Center for the Study of Conscience

Activities

Center for the Study of Conscience > Activities > Symposium “Biological Evolution and Conscience”

Symposium “Biological Evolution and Conscience”

Date：
Jun.12(Tue),2018    16:40-18:40
Venue：
Kotobakan Chapel, Kyotanabe Campus, Doshisha University

Speaker

Prof. Jun Motoyama (Graduate School of Brain Science, Doshisha University)

chair

Prof. Katsuhiro Kohara (School of Theology, Director of the Center for the Study of Conscience, Doshisha University)

Commentators

Prof. Akira Hayashida (Faculty of Science and Engineering, Doshisha University)

Prof. Tomoyuki Hiroyasu (Faculty of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University)

Prof. Nobuyuki Nukina (Graduate School of Brain Science, Doshisha University)

Summary

Where is it in us that conscience and morality exist? Are they only, and exclusively, for human beings in the first place? If conscience is a part of brain functions, then it must follow that there exist nerve cells and neural circuits responsible for it. If such neural circuits can be found in human beings, neural circuits of a similar kind should also be found in other animals. In this symposium, we will invite a lecturer who specializes in developmental genetics, aiming to find clues to the whereabouts and functions of conscience from the viewpoint of biological evolution.

Admission free; no reservations required.

Center for the Study of Conscience aims to examine “conscience” in contemporary society and to establish the “study of conscience” as an interdisciplinary academic field through the exploration of its possibilities for application and practice. We also aim to disseminate the research findings in Japan and abroad and to establish a new academic community in the field.