The Other-Minds Problem: Animal Sentience and Cognition

Saturday, June 23, 2018

UQAM / ISC 2018 Summer School in Cognitive Science

The Other Minds Problem: Animal Sentience and Cognition

--> VIDEO ARCHIVE <--
for all 29 Presentations, 10 Panels & 9 Workshops

Overview. Since Descartes, philosophers know that there is no way to know for sure what — or whether — others feel (not even if they tell you). Science, however, is not about certainty but about probability and evidence. The 7.5 billion members of the human species can tell us what they are feeling. But there are 9 million other species on the planet, from elephants to jellyfish (20 quintillion individuals), with which humans share biological and cognitive ancestry, but not one other species can speak: Which of them can feel — and what do they feel? Their human spokespersons — the comparative psychologists, ethologists, evolutionists, and cognitive neurobiologists who are the world’s leading experts in “mind-reading" other species -- will provide a sweeping panorama of what it feels like to be an elephant, ape, whale, cow, pig, dog, chicken, mouse, fish, lizard, lobster, snail: This growing body of facts about nonhuman sentience has profound implications not only for our understanding of human cognition, but for our treatment of other sentient species.

Survol : Depuis Descartes, les philosophes s’entendent sur le fait qu’il n’y a aucun moyen de savoir avec certitude ni ce que ressent un autre être, ni s’il ressent quoi que ce soit (même s’il vous le dit). Or, la science n’est pas une question de certitude, mais de probabilité et de preuves. Les 7,5 milliards de membres de l’espèce humaine peuvent se raconter ce qu’ils ressentent. Mais il y a 9 millions d’autres espèces sur la planète, à partir des microbes jusqu’aux mammifères, avec lesquelles les humains partagent une ascendance biologique et cognitive, mais aucune de ces espèces ne possède la parole : lesquelles d’entre elles ont le ressenti? Et qu’est-ce qu’elles ressentent? Pour répondre à ces questions, leurs porte-paroles humains - les psychologues comparatifs, les éthologues, les évolutionnistes et les neurobiologistes cognitifs, experts éminents en « lecture des pensées » des autres espèces – nous communiqueront à quoi ça ressemble d’être un éléphant, un singe, une baleine, une vache, un cochon, un poulet, une souris, un poisson, un lézard, un homard, un escargot. Ces nouvelles connaissances concernant la sensibilité non humaine ont des implications profondes, non seulement concernant la nature de la cognition humaine, mais aussi concernant notre traitement des autres espèces sensibles.

Courses ISC100J, ISC800J and ISC900J

The other minds problem: animal sentience and cognition

Summer School in Cognitive sciences, June 26 – July 6, 2018.

Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

Room : DS-R510

Professor : Stevan Harnad

Syllabus

Objective and Evaluation

1. A 20-page term Paper on a topic related to the themes of the summer school: (50%)

· Assessment criteria:

o Do you understand the issues addressed in your paper? Are the key concepts well defined? Do you justify your remarks? Do the arguments support your thesis? Does the essay have a clear and coherent structure? Is your main thesis well stated and highlighted? Do you state clearly what you are trying to demonstrate in your paper? Is your style simple, easy to read and understand? Do you illustrate your thesis with examples? Do you present the views of other researchers?

2. On the Summer School blog post comments and pose questions on most if not all the lectures: (20%)

3. Attendance: (10%)

4. Active participation in afternoon Panel discussion:  (20%)

Language of Submission

Students in this course have the right to submit any written work to be graded in English or in French.

Le problème des autres esprits: la sensibilité animale et la cognition

École d'été en sciences cognitives, du 26 juin au 6 juillet 2018.

Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

Salle: DS-R510

Professeur: Stevan Harnad

Programme

Objectif et évaluation

1. Un document de 20 pages sur un sujet lié aux thèmes de l'université d'été : (50%)

Critères d'évaluation: Comprenez-vous les problèmes abordés dans votre document? Les concepts clés sont-ils bien définis? Est-ce que vous justifiez vos remarques? Les arguments soutiennent-ils votre thèse? L'essai a-t-il une structure claire et cohérente? Votre thèse principale est-elle bien énoncée et mise en évidence? Décrivez-vous clairement ce que vous essayez de démontrer dans votre document? Votre style est-il simple, facile à lire et à comprendre? Est-ce que vous illustrez votre thèse avec des exemples? Présentez-vous les opinions d'autres chercheurs?

