๐ Day 1 of the Winter School is complete!
We kicked things off with our chair @anilseth.bsky.social diving into the big questions of consciousness.
Participants, tutors, and the chair already mixing and getting to know each other.
Off to a week of ideas and great discussions. โ๏ธ
@ibroorg.bsky.social
6/ From Mar 22-26 itโs an equal honour to be the scientific chair for the 2026 @mesec-community.bsky.social winter school, in Epheseus, in beautiful Turkey. Iโm excited to dive deep into consciousness discussion with the 20 participants: mesec.co/event/winter...
Hi Vadim! You just sign up here >> www.uni-bamberg.de/en/bamxi/res...
And yes, the talks where speakers agreed to be recorded will be uploaded online ๐
This has shaped up to be quite an exciting event! Join us ( @johanneskleiner.bsky.social @jolienfrancken.bsky.social ) this Monday to explore different perspectives about measurement theory & consciousness science ๐ค
www.uni-bamberg.de/en/bamxi/res...
In case you're interested in foundations of measurement in #ConSci, you're cordially invited to join our upcoming workshop!
sh1.sendinblue.com/3hbk0uthapxp...
A huge thank you to my co-organizers @ronyhirsch.bsky.social and @jolienfrancken.bsky.social on this occasion! #ConSci
Another beautiful work from @ronyhirsch.bsky.social , now with @niccolonegro.bsky.social : they find that contrary to may philosophical stands, public views do not consider consciousness to be neither necessary nor sufficient for moral status! Find this, and many other interesting results, below ๐
Thank you so much!!
(my aesthetic instincts wouldn't have existed if not for @liadmudrik.bsky.social ๐
)
Much more about what matters, killing zombies, and saving your pet - is in the preprint. The website also lets you explore responses to all questions (and their combinations). Huge thanks to @niccolonegro.bsky.social & @liadmudrik.bsky.social for this journey.
Would love to hear your thoughts! 6/6
What did we find? Enough to build a website so people can explore the data! (ronyhirsch.github.io/minds-matter) To our question: despite a clear relationship between the two, consciousness doesn't seem to be perceived as necessary for moral status. And it doesn't appear to be sufficient either. 5/n
We surveyed >1000 people with diverse backgrounds in AI, animals, ethics, and consciousness research. We ran exploratory analyses on 30%, preregistered and replicated the findings on the remaining 70%, and then performed an additional preregistered follow-up targeting specific survey questions. 4/n
We aimed to fill this gap by triangulating across hypothetical scenarios, direct questions, and entity attributions, designing a survey that addresses the relationship between consciousness and moral status from multiple angles, while probing other potential factors (e.g., agency, valence). 3/n
Whether consciousness is necessary and/or sufficient for moral status isnโt a new question. But empirical data is limited: studies focus on specific entities, single question types, or combine multiple mental capacities, making it hard to draw broad conclusions about their perceived relationship 2/n
New preprint! with @niccolonegro.bsky.social and @liadmudrik.bsky.social
doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/ve6c5_v1
Consciousness seems central to moral status debates, from AI to animal welfare.
But is consciousness necessary for moral status? Is it sufficient?
We surveyed >1000 people to find out. ๐งต 1/n
๐ APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN
๐ง Already fomo'ing the Winterschool ? At the Workshop, you can collectively explore the interplay between mental imagery and consciousness research !
May 30 - June 7
Ephesus Retreat, Turkey
850โฌ (bursaries)
20 participants
โณ APPLY UNTIL February 15
mesec.co/event/worksh...
โจ The holiday magic at work โจ
Due to many of your requests, weโre extending the MESEC Winter School application deadline to January 7th.
If you needed a bit more time, consider this your sign ๐ง โก
mesec.co/event/winter...
Really enjoyed speaking at BAMฮ's Paradigms in Consciousness Science Workshop! Thanks to the organizers Lara Brรคuchle @johanneskleiner.bsky.social @cam-signorelli.bsky.social for putting together such a great event ๐คฉ
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmdX...
MESEC is committed to inclusivity in practice, not just in principle.
We offer bursaries and encourage applications from diverse backgrounds, alongside a strong commitment to a safe and respectful environment.
๐ฅ Applications are open until december 28th :
mesec.co/event/winter...
Join us for an exciting workshop on the ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ด๐บ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ this week!
Dec 10-12, Hybrid Format
www.uni-bamberg.de/en/bamxi/res...
A huge thank you to all of our wonderful speakers! ๐
๐ #ConSci
It's a real honour to be chairing next year's @mesec-community.bsky.social winter school on consciousness science, March 22-28๐๐ฝ
๐ฅThrilled to announce that Prof. Anil Seth will chair the MESEC Winter School 2026 in Turkey๐ฅ @anilseth.bsky.social
One unforgettable week exploring consciousness with one of the most pioneering thinkers in the field ๐๐ง ๐
Applications open soon โ stay tuned! ๐
๐ mesec.co/event/winter...
1/2 if you found the Butlin et al report on consciousness in AI interesting, we hope you will enjoy this TiCS paper! We explain more about the indicators approach and how it can be applied when assessing C in AI.>>
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Meme showing six logical operators illustrated with jack-o'-lantern images. trick OR treat trick AND treat trick XOR treat trick NOR treat trick NAND treat trick XNOR treat
1/๐งต Out today in @frontiersin.bsky.social : โConsciousness science: where are we, where are we going, and what if we get there?โ By @axc.bsky.social @liadmudrik.bsky.social, & me (a CIFAR & @erc.europa.eu production ๐ง ). www.frontiersin.org/journals/sci...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Happy to share this new paper (open access) on the logic of extrapolations in consciousness science, written with @liadmudrik.bsky.social
You can now register to this year's ISPSM *online* conference: www.ispsmind.com/internationa...
Great line-up of keynote speakers and symposia, plus a fabulous and diverse program covering all phil of mind - don't miss it!
#consci #philmind #philsci
Interested on working with me on consciousness?โฆ this scholarship is an excellent opportunity to do so. Contact me and letโs think about exciting projects we can do together!
Please share ๐
azrielifoundation.org/azrieli-fell...
@ronyhirsch.bsky.social beautifully presents her new results on tilt adaptation in the visual periphery AND outside focused attention at #iVSS (work with Walter Sinnott-Armstrong) ๐๐๐
My PhD student Trevor Hewitt is conducting an online experiment into closed-eye visuals during psychedelic experiences. If you've had such an experience, please consider taking part at closed-eyes.com (it's only a short survey) - and/or help us spread the word. ๐๐ฝ๐ง
If you are interested in pursuing a PhD in cognitive neuroscience, specially targeting conscious vs. unconscious processing, contact me. We are recruiting ๐๐ง please RT
Of course! These are a few highlights from our results (much more to come๐) Happy to discuss this further!