Hosted by the ANU School of Sociology

Wednesday, 27 August, 6-7.30 pm
 

Registration is required for this public event.

The human body was made legible long ago. But what of the human mind? Is it possible to ‘read’ the mind, for one human being to know what another is thinking or feeling, their beliefs and intentions? And if I can read your mind, how about others – could our authorities, in the criminal justice system or the security services?

Some developments in contemporary neuroscience suggest the answer to this question is ‘yes’. On the one hand, evolutionary neurobiologists and cognitive neuroscientists argue that humans have an evolved capacity to ‘read the minds’ of others, and that this is a condition for human sociality; as a corollary the lack of this capacity in some humans – from autists to psychopaths – is argued to underlie their particular pathologies.

On the other, a range of novel technologies of brain imaging have been used to claim that specific mental states, and even specific thoughts, can be identified by characteristic patterns of brain activation; this has led some to propose their use in practices ranging from lie detection to the assessment of brain activity in persons in persistent vegetative states.

In this talk, I explore the history of these developments, sketch their scientific and technical bases, and consider some of the epistemological and ontological mutations involved. I point to the ecological niches where they have – or have not – found a hospitable environment. I end by asking whether a new expertise of the readable, knowable, transparent mind is taking shape, and if so, with what consequences.

Nikolas Rose is Professor of Sociology and Head of the Department of Social Science, Health and Medicine, School of Social Science and Public Policy, King’s College London. Rose is a co-director of the Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation (CSynBI), a major research collaboration between King’s and Imperial College London. A member of numerous advisory groups engaging key stakeholders, he has also held high-level academic posts in LSE and at Goldsmiths. He has published widely across numerous fields and disciplines, with his work translated into 13 languages.

Registration

Register at Eventbrite for the public lecture, 'The mind transparent: Reading the human brain', presented by Professor Nikolas Rose.

Workshop

This lecture is free and open to the public. It is the keynote address for the workshop, 'Imminent Citizenships: personhood and identity politics in the informatic age'

Enquiries

For further information, please contact Dr Gavin Smith on (02) 6125 0323 or gavin.smith@anu.edu.au.