Presented by the NYU Mind, Ethics, and Policy Program, the NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program, and NYU Animal Studies

Register here to attend online.

Register here to attend in person at NYU. Coffee and light refreshments will be served when doors open at 9:30am. Reception to follow from 5:30pm-7:00pm.

About the event

Which other animals have the capacity for conscious experience? For a long time this question was neglected in science, but a new interdisciplinary field is now emerging to tackle it, drawing on expertise from neuroscience, psychology, evolutionary biology, animal welfare/veterinary science, the social sciences, and the humanities. While much uncertainty remains, some points of wide agreement have emerged.

In this public-facing event, experts from across the field will meet to discuss the progress that has been made, the key points of agreement and disagreement, the most promising directions for the future, and what recognizing other animals as conscious beings means in practice for ethics and policy.