2018 SCS Conference
June 8, 2018 - June 10, 2018
Our second conference — “The Human Mind and Physicalism” — ran from June 8-10, 2018, in Washington, DC, at the Cathollic University of America.
Topics:
Physicalism (also called scientific materialism) is the reductive claim that all of reality, including the human mind, is physical. The conference brought together scholars in many fields (philosophy, physics, neuroscience, and computer science/mathematical logic) to examine this claim critically. There were also talks on other topics, including the life of Bl. Nicolaus Steno. The St. Albert Award Lecture was given by Juan Martin Maldacena of the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton) on the subject of “Black Holes and the Structure of Spacetime.”
2018 St. Albert Award:
2018 SCS Conference
Friday, June 8:
5:00–9:00 PM Registration (Heritage Hall, Father O’Connell Hall)
8:00 PM Reception and Poster Session I (Heritage Hall, Father O’Connell Hall)
Saturday, June 9:
7:00 AM Mass (St. Vincent de Paul Chapel)
8:00 AM Breakfast (Great Room, Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center)
8:45 AM Benediction Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, D.C. & Welcoming Remarks Stephen M. Barr, President of the Society of Catholic Scientists
9:00 AM Keynote Lecture “Arguments for the Immateriality of the Mind”, Edward Feser (Pasadena City College)
10:00 AM Break
10:15 AM Lecture: “The Role of the Observer in Quantum Mechanics”, Stephen M. Barr (University of Delaware}
10:45 AM Break
11:00 AM Lecture: “Randomness in Quantum Phenomena”, Valerio Scarani (National University of Singapore)
12 Noon: Lunch
1:15 PM Lecture: “Fifty Years Without Free Will”, Aaron Schurger (French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM))
2:15 PM: Break
2:30 PM Guest Lecture: “On the Question of Whether the Mind Can Be Mechanized”, Peter Koellner (Harvard University)
3:30 PM Break
3:45 PM Lecture: “Inside the Brain, Inside the Earth: The Work of Bl. Nicolaus Steno”, Andrew A. Sicree (Pennsylvania State University)
4:15 PM Lecture: “Integral Ecology as a Restoration of Man’s Proper Role in Creation”, Kara D. Lamb (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences)
4:45 PM Break
5:00 PM St. Albert Award Lecture: “Superstring Theory”, Juan Martín Maldacena (Institute for Advanced Study)
6:00 PM Cocktails (Heritage Hall, Father O’Connell Hall)
6:30 PM Conference Banquet (Heritage Hall, Father O’Connell Hall)
8:00 PM Organ Concert, Peter Latona, D.M.A. Director of Music Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Sunday, June 10:
8:00 AM Conference Mass (St. Vincent’s Chapel)
9:00 AM Breakfast (Great Room, Pryzbyla Center)
9:45 AM Lecture: “Poetic Naturalism Versus Non-Physical Reality”, ,Michael B. Dennin (University of California, Irvine)
10:15 AM Lecture: “The Freedom of the Physical World: Are You a Machine?” Craig S. Lent (University of Notre Dame)
10:45 AM Lecture: “Mind First: Why the Decoherence Program Entails Copenhagen Interpretation”, Javier Sánchez-Cañizares (University of Navarra)
11:15 AM Poster Session II
12:15 PM Lunch
1:00 PM. Membership Meeting
2:15 PM Conference End
Media Coverage of Conference:
Catholic Scientists Find Camaraderie When Discussing Faith, Research, CRUX
Major Growth for Group Highlighting Faith-Science Harmony , Catholic News Agency