeannerod, Nancy Kanwisher, Alan Leslie, Tom Nelson,

Thomas Metzinger, Morris Moscovitch, David Perrett, Giacomo Rizzolatti,

David Rosenthal, Endel Tulving, and Daniel Wegner.

 

-------------------------

 

CALL FOR PAPERS & POSTERS

-------------------------

 

While the central theme of ASSC 3 is "consciousness and self", speakers

in

concurrent sessions are invited to talk on any topic relevant to

thescientific

study of consciousness. Physiological, psychological, and

philosophical perspectives are all welcome.

 

Submissions for both posters and talks will be accepted. Any person may

present only one submission, but may be co-author on more than one.

Oral

presentations will be limited to 20 minutes, to be followed by a

10-minute

discussion period.

 

Concurrent sessions, posters, symposia, and plenary lectures will all

be held

in the Social Science Centre at The University of Western Ontario.

 

---------

WORKSHOPS

---------

 

This notice is also intended as a call for workshop presenters. One aim

of this

meeting is to allow researchers to gain a background in areas that they

may

know little about. Towards that end a number of workshopsare planned.

Is

there a topic you or perhaps one of your colleagues

might want to present? Some participants in the conference would be

very interested in learning about technical matters such as fMRI or

other brain imaging techniques. Others might enjoy a seminar on

a philosophical topic. If you have recently published a book or major

article

on some topic you might want to lead a discussion on it. As with papers

the

focus of all workshops should naturally fit within theoverall theme of

the

conference. Sample topics might include:

 

--The latest methods and implications of various brain scanning

techniques (e.g. fMRI, EEG, SQUID, ERP)

--Blindsight, neglect, or other neuropsychological syndromes.

--Neural network or other theoretical models of processing in areas

related to conscious activity

--Differences and similarities between conscious and unconscious

processing

--Current models of the visual system

--Consciousness and metacognition

--Criteria for the ascription of consciousness

--Philosophical issues concerning the self

 

--Please suggest other sample topics, or modify the above!!

 

Workshops will be held in parallel sessions on the morning and

afternoon of

June 4th. Each workshop is intended to last approximately threehours.

The

sizes of workshops will vary between a minimum of 10 to a

maximum of around 25 people. Workshops that do not achieve the

minimum enrollment of 10 people will not be offered. Workshop

presenters

will receive an honorarium of 750 Canadian dollars. The cost of

attending workshops will be 75 Canadian dollars.

 

-----------------------

 

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

-----------------------

 

WORKSHOP PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED BY JANUARY 15th 1999

 

PAPER AND POSTER SUBMISSIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY FEBRUARY 15TH

1999

 

Submissions to be a presenter of either a paper, workshop or poster

must

include the following information:

 

1. Title.

 

2. An abstract of 150-250 words

 

3. Name(s)

 

Institutional affiliation(s)

Postal address(es)

Email address(es)

Telephone and fax numbers

Membership status in the Association for the Scientific Study of

Consciousness (Full member, Associate, or Non-member)

 

For papers and poster presenters:

 

4. A specification of which co-author will present the paper/poster at

the

meeting.

 

5. Be sure to indicate whether this is submitted as a

 

a. Spoken presentation

 

b. Poster

 

In case your presentation cannot be included as a talk, please indicate

your

willingness to present it as a posterinstead: Yes__ No__

 

Please send - using email where possible - proposals to:

ASSC3

C/- Mel Goodale

Department of Psychology

University of Western Ontario

London Ontario N6A 5C2

CANADA

 

Email: assccon3-reques-

Phone: +1-519-661-2070; Fax: +1-519-661-3961

 

------------

REGISTRATION

------------

 

Deadline for early registration: April 15, 1999

 

Registration fees: Early Late

Non-members $200 $250

ASSC members $150 $185

Students $75 $100

Student ASSC members $50 $75

 

Note: All fees are in Canadian dollars.

 

PST and GST are included.

Membership registration must be received by May 1, 1999 to

ensure discount.

 

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FURTHER INFORMATION

-------------------

 

Information about paper, poster, and workshop submissions, and

registration

forms for the conference as well as application forms for

membership in the society are all available from:

 

http://www.phil.vt.edu/assc

http://watermelon.psych.uwo.ca/~assccon3

 

Please check these sites for updates to program information and

general information about the society's activities. In addition you can

find

out more about two ASSC journals at the following websites:

 

Consciousness & Cognition: http://www.idealibrary.com/

 

PSYCHE: http://psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/

 

Please address any further enquiries regarding the conference to the

ASSC organising committee at <assccon3-reques-. The

conference organizing committee consists of: Bernard Baars, William

Banks,

David Chalmers, Mel Goodale, Christof Koch, and Patrick Wilken.

 

-------Patrick

Wilken http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~patrickw/

Editor: PSYCHE: An International Journal of Research on

Consciousness

Secretary: The Association for the Scientific Study of

Consciousness

 

http://psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/

http://www.phil.vt.edu/ASSC/

 

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