The Whitehead Lectures are funded and organised by the Departments of Computing and Psychology at Goldsmiths College, University of London, with the aim of stimulating interest and debate in the area of cognition, computation and creativity. All are welcome to attend.

The meetings for the lent term 2006 [January .. March] are listed below. All seminars to be held at 4pm in the Pimlott Lecture Theatre, (Ben Pimlott Building), unless otherwise stated.

For directions to Goldsmiths College see: http://www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/find-us/

To be added to the seminar mailing list, please contact Mark Bishop by email: m.bishop@gold.ac.uk

Wednesday, 11^th January, 16.00

Morphic resonance and memory

Dr. Rupert Sheldrake
- Institute of Noetic Sciences, San Francisco & University of Cambridge, UK

Abstract: We usually assume that nature is governed by fixed laws. But we live in an evolutionary universe. Perhaps the laws of nature evolve: they may in fact be more like habits. Rupert Sheldrake will summarize his hypothesis of morphic resonance, according to which all species draw upon a collective memory. In the human realm this hypothesis leads to a new way of thinking about what C.G. Jung called the collective unconscious. It also leads to a radical reinterpretation of the nature of animal and human memory.

Rupert Sheldrake, Ph.D. is a biologist and author of more than 75 technical papers and six books, the most recent being THE SENSE OF BEING STARED AT, AND OTHER ASPECTS OF THE EXTENDED MIND. He is a Fellow of the institute of Noetic Sciences, near San Francisco, and the Perrott-WarricK Research Scholar, funded by Trinity College, Cambridge.

Wednesday, 18^th January, 16.00

Why neither brains nor computers can be conscious, but cells might be

Prof. Jonathan Edwards
- University College London

Abstract: In around 2001 Steven Sevush (1) and Jonathan Edwards (2) independently came to the conclusion that phenomenal consciousness must be a property of an individual cell, not a group of cells. This conclusion at first seems bizarre and even terrifying. However, it may make a number of things easier to explain; the seamlessness of consciousness, the evolution of consciousness from protozoal times, the layout of the brain and the strange reports of people with damaged brains. The idea requires there to be a phenomenon within cells which is notionally 'quantised' but rests otherwise on a purely classical biophysical analysis with no need for 'quantum computation', entanglement or suchlike. The current proposal is that all that is required is conventional cable-theory based neurophysiology plus a piezooelectric field, possibly of the type already known to exist in cochlear hair cells. It is not sugggested that single cells think, but merely that each is a separate observer and that there is no more global observer in our heads. Despite all attempts so far it has proved impossible to discover why this idea might be wrong, but suggestions are welcome.

A research paper published by UCL’s Jonathan Edwards, Professor in Connective Tissue Medicine, has been named as one of the fastest–breaking publications in the world by Thomson ISI Essential Science Indicators, which track the rate of citations generated by academic papers across all academic subjects. His research ‘Efficacy of B-Cell Targeted Therapy with Rituximab in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis’ was published in the ‘New England Journal of Medicine’ in 2004. The number and rate of citations that an academic receives for their papers is considered to be a measure of their influence, and hence the report shows him to be at the forefront of his discipline.

As well as his work in arthritis, Professor Edwards also conducts research into the nature of consciousness. He has a paper just published in the ‘Journal of Consciousness Studies’ which argues that conscious experience must be a property of individual cells, rather than a global property of the brain, as has been previously assumed.

Wednesday, 25^th January, 16.00

The perceptual structure of color corresponds to singularities in reflection properties

Dr. Kevin O'Regan
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Expérimentale, Université René Descartes, Paris

Abstract: : Psychophysical studies suggest that different colors have different perceptual status: red and blue for example are thought of as elementary sensations whereas yellowish green is not. The dominant account for such perceptual asymmetries attributes them to specificities of the neuronal representation of colors. Alternative accounts involve cultural or linguistic arguments. What these accounts have in common is the idea that the physics of light and surfaces provide no reasons for the existence of asymmetries that could underlie the perceptual structure of colors, and this is why neuronal or cultural processes must be invoked as the essential underlying mechanisms that structure color perception. Here, we suggest a biological approach for surface reflection properties that takes into account only the information about light that is accessible to an organism given the photopigments it possesses, and we show that now asymmetries appear in the behavior of surfaces with respect to light. These asymmetries provide a classification of surface properties that turns out to be identical to the one observed in linguistic color categorization across numerous cultures, as pinned down by cross cultural studies. Further, we show that data from psychophysical studies about unique hues and hue cancellation are consistent with the viewpoint that stimuli reported by observers as special are those associated with singular surface properties under a standard illuminant. The approach also predicts that unique blue and unique yellow should be aligned in chromatic space while unique red and unique green should not, a fact usually considered to result from nonlinearities in chromatic pathways.

