The research conference hosted by The Institute for Studies in Pragmaticism targets two major fields of brain study from the interdisciplinary perspective of Semeiotic:
a) Neuroaesthetics, a field that pursues questions such as How knowledge of basic brain mechanisms might inform our understanding of aesthetic experiences?and How we might explore the neural processes—mostly experiences that include perception, interpretation, emotion, and action—underlying our appreciation and production of beautiful objects and artwork?
b) The second field is the widely discussed Biology of Mind, another emerging research activity across the disciplines of behavioral psychology, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and molecular biology. It studies the structures of Mind, Brain, Feelings and Consciousness, the Cognitive Architecture of the mind, and the how and why of specific functions.
LECTURE 10:00 a.m.
Empirical Neuroaesthetics and the Brain's "default-mode" Network
Edward A. Vessel, PhD
Edward Vessel is a research scientist at Max-Planck-Institute for Empirical Aesthetic in Germany. His main research areas are the neural basis of Aesthetic Experience, Visual Preferences, the Neurobiology of Information Foraging, as well as Brain Imaging Methods. Dr. Vessel and his research group explore network interactions during aesthetic experiences and aesthetic appreciation, studying the brain activities triggered by visual stimuli such as artwork, landscapes, architecture or dance.
WORKSHOP 1:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Semeiotic. Exploring Interdisciplinary Research
Semeiotic (developed by C. S. Peirce) is the interdisciplinary scientific theory for objective and experimental study of natural processes that are structured as dialogues. The aim of the workshop is to implement semeiotic as a testable hypothesis, an objective tool, and as a common method to bridge the gap between creative and cognitive processes as they develop from an initial idea to a representational form or model.
The workshop will explore possibilities for application of methodological principles formulated by Charles S. Peirce that might well lead to worthwhile insights into the biology of mind as well as to creative activities of the brain, and by doing so advance a further step towards the common goal of understanding the inner life of the “human mind”.
There is no registration fee.
www.pragmaticism.net
Conference information and contact:
Elize Bisanz, PhD. elize.bisanz@ttu.edu
Kenneth L. Ketner, PhD. Kenneth.ketner@ttu.edu
