International Conference on Philosophy of Consciousness
Main theme of Conference on Consciousness 1402
Consciousness is one the mysterious and at the same time the most intimate properties which have ever instantiated in our world. We consciously understand this sentence but it would be so hard for us to come to know what is exactly this very state of mind through which and in which we understand this sentence. In order to grasp the features of our world scientifically perhaps still one of the major obstacles which steady stands in front of us is the problem of consciousness. Much progress is being made in the study of models of mind, brain, neurology, cognition, and the nature of intelligence, but still the problem of consciousness itself is an obstacle in our quest to reach a proper model of human mind. Consciousness mainly supposed to have several properties each of which deserves philosophical inquiries, properties like: first personal access, phenomenality, conceptuality, awareness, accessibility, subjectivity, normativity, and unity.
This conference aims to gather senior and junior researchers in the general field of consciousness, broadly speaking, from traditionalist and classic views, to most recent prospects on the problem of consciousness, and from classic solutions to the problem of consciousness to quantum mechanics and neuroscience prospectives on consciousness to present the result of their latest researches. We also invite short papers on social, evolutionary, and historical accounts of consciousness. We hope that this symposium-like conference will gather Iranian and international scholars who are engaging in the field of philosophy of mind and consciousness from different scientific and philosophical standpoints in order to discuss their recent researches and outcomes with each other towards reaching some new horizons in the study of one of our significant features which is consciousness.
The schedule of presenting articles in the conference (Click to Download)
Topics are included, but not limited to, the following
Science of Consciousness
A- Cognitive science and neuroscience perspectives on consciousness:
– Moral cognition and consciousness
– Awareness and consciousness
– Cognitive control
– Integrated Information Theory: IIT
– Global Workspace Theory: GWT
– Out of Body Experiences: OBEs
B- Quantum approaches to consciousness:
– The measurement problem
– Superposition in brain
– Panpsychism in quantum level
– Post-phenomenology
– Quantum entanglement
– Orch OR theory
C- Artificial Intelligence and – computational model of consciousness:
– Computationalism
– Can a computer think?
– Simulation theory
– Theory Theory
– Modularity of mind
– Language of thought
– Language and thought
– Connectionism
– Embodiment AI
– Strategies on artificial consciousness
Philosophy of Consciousness
A- Phenomenological issues of consciousness:
– Hard problem vs. easy problems of consciousness
– Self-consciousness
– Arguments in favor of irreducibility of consciousness
– Concepts of consciousness
– First person character of consciousness
– Unity of consciousness
– Metaphysics of consciousness
B- Contemporary theories on nature of consciousness:
– Representationalism
– Panpsychism
– Neo-Russellianism
– Emergentism
– Aristotelian naturalism
– Myth of the Given
C- Consciousness and theories of action, will, and control:
– Action control and awareness
– Nature of freewill
– Subconscious free will
– Autonomy and self-control
– Weakness of will and incontinence action
– Possibility of Akrasia
D- Embodiment and 4E cognition:
– Empathy and cognition
– Phenomenology
– Self-sustaining systems
– Embodied point of view
– Embedded mind
– Extended mind
– Anesthesiology
History and sociology of consciousness
A- Islamic philosophy and traditional perspectives on consciousness:
– Mulla Sadra’s conception of consciousness
– Suhrawardi’s conception of consciousness
– Ibn Sina on soul
– Leibnitz on Consciousness
– Mind-body problem
– Mental causation
B- Evolution and anthropology of consciousness:
– Evolution of consciousness
– Bipedalism and self-consciousness
– Emergence of consciousness
– Evolutionary neuroscience
– Non-human consciousness
C- Social approaches to consciousness:
– Cultural constraints on cognition and self-consciousness
– Social collectiveness
– Recognition
– Mutual understanding
– Shared consciousness
– Historicism
– Social intelligence
Scientific Committee
Dr. Ebrahim Azadegan
Dr. Reza Akbari
Dr. Mahdi Zakeri
Dr. Mohammad SadatMansouri
Dr. Mahmoud Morvarid
Dr. Mahdi Homazadeh
Dr. AhmadReza HemmatiMoqaddam
Special Lecturers
Joshua Knobe
Yale University
Uriah Kriegel
Rice University
Susan Blackmore
University of Plymouth
Ned Block
New York University
Peter Van Inwagen
University of Notre Dame
Richard Swinburne
University of Oxford
Tim Crane
Central European University (CEU)
Joseph Levine
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Charles Taliaferro
St. Olaf College
Pietro Perconti
University of Messina
Organizing Committee
Aliakbar Kouchakzadeh
Ali Abbasi
Vahid Ehsanian-Mofrad
Milad Kherghehandaz
Mohammadreza Moshref
Arghavan Akhlaghi
Ehsan Ortegoli Farahani
Samaneh Allameh