2. Sur le blog de l'école d'été, afficher des commentaires et posez des questions sur la plupart sinon toutes les conférences : (20%)

3. Présence : (10%)

4. Participation active à la discussion de l'après-midi : (20%)

Langue

Les étudiants inscrits ont le droit de soumettre tout travail écrit à noter en anglais ou en français.

VIDEO ARCHIVE for all 29 Presentations, 10 Panels & 9 Workshops

UQAM / ISC 2018 Summer School in Cognitive Science

The Other Minds Problem: Animal Sentience and Cognition

--> VIDEO ARCHIVE <--

for all 29 Presentations, 10 Panels & 9 Workshops

1. Gregory Berns: Decoding the Dog's Mind with Awake Neuroimaging

2. Gordon Burghardt: Probing the Umwelt of Reptiles

3. Jon Sakata: Audience Effects on Communication Signals

4. Panel 1: Reptiles, Birds and Mammals

5. Workshop 1:Kristin Andrews: The "Other" Problems: Mind, Behavior, and Agency

6. Sarah Brosnan: How Do Primates Feel About Their Social Partners?

7. Alexander Ophir: The Cognitive Ecology of Monogamy

8. Michael Hendricks: Integrating Action and Perception in a Small Nervous System

9. Panel 2: Primates, Voles and Worms

10. Workshop 2: Jonathan Birch: Animal Sentience and the Precautionary Principle

11. Malcolm MacIver: How Sentience Changed After Fish Invaded

12. Sarah Woolley: Neural Mechanisms of Preference in Female Songbird

13. Simon Reader: Animal Social Learning: Implications for Understanding Others

14. Panel 3: Sea to Land to Air

15. Workshop 3:Steven M. Wise: Nonhuman Personhood

16. Tomoko Ohyama: Action Selection in a Small Brain (Drosophila Maggot)

17. Mike Ryan: "Crazy Love": Nonlinearity and Irrationality in Mate Choice

18. Louis Lefebvre: Animal Innovation: From Ecology to Neurotransmitters

19. Panel 4 : Maggots, Frogs and Birds: Flexibility Evolving

20. Colin Chapman: Why Do We Want to Think People Are Different?

21. Vladimir Pravosudov: Chickadee Spatial Cognition

22. Jonathan Balcombe: The Sentient World of Fishes

23. Panel 5: Like-Mindedness and Unlike-Mindedness

24. Workshop 5.1: Gary Comstock: A Cow’s Concept of Her Future

25. Workshop 5.2:J-J Kona-Boun: Physical & Mental Risks to Cattle & Horses in Rodeos

26. Joshua Plotnik: Thoughtful Trunks: Application of Elephant Cognition for Conservation

27. Lori Marino: Who Are Dolphins?

28. Panel 6: Mammals All, Great and Small

29. Larry Young: Neurobiology of Social Bonding, Empathy & Social Loss

30. Workshop 6:Lori Marino: The Inconvenient Truth About Thinking Chickens

31. Frantisek Baluska: What a Plant Knows and Perceives

32. Arthur Reber: A Novel Theory of the Origin of Mind...

33. Panel 7: Microbes, Molds and Plants

34. Workshop 7:Suzanne Held: Pig Cognition and Why It Matters

35. James Simmons: What Is It Like To Be A Bat?

36. Debbie Kelly: Spatial Cognition in Food-Storing

37. Steve Phelps: Social Cognition Across Species

38. Panel 8: Social Space

39. Workshop 8:Alanna Devine & Sophie Gaillard: Does the Law Really Protect Animals?

40. Lars Chittka: The Mind of the Bee

41. Reuven Dukas: Insect Emotions: Mechanisms and Evolutionary Biology

42. Adam Shriver: Do Human Lesion Studies Tell Us the Cortex is Required To Feel Pain?

43. Panel 9: The Invertebrate Mind

44. Carl ten Cate: Avian Cognition: on Rules, Reasoning and Rhythms

45. Jennifer Mather: Do Squid Have a Sense of Self?

46. Steve Chang: Neurobiology of Monkeys Thinking About Other Monkeys

47. Panel 10: Others in Mind

48. Workshop 10:Animal Sentience: The Legal Status of Nonhuman Species

Gregory Berns: Decoding the Dog's Mind with Awake Neuroimaging (Tuesday, June 26, 9am)

Gregory Berns:

Decoding the Dog's Mind with Awake Neuroimaging

(Tuesday, June 26, 9am)

