Call for submissions: workshop May 26-27, Barcelona
Workshop on Agency, Bodily Perception, and the Self
ERC funded project Rethinking Conscious Agency (ReConAg 757698)
Logos Research Group in Analytic Philosophy
Hybrid, May 26 & 27, 2022
The body, and the states by which we perceive the body ‘from the inside’ (somatosensory states), are tied to action in a very intimate way. This workshop aims to cover various aspects of the overlap between bodily perception and bodily action, and to discuss the impact of this overlap for our first-personal notion of ourselves as embodied agents.
We invite submissions on the following, and related, topics and questions:
– Some somatosensory states rely on bodily action. One of these states is haptic touch, in which we actively explore objects with our body. Touch has been said to contribute significantly to our consciousness of ourselves as embodied subjects. How much of this contribution is due to the action component of haptic touch? Another of these states is proprioception, namely the perception of bodily position and movement ‘from the inside’. How much do our experience of ourselves as agents, and our knowledge of action, depend on proprioception?
– Some bodily states elicit immediate bodily action. For instance, thirst elicits drinking, hunger elicits eating, and pain may elicit protection of the painful body part. To what extent are this sort of actions, commanded by the body, intentional actions? What is the importance of this sort of actions for our experience of ourselves as embodied agents?
– A lot of our bodily actions are bodily-directed actions: dealing with our bodies is an essential part of what we are doing when we are doing them. Self-directed touch, or protective behaviour, are bodily-directed actions types. How much, if at all, do bodily-directed actions contribute to our awareness of the distinction between ourselves and other agents?
One of our keynote speakers will be Frédérique de Vignemont. Other keynote speakers will be announced shortly.
Submission guidelines
We invite submissions for 40 minute presentations (with 20 minute discussions). Submissions should consist in 500 word abstracts with a title. Please send your abstracts to rethinking.conscious.agency@gmail.com by February 7, 2022(included).
Registration and attendance
The workshop will take place both physically, in Barcelona, and online. Attendance is free in both modalities. However, if you intend to attend, please let us know, so that we can count you in for organizational purposes or send you the link to the virtual room in due time.
Organizer
Carlota Serrahima
For any inquiries, please write to rethinking.conscious.agency@gmail.com
For all details, visit https://rethinking-agency.org
Check also https://twitter.com/ERC_Conscious