After studying theoretical physics at Sussex and Cambridge Universites, Kevin O'Regan moved to Paris in 1975 to work in experimental psychology at the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique. Following his Ph. D. on eye movements in reading he showed the existence of an optimal position for the eye to fixate in words. His interest in the problem of the perceived stability of the visual world led him to question established notions of the nature of visual perception, and to discover, with collaborators, the phenomenon of "change blindness". His current work involves exploring the empirical consequences of a new "sensorimotor" approach to vision and sensation in general. He is particularly interested in the problem of the nature of phenomenal consciousness, which he addresses experimentally in relation to sensory substitution, and theoretically in relation to color perception. He is interested in applying this work to robotics. Kevin O'Regan is currently director of the Laboratoire de Psychologie Expérimentale, CNRS, Université Paris 5.

Wednesday, 1^st February, 16.00

Creativity in music performance: treading the line between the provocative and the outrageous

Dr. Aaron Williamon
- Royal College of Music, London

Abstract: Today's most distinguished performing musicians are people who offer new musical possibilities to their audiences. Yet, although we may appreciate innovative performances, there seems to be a limit to our acceptance of novelty before we reject it as unmusical, inappropriate or tasteless. Bound by cultural traditions and stylistic norms, innovative performers must tread a fine line between the unique and the downright outrageous. Current discourse on creativity often conflates three quite distinct concepts: 'creativity', 'originality' and 'value'. Much empirical work in psychology since the 1950s has purported to focus on the first of these. This paper exams the under-researched concepts of originality and value and suggests a means of charting their inter-relationships.

Aaron Williamon is the Research Fellow in Psychology of Music at the RCM, where he heads the Centre for the Study of Music Performance (CSMP). He also holds a research fellowship in the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London. His research focuses on music cognition, expert performance and (in particular) applied psychological and health-related initiatives that enable musicians to perform at their peak. His recent book, Musical Excellence, is published by Oxford University Press. It draws together the findings of initiatives from across the arts and sciences, with the aim of offering musicians new perspectives and practical guidance for enhancing performance and managing performance-related stress. In addition, Dr Williamon is interested in how audiences perceive and evaluate music performances and, in 1998, was awarded the Hickman Prize by the Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research (SEMPRE) for his work on this topic. He has performed as a trumpeter in chamber and symphony orchestras, brass bands and brass quintets in both Europe and North America.

Wednesday, 22^nd February, 16.00

SEMINAR CANCELLED: Effing the Ineffable: can machines be conscious?

Steve Grand
- Cyberlife, UK.

Abstract: Nothing is more precious to us than our sense of self. Most of us refer to "our" bodies as if they were a possession, while "we" are something else entirely - a conscious mind that is somehow distinct from and (we hope) independent of our corporeal form. One thing we definitely don't want to be told, therefore, is that some kind of jumped-up pocket calculator has achieved a state of consciousness.

Artificial intelligence, aided and abetted by the behavioural sciences, is hence at least partly to blame for the sense of belittlement and nihilism that such an idea generates. If machines can be like us, then we are perhaps "no more than" machines ourselves, and this seems a depressing prospect. Many of us prefer instead to retreat into metaphysics, or simply dodge the issue as if it doesn't matter. But it does matter. Everything from animal welfare to abortion and euthanasia depends upon it.

The mistake, it seems to me, lies not so much in our overblown opinion of ourselves but in our pathetically limited conception of machines. Dualism and reductionistic materialism are not the only alternatives. Admitting that we are a mechanism need not be as demeaning as it sounds, and attempting to make machines that are conscious may throw a valuable and not unflattering light on the nature of being. Discuss.

Steve's first claim to fame was that he was the architect and lead programmer for the computer game Creatures, in which he did what he could to bring a new form of life into existence! He has since written a book about his ideas on life the universe and everything, (but especially intelligence), which was published in 2000 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and shortlisted for the Aventis Prize in 2001. Steve has also written columns for the Guardian in which he has, amongst other things, further discussed his ideas concerning Cyborgs and Artificial Life.

Wednesday, 1^st March, 16.00

Enhancing Function with Neurotechnology: Validation for Emotion, Cognition, Immune Function and Performing Arts

Prof. John Gruzelier
- Goldsmiths College, University of London

Abstract: : Enhancing function is set to become one of the cultural debates of the decade (Human Reengineering; The Guardian, 30/1). Compared with smart drugs, neurotechnology offers a non-invasive approach. Validation research undertaken at ICL will be reviewed along with projects beginning at Goldsmiths with a view to inviting collaboration and new initiatives. Validation involved EEG-neurofeedback and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) biofeedback, along with psychological interventions such as self-hypnosis and energy medicine. Neurofeedback involves computer assisted technology which allows brain rhythms to be recorded, fedback symbolically to the participant in real time, selectively enhanced and brought under voluntary control. This is relatively easy to learn and has even been demonstrated with psychotic patients and autistic children. Learned control of faster rhythms has improved attention and memory in students and ADHD children (P300, CPT, ANT, WM). Adjacent high spectral bands were capable of opposite effects while elevating slower theta rhythms (hypnogogia), enhanced artistry to a professionally significant degree in RCM students. Dance performance in university competitions has also benefited from theta training (and from HRV biofeedback), while mood has been elevated in schizotypally withdrawn students. Hypnogogia historically has been associated with the creative process ( Koestler). It is theorised that the theta rhythm benefits the creative process by facilitating long distance connectivity in the brain, allowing novel associations to be made between memory representations, and unconscious processes contributing to self and individuality. The theta rhythm has also been implicated in motivational circuits and in complex sensory-motor integration, dramatically seen in virtuoso music performance as well as in superior sporting achievement. New initiatives include:- NESTA funding for music performance in primary and secondary schools and adult education; EU 6FP funding on Creative Presence States, to include originating and performing arts/sports. Research will continue with children with special needs, and neurorehabilitation and ageing applications are under consideration. Technological developments include audiovisual entrainment and virtual reality adapted for hypnotic visualisation procedures, which have reliably enhanced immune function and health. Further initiatives are invited.

