Would You Hack Your Brain? Love, Personality & The Ethics of Neuroscience
Would You Hack Your Brain? Love, Personality & The Ethics of Neuroscience
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Would You Hack Your Brain? Love, Personality & The Ethics of Neuroscience
Speaker: Garret Merriam, PhD. Associate Professor of Philosophy CSUS
Food: A Food Truck will be on-site serving dinner options
If you could take a drug that made you more focused, creative, and improved your memory, would you? If a scientific test could determine whether your partner was “really” in love with you, would you want them to take it? And, what if a procedure could cure a neurological condition but had a chance of radically changing your personality?
These questions might sound like science fiction. They’re not.
Advances in neuroscience are developing quickly and giving us extraordinary new ways to understand, and increasingly alter, the human brain. But the science may be developing faster than our ability to make clear moral judgments about it.
Join Sacramento State philosophy professor Garret Merriam, PhD. as we explore real-world neuroscience cases and wrestle with the fascinating moral questions they raise. We'll explore topics like deep brain stimulation, neuroenhancement, and the neuroscience of love.
Don’t expect easy answers. You may leave a little conflicted, seeing both the appeal and benefits of these developments while also feeling uneasy about how they might be abused or go wrong. These are the kinds of questions you'll be thinking about long after the lecture ends.
Garret Merriam, PhD. is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Sacramento State. His research focuses mostly on applied ethics, including topics such as the ethics of neuroscience, ethics and artificial intelligence, capital punishment, and the moral status of non-human animals. He is currently working on a project involving moral questions surrounding our treatment of dead bodies. After growing up in the Bay Area, he went to college at UC Davis, then completed his Ph.D. at Rice University. He taught at universities in Texas and Indiana before returning to his home in the Golden State.
Bike Dog West Sacramento Brewery is a beloved Sacramento craft brewery who has a rotating lineup of house-made beers, and non-alcoholic beverages. They share their West Sacramento Taproom with Baker Family Wines who will provide wine for the lecture.
All Common Knowledge events are 21+
Schedule:
6:00pm - Doors Open: grab a drink and mingle. We'll have trivia questions on the screen and some surprises
6:45pm - Program begins with an intro & prize giveaway
7:00pm - Lecture begins
7:45pm - Q&A
8:00pm - Mingle, discuss the lecture, meet the speaker
9:00pm - You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here
What to Expect:
Common Knowledge is Sacramento's premiere bar lecture series.
At Common Knowledge we believe that learning something new is the most rewarding and fun thing you can do. We're about bringing diverse people and ideas together to have a great time.
This event is open seating so come at 6pm to grab a drink and a seat. Before the lecture we'll have music and trivia questions on the screen. We'll also have a fun, low pressure “side quest” so you can win a prize.
The lecture will last for 45 minutes and is made for an intelligent, general audience so you don't need any specialized background to have a great time. After the lecture, there will be 15 minutes for Q&A and then the bar will be open to hang out, meet the speaker, and discuss the ideas you just heard.
The bar will close at 9pm.
Parking: There is a parking lot behind Bike Dog West Sac.
Public Transportation: Bike Dog West Sacramento is accessible via Yolobus and West Sacramento’s Via on-demand transit service. We recommend planning your route in advance.
Seating: is first come, first served. Please consider arriving early to grab your preferred spot(s), especially if you’d like to sit together as a group!
Policies:
All Common Knowledge events are 21+
No hidden ticket fees. The price you see is the price you pay. Period.
Change your mind? Cancellation is easy. Just hit the “manage tickets” button on the top right corner of this page. You may cancel your ticket for a full refund up to 48 hours before the event. Orders of 6 tickets or more need to contact our customer service team in order to cancel.
We treat our guests like family so if there is anything you need, just get in touch: hello@cklectures.com
Accessibility: We strive to make all of our lectures 100% accessible for everyone. If you have specific accessibility needs please email us at least 72 hours ahead of the lecture so we can plan for you: hello@cklectures.com
Students! We offer a student discount - just email hello@cklectures.com from your university email address and we'll send you a discount code.
Common Knowledge is for everyone! If you want to attend an event but can't afford a full price ticket we have you covered. Just email us at hello@cklectures.com and we'll help you out.
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Location
Bike Dog West Sacramento, 95691