Conference Models of Consciousness, Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford

[Johannes Kleiner]

Dear all,

The scientific study of consciousness came to maturity in the 1990's as
a response to seminal contributions to cognitive neuroscience,
fundamental physics and analytic philosophy. It has become a major
source of interest for researchers around the world and, as a field of
study, has produced hundreds of papers in well-respected journals. In
particular, the subject now generates sustained interest among
mathematicians, physicists and other scholars who aim to translate the
results of conceptual and empirical investigations into
formal-mathematical models in order to derive insights that are
otherwise not amenable to a less formal analysis.

However, these researchers have pursued this work largely in isolation
and outside of the academic mainstream. As such, we are organizing the
conference "Models of Consciousness" at the Mathematical Institute of
the University of Oxford from September 9-12, two which you are
cordially invited.

The specific goals of this conference are two-fold. First, the
conference aims to explore foundational issues, such as the relation of
consciousness to complexity, and, more generally, to uncover the
underlying formal structures of existing theories of consciousness. This
relies on establishing new formal frameworks in which one can pose these
questions in a rigorous way and which allow novel comparisons and
generalizations as well as the design of experimental tests of already
existing models. For this to happen, relevant mathematical structures
that could guide our thinking need to be identified and coherently
combined. The conference will also encourage participants to explore
questions in a way that is neutral with respect to philosophical
presuppositions that have dominated much of the previous research programs.

Second, given the highly interdisciplinary nature of the endeavor, we
intend to create a platform for researchers from different fields to
connect and to facilitate collaboration. It is a milestone of the
project to create a network of researchers dedicated to the topic. This
is essential for the long-term goal of higher visibility and acceptance
of this exciting new field of research that pertains to the
understanding of the fundamental nature of agency, intelligence and
consciousness in relation to the physical world.

The selection of confirmed speakers, include Roger Penrose, Peter
Grindrod, Chetan Prakash, and Adrian Kent, among others. Apart from
invited speakers we will have talks selected through a competitive
application process as well as extended discussion sessions. All details
can be found on the conference website:

    Models of Consciousness
    Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford
    September 9 - 12, 2019
    https://models-of-consciousness.org/

With best wishes on behalf of all organizers,

Johannes Kleiner






   Johannes Kleiner
   Institute for Theoretical Physics
   Leibniz University of Hannover
   johannes.kleiner at itp.uni-hannover.de
   jkleiner.de <https://jkleiner.de/>
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