John Gruzelier, Professor of Psychology, in 2006 joined Goldsmiths from Imperial College London, as a Professorial Research Fellow to further research on creativity in the Arts and Humanities using neurotechnology, notably EEG-neurofeedback. New grants include an EU grant on Presence with responsibility for creative presence states in the originating and performing arts, and an award from NESTA to enhance music performance in primary and secondary school children and in adult education. He has over 250 publications spanning schizophrenia, psychosis-proneness, psychophysiological measurement, brain lateralisation, and hypnosis, with current emphasis on functional enhancement with biofeedback for peak performance together with clinical applications including ADHD, and immune enhancement with self-hypnosis and healing. In 2004 he received the Ernest R. Hilgard award of the International Hypnosis Society, and in 2001 the US Society of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis best clinical paper for the negative effects of hypnosis and stage hypnosis. He co-edited the International Journal of Psychophysiology 1984 – 2004, and since 2001 has edited Contemporary Hypnosis. He has been President of the British Psychophysiology Society, Vice-President of the Federation of European Psychophysiological Societies, is a Governor of the International Organisation of Psychophysiology, and recently established the Society of Applied Neuroscience.

Wednesday, 8^th March, 16.00

A role for art in the science of consciousness?

Dr. Ron Chrisley
- University of Sussex, UK

Abstract: Although there are many ways in which science can assist in the production, appreciation and analysis of art, I will explore the converse possibility: the ways in which creative artistic practice and theory can aid our attempts to understand, in a scientific way, subjective experiential states. Specifically, a science of conscious experience requires a systematic phenomenology within which to identify the phenomena to be explained, yet orthodox (linguistic, literal, disembodied, abstract) means of doing so typically fail to capture the richness, affect and subjectivity of consciousness. I propose that scientists and philosophers look to the arts for creative methods and techniques of specifying experiential states. However, any such project faces a considerable challenge: Can it be done in a way that not only does justice to the richness of subjective experiential states, but that also permits rigorous, systematic reference to them? This lecture attempts to lay some of the conceptual groundwork necessary for answering these questions.

Ron Chrisley is Reader in Philosophy at the University of Sussex where he is also Director for Research in Cognitive Science.

Wednesday, 15^th March, 16.00

SEMINAR CANCELLED: The brain from a Biophysicochemist's and Systemicist's point-of-view

Christian Haan

Abstract: : Subtopics: (A) General criteria for a brain's distinctive qualities; (B) Basic notions on systems and on systems' qualities from the viewpoint of biophysicochemistry and systems engineering; (C) The brain viewed and imagined as the organism's governor (cybernetics); (D) Quantitative data on the brain's structural and functional development and its organisational complexity under evolutionary and degenerative constraints; (E) The brain as governor, or as a trial-and-error muddle-through manager? (F) Fédérico Garcia Lorca's contribution to Brain Science.

Christian Haan is a cybernetician based in Paris who has studied with Changeux, Ashby, Monod, and Pask.

Wednesday, 22^nd March, 16.00

The neural basis of perceptual and cognitve pleasure

Prof. Irving Biederman
- Institution:

Abstract: : Our selection of which movie to see or book to read, whether to stay in a conversation at a party or freshen our drink, and where to look with our next fixation is decidedly non random. What controls this selection when an individual is not engaged in the classical survival modes of satisfying hunger, avoiding harm, etc? And how can this expression of interest be manifested in real time, at the rate of three visual fixations per second? The surprising discovery of a gradient of mu-opioid receptors in cortical areas associated with perception and cognition may provide the key for understanding the spontaneous selectivity of perception and thought. These receptors are sparse in the early sensory areas and dense in the association areas. If we assume that experiences are preferred that maximize this opioid activity, then preferred inputs will tend to be those that are richly interpretable (not just complex) insofar as they would produce high activation of associative connections in areas that have the greatest density of mu-opioid receptors. Once an input is experienced, however, competitive learning would serve to reduce associative activity and hence opioid activity, resulting in habituation and boredom. Behavioral and neuroimaging tests have confirmed this account. This system serves to maximize the rate at which we acquire new but interpretable information--rendering us infovores--and leads to an understanding of the neural basis of aesthetics.

Irving Biederman is the Harold W. Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Southern California.