Mind the Self
Post-cartesian social sciences and humanities depart from the mind-body dualism. Instead of reproducing the assumption of mind separate from physical reality, this scholarship seeks to advance an understanding of the intertwined and overlapping mental and material phenomena. The entangled nature of minds in the world, as well as their extension to non-human beings, nevertheless does not signify that mind becomes an irrelevant category or concept. For example, for the task of acknowledging and respecting others, identifying and analyzing our minds is arguably worthwhile. What are our minds telling us and where do they get their sway? To what extent are we being manipulated, and by whom? Are we trying to socially engineer ourselves and others? Who even are ‘we’?
These questions are central in various fields of study due to their interest in being; both the limits of humanness and great opportunities humans possess. On the one hand, such questions inspire us to look beyond the human scale and humanity as a unit of analysis, like what post-humanism and critical studies are doing. We are not humans, one may say. Humanity is problematized as category because of biological and cultural reasons, most notably. We are claimed to exist in a deeply relational web of life where boundaries between species are artificial. We are also claimed to become hybrids, leaving the classical categories of biology behind. On the other hand, the questions of us as humanity are challenged by culturally sensitive analyses, such as inquiries of class, gender and race. The common denominator of identification is not humans, one may state again, but something more contextual.
The relevance of attending to, or minding, the self is arguably central for studies seeking to theorize the relationship between humans and nature, nature and culture, culture and language, language and technology, technology and economy, economy and the body, and much more. Without an in-depth yet holistic consideration of mind’s processes vis-à-vis the self, implications are to remain of restricted value.
In this colloquium, we will bring together a variety of scholars from social sciences and humanities to discuss how different conceptions of mind and self may serve the transdisciplinary inquiry for peaceful coexistence. We are keen on submissions from all disciplines across all backgrounds to shed light on fundamental question of who we are, where are we heading and how could we journey without violence of mental and other kinds.
Colloquium Committee
Professor Pasi Heikkurinen, LUT University, Colloquium Chair
Junior Researcher Kiira Parikka, LUT University, Colloquium Coordinator
Professor, Research Director Niilo Kauppi, University of Helsinki
Professor Frank Den Hond, Hanken School of Economics
Associate Professor, SUCH Co-Director Herman Stål, Umeå University
Post-Doctoral Researcher, SUCH Co-Director Lisa Juangbhanich, University College London
Program
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9.30–10.00 Opening words Parikka, Kiira & Heikkurinen, Pasi
10.00–12.00 Meditations and mediations
Heikkurinen, Pasi. “Of mind and meaning”
Kauppi, Niilo. “Bourdieu’s ‘negative philosophy’ and the invisible Descartes” Kunnas, Tarmo. “Heidegger confronting Descartes”
12.00–13.00 Lunch
13.00–14.30 After and with humans and more
Laukkanen, Sonja. “Dependent arising: Constituents of the self in Tibetan context”
Xue, Chenru. “Monster and the multiplicities of coexistence: Fractured ethics for posthuman era”
Wikström, Tiina. “Reweaving the web of life: Integrating inner development, indigenous epistemologies, and planetary wellbeing”
14.30–15.00 Coffee
15.00–16.00 Epistemologies
Nagatsu, Michiru. “First-person science as an alternative to self-less science”
Wuppuluri, Shyam. “Sustainable epistemologies: healing our words and thereby our worlds”
16.00–16.15 Break
16.15–17.15 Methods and experiments
Nousiainen, Susi. “Participatory storytelling as a research method – Towards a more nuanced picture beyond stereotypes”
Kauppinen, Tommi. “Poetry to mind the self”
19:00 Drinks and dinner Restaurant Kolme Kruunua Liisankatu 5, 00170
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10.00–12.00 Machines and desires
Stål, Herman. “Enjoying your self? An ideology informed conceptualization of the mind and self” den
Hond, Frank. “Mirror, mirror on the screen, “Wherein can I find me?” – On the sublime qualities of AI recommendation systems, algorithm conformity, and the else”
Musta, Risto. “Images of a libidinal economy”
Vega-Ramon, Irene. “The new futures of AI: From decision-making to sensemaking”
12.00–13.00 Lunch
13.00–14.30 Relations and relationality
Tiisala, Katja. “Connecting to sentient selves for societal transformations”
Phan, Khanh. “From self to flow: Daoist foundations for a degrowth mindset”
Jones, Campbell. “Capital as separation”
14.30–15.00 Coffee
14.30–16.00 Psyches in and of societies
Sinkkonen, Juni. “Psychologists’ and psychology university students’ perceptions on sustainability transformation”
Peltola, Sara. “Together apart – (Un)troubling ‘the self’, ‘us’ and ‘others’ in guidance counselling”
Pyysiäinen, Jarkko. “Social psychology of the self and the modern crisis of meaning”
16.00–16.15 Break
16.15–17.45 For the planet
Teerikangas, Satu. “Biodiversity respectful leadership”
Petz, Marcus. “Developing a watershed consciousness: A comparison of Southern Finland and East Africa”
Bonnedahl, Karl Johan. “Mistaken assumptions behind sustainable development, and time to bury the rhetorics?”