VIDEO OF PRESENTATION

Gregory S. Berns (Speaker)
Professor Emory University

Mireille Goulet
B.Sc. National Research Council Canada

Moderator

The domestic dog’s accessibility and social intelligence and their evolutionary history with humans have led to increasing interest in canine cognition. Despite a growing body of data on canine behavior and cognitive skills, relatively few advances have been made in understanding canine brain function. Practical and ethical concerns had limited the use of the invasive brain-imaging techniques typically used with primates and rodents . However, the demonstration that dogs can be trained to participate cooperatively in fMRI studies has opened up a wealth of new data about canine brain function. Many of these studies have investigated the dog’s preternatural social intelligence, focusing on neural pathways associated with different types of reward, including social reward, and face and language processing. These studies have implications for our understanding of canine brain function, and -- because of dogs’ close relations with humans -- may also help us understand human development and pathology.

Cook, Peter; Prichard, Ashley; Spivak, Mark; and Berns, Gregory S. (2018) Jealousy in dogs? Evidence from brain imaging. Animal Sentience 22(1)

Cook PF, Prichard A, Spivak M, Berns GS: Awake canine fMRI predicts dogs' preference for praise versus food. Soc Cog Affect Neurosci, 11:1853-1862, 2016.

Dilks DD, Cook P, Weiller SK, Berns HP, Spivak M, Berns GS: Awake fMRI reveals a specialized region in dog temporal cortex for face processing. PeerJ, 3:e1115, 2015.

Berns GS, Brooks AM, Spivak M, Levy K: Functional MRI in awake dogs predicts suitability for assistance work. Sci Rep 7:43704, 2017.

Berns G: What It's Like to Be a Dog. And Other Adventures in Animal Neuroscience. Basic Books, Sept. 2017. New Yorker Book Review

Gordon Burghardt: Probing the Umwelt of Reptiles (Tuesday, June 26, 11am)

Gordon Burghardt:

Probing the Umwelt of Reptiles

(Tuesday, June 26, 11am)

VIDEO OF PRESENTATION

Gordon Burghardt (Speaker)
Alumni Distinguished Service Professor University of Tennessee

David M. Green
Professor of Biology, McGill University

Moderator

The perceptual worlds of non-avian reptiles differ significantly from our own. They are a diverse group living in many different habitats with diverse life styles, diets, predators, sociality, and modes of communication. Having worked with many species over many decades I have developed and used several methods to try to understand their Umwelt and how they negotiate their environments, from birth and hatching to adulthood. Many other labs have contributed to our understanding in recent years as well, with new and unexpected findings. This presentation will overview our knowledge of reptile perception across all the major groups.

Burghardt, G. M. (1998).Snake stories: from the additive model to ethology’s fifth aim. Responsible conduct with animals in research. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 77-95.

Rivas, J. A., & Burghardt, G. M. (2001). Understanding sexual size dimorphism in snakes: wearing the snake's shoes. Animal Behaviour, 62(3), F1-F6.

Burghardt, G. M. (2017). Anthropomorphism. Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior, 1-4.

SPECIAL 1/2-HOUR ORIENTATION SESSION FOR STUDENTS ENROLLED FOR CREDIT (Tuesday June 26, 12:30-1:00pm)

Jon Sakata: Audience Effects on Communication Signals (Tuesday, June 26, 2pm)

Jon Sakata:

Audience Effects on Communication Signals

(Tuesday, June 26, 2pm)

VIDEO OF PRESENTATION

Jon Sakata
Professor McGill University

Clint Dale Kelly
Professeur Université du Québec à Montréal

Moderator

The structure of communication signals can change depending on the social and physical environment. Social influences on signaling and signal structure have been proposed to reflect cognitive processes underlying communicative behaviors. I will review studies from my lab, describing how social audiences affect the performance of song in songbirds and discussing the extent to which these studies provide insight into the social brain.

James, L. S., Dai, J. B., & Sakata, J. T. (2018). Ability to modulate birdsong across social contexts develops without imitative social learning. Biology Letters, 14(3), 20170777.

Chen, Y., Matheson, L. E., & Sakata, J. T. (2016). Mechanisms underlying the social enhancement of vocal learning in songbirds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(24), 6641-6646.

James, L. S., & Sakata, J. T. (2017). Learning Biases Underlie “Universals” in Avian Vocal Sequencing. Current Biology, 27(23), 3676-3682.