CFP: Non-physicalist Views of Consciousness

Consciousness has been one of the stumbling blocks for physicalist theories of the mind. Much effort has been dedicated to finding the physical basis of consciousness. But how does our knowledge of the mind connect with our knowledge of the brain? Physicalist theories have struggled to give satisfactory answers to this question. In this conference we will take a different turn, by investigating non-physicalist approaches to the mind. We will address questions such as: What ontological categories do conscious phenomena belong to? Does the consciousness of sensory experience differ from that involved in thought? How is it possible to investigate consciousness without assuming physicalism? We aim to open up the discussion by exploring alternatives to physicalism in the philosophical and scientific study of consciousness.

Call for papers for Early Career Researchers

We invite papers from early career researchers (current graduate students and those who obtained their Ph.D. after 1 January 2011) on any topic related to non-physicalist views of consciousness. Papers should be suitable for presentation in 45 minutes (maximum 5,000 words), and include a short abstract. Please submit your anonymized paper in PDF to:

https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ndsm16

Deadline: 15 February 2016

Decisions will be communicated by mid-March. Speakers will have their accommodation provided, and travel expenses up to a maximum of £500 will be reimbursed.

Any questions? Get in touch with the organizers.

Event hashtag: #nonphysicalism

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New Directions in the Study of the Mind is a research project based at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Cambridge, supported by the John Templeton Foundation.