Titel: Current methodological and philosophical issues in neuroscience

Termin: 20.2.2012 bis 23.2.2012

Veranstaltungsort:
Free University Berlin

Weitere Informationen:
http://www.critical-neuroscience.org/events

Kurzbeschreibung: For several neuroscientific disciplines the last two decades have been an unprecedented story of success: with the help of neuroimaging techniques like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the inquiry into the neuronal correlates of cognitive and affective states is in full swing. Proponents of brain research often pronounce groundbreaking results and even already see the coming of a 'new image of humanity'. However, to insiders, the hype is mostly gone already and has been replaced with a wider-reaching reflection of neuroscientific methods:
What can be really measured with an fMRI scanner? How are anatomical localization and functional connectivity reconcilable with one another? Do neuroscientific images have an epistemic status of their own, or are they just a convenient representation of large data sets?
The seminar will focus on recent methodological and philosophical issues surrounding experimental designs, generation and statistical modeling of data, and the interpretation of experimental results in neuroscientific research. Beyond that, the cultural and social contexts of neuroscientific discourse and its effects on institutions and the media will be considered. The agenda of the research initiative Critical Neuroscience will be discussed by looking at particular examples. Advanced graduate and PhD students are requested to enroll via email as early as possible.

Kontakt: Prof. Dr. Jan Slaby
Free University Berlin
Research Cluster "Languages of Emotion" & Institute of Philosophy
jan.slaby@fu-berlin.de

Veranstalter: Free University Berlin

Wissenschaftliche Leitung: Prof. Dr. Jan Slaby

Schlagworte: Hirnforschung, Medizinische Ethik, Technikethik, Technikfolgenabschätzung