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THIRD FETZER INSTITUTE SYMPOSIUM AT THE CSSR 2008
NEUROSCIENCES AND FREE WILL SYMPOSIUM PROGRAM

 

 

Click Here for the Schedule of Events with Video Coverage

 

Will neuroscience explain free will?

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Will science distinguish between right and wrong?

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Will morality be explained as an evolved trait under positive natural selection?

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On Sunday and Monday, March 30-31, 2008, the Center for the Study of Science and Religion at the Earth Institute, Columbia University, in collaboration with the Fetzer Institute of Kalamazoo, Michigan, is holding a public symposium to discuss Neurosciences and Free Will at Columbia University. For two days, this program will bring together leaders in the fields of neuroscience, physics, philosophy, psychology, and theology from a variety of religious traditions to discuss the scientific, philosophical, and moral questions raised by recent findings in the sciences on free will.

 

This program is the third in a series of symposia sponsored by the Fetzer Institute on the science of spiritual questions.


The first symposium, Love and its Obstacles, examined

love, religion, and power. Mind and Reality, held in 2006, enriched the dialogue among Buddhism, Hinduism and contemporary consciousness studies. For comprehensive archives of previous symposia in our series, visit these sites:

 

www.mindandreality.org

 

For more information regarding the Neurosciences and Free Will symposium, please visit the CSSR website, www.columbia.edu/cu/cssr or email Eleni Nikitopolous at en2142@columbia.edu

 
     

 

 

     
 

Sunday, March 30
3:00 pm Welcoming Remarks
Paul Gailey, Fetzer Institute
Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University


4:00 pm Session I Free Will in the Natural World
Introduction/Moderation: Bob Pollack

click here to view video for Session I


4:00 - 4:40 Darcy Kelley, Columbia University,

The Volitional Brain

4:40 - 5:20 David Helfand, Columbia University,

I'm Not a Heretic, I'm a Pagan

5:20 - 6:00 Paul Appelbaum, Columbia University,

Behavioral Genetics and Free Will

6:00 - 6:30 Panel Discussion


Monday, March 31
10:00 am Session II Right and Wrong
Introduction/Moderation: Paul Appelbaum

click here to view video for Session II

10:00 - 10:40 David Krantz, Columbia University,

Freedom Perceived, Freedom Analyzed
10:40 - 11:20 Alan Mittleman, The Jewish Theological Seminary,

Rabbinic Perspectives on the Free Will/Determinism Problem
11:20 - 12:00 B. Alan Wallace, Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies,

A Buddhist View of Free Will: Beyond Determinism and Indeterminism
12:00 - 12:30 Panel Discussion


2:00 pm Session III Emergence
Introduction/Moderation: Paul Gailey

click here to view video for Session III

2:00 - 2:45 Evan Thompson, University of Toronto,

Emergence, Volition and Consciousness: A Neurophenomenological Approach
2:45 - 3:30 Charles Townes, University of California, Berkeley,

Can We Understand Free Will?
3:30 - 4:15 Piet Hut, Institute for Advanced Study,

Science Beyond Methods and Goals: How the Future May Surprise Us
4:15 - 5:00 Panel Discussion

 

5:00 pm Closing Statements
Robert Pollack, Introduction of Lee C. Bollinger
Lee C. Bollinger, Columbia University
Jeffrey Slade, Introduction of Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes
Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Healing of the Nations Foundation, "Faith and Free Will"

 
     

 

 
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