ABSTRACT

In her talk, renowned philosopher Churchland speaks about how the evolution of the mammalian brain led to the expansion from ‘me’ to ‘me-and-mine’ – the very heart of morality. Learn about ‘caring circuitry’ in the brain, and how the brain molecule oxytocin is at the hub of the intricate neural adaptations sustaining our society.

SPEAKER PROFILE

Patricia Churchland is a Canadian-American philosopher noted for her contributions to neurophilosophy and the philosophy of mind. She is UC President’s Professor of Philosophy Emerita at the University of California San Diego, where she has taught since 1984. She has also held an adjunct professorship at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies since 1989. The impact of her book Neurophilosophy: Toward a Unified Science of the Mind-Brain (1986) created a new area of research that straddled the disciplines of Neuroscience and Philosophy. Her most recent book is Braintrust: What Neurosciecne Tells Us about Morality (2011), upon which her talk is based.

Read more about Patricia Churchland.

VIDEO