The Guest Lecturer

Patricia Smith Churchland, B. Phil.
Dr. Patricia Smith Churchland is Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego. Churchland is a 1991 MacArthur prize recipient, an adjunct professor at the Salk Institute and an associate of its Computation
Neuroscience Laboratory. She is former President of the American
Philosophical Association (Pacific Division) and the Society for
Philosophy and Psychology. In her books Neurophilosophy, and its
sequel, Brain-Wise, Studies in Neurophilosophy, Churchland examines
old questions about the nature of the mind within the framework of
the brain sciences.

At the Mind/Brain Lecture this year, Dr. Churchland will examine the
impact of scientific developments on decision making and responsibility. She will discuss free will, contrasting traditional philosophical assumptions with an emerging perspective based on neuroscience and psychology."Understanding how the brain works is essential to understanding the mind," says Churchland. "Questions concerning what free choice really amounts to have long been at the center of philosophical reflection. New discoveries, especially those revealing the role of specific neurochemicals and those addressing the nature of impulse-control, lend a special and very practical urgency."

Click here to learn more about Dr. Churchland and her work.

The Swartz Foundation sponsors the Mind/Brain Lecture Series in cooperation with Stony Brook University.