Conference on neuroscience and pragmatism: Productive prospects

The conference "Neuroscience and Pragmatism: Productive Prospects" was held on June 10, 2011 at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies in Arlington, Virginia. The program was organized by John Shook (Buffalo) and Tibor Solymosi (Southern Illinois). James Giordano, Director of the Center for Neurotechnology Studies and Vice President for Academic Programs at the Potomac Institute, was the conference co-chair and host. The conference was supported by The Society of Philosophers in America, the American Philosophical Association, and the Center for Neurotechnology Studies of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.This conference brought together some pragmatist philosophers interested in neuroscience and some neuroscientists interested in pragmatism. There was much audience participation, including Q&A after each presentation, discussion through the luncheon, and audience discussion with a panel of speakers for an extended conversation. The speakers were: William Casebeer (cognitive science, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-DARPA, USA); Anthony Chemero (neurophilosophy, Franklin and Marshall College, PA, USA); David Franks (sociology, Virginia Commonwealth University, VA, USA); James Giordano (neuroscience and neuroethics, Center for Neurotechnology Studies of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, Arlington, VA, USA, and Oxford Centre for Neuroethics, University of Oxford, UK); Teed Rockwell (cognitive science, Sonoma State University, CA, USA); Jay Schulkin (biophysics and cognitive science, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA); John Shook (neuroethics and pragmatism, University at Buffalo, NY, USA); Tibor Solymosi (neurophilosophy, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, IL, USA).The speakers reminded the audience that America's first generation of pragmatists designed its theories about experience, mind, and knowledge in light of the discoveries of biology and psychology during their era. Viewing organisms entirely naturalistically and un