2019 Neuroscience & Society Meeting

The 2019 Neuroscience and Society Conference will feature a wide range of exciting scientific, ethical, philosophical and legal lectures and discussions on the theme of ‘Neuroscience and Responsibility’. You can register your attendance at the conference registration page.

There are a wide range of ways in which neuroscience can invoke responsibility. The identification of differences in brain structure and function among some individuals may potentially have important implications for criminal and moral responsibility in our legal system and other key social institutions. Neuroscience research and the development of new neurotechnologies needs to be undertaken responsibly to ensure we realise its promise while mitigating unintended harms. How we structure the environment or design policies, interventions and social interactions can also influence the sorts of opportunities and behaviours that we are able to engage in. We also need to consider who should be held responsible when things go wrong in neuroscience research or when neurotechnologies result in unexpected side-effects.

Confirmed keynotes include:

• • Professor Judy Illes (Neuroethics Canada, University of British Columbia and Order of Canada)
  • Professor Jennifer Chandler (Bertram Loeb Research Chair, Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics, University of Ottawa)
  • Professor Joan Leach (Director of the Australian National Centre for Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University)
  • Professor Julian Savulescu (Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford)

The conference program includes a number of keynote, symposium, panel and lightning presentations on the following topics:

• • Neuroscience and Public Health
  • Neurointerventions
  • Neuroscience in the Courts
  • Digital Health
  • Animal Models
  • Criminal Responsibility
  • Agency and Responsibility

Neuroscience and Society 2019 will also feature additional public events during the course of the meeting. It is essential that you register for these events separately to guarantee your space.

Book Launch and Welcome Drinks
Professor Cordelia Fine in Conversation with Dr Tamara Kayali Browne

2 December 2019
Monash University Law Chambers

Professor Cordelia Fine (University of Melbourne) will be in conversation with Dr Tamara Kayali Browne (Deakin University) to launch the paperback edition of Dr Browne’s book “Depression and the Self: Meaning, Control and Authenticity”. The event will be held at the Monash University Law Chambers and welcome drinks and canapés will be provided. Seats are limited. Reserve your place when registering for Neuroscience and Society 2019.

Public Debate
Brain Control: The impact of science and technology on mental health, the law and privacy

4 December 2019
State Library of Victoria

A free public debate on Brain Control: The impact of science and technology on mental health, the law and privacy will be held on the evening of December 4 at the State Library of Victoria and hosted by Jon Faine (ABC Radio Mornings). This free event is hosted by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function.

To guarantee yourself a seat, register through Eventbrite’s website (https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/brain-control-the-impact-of-science-and-technology-on-our-mental-health-law-and-privacy-tickets-63842063330). Drinks and canapés will be served prior to the event.

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For enquiries, please email Adrian Carter ([email protected]) or Jamie Walvisch ([email protected]). 

Neuroscience and Society 2019 is an initiative of the Australian Neuroethics Network and is made possible by the generous support of the Law, Health and Wellbeing Group at the Monash University Faculty of Law, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function and the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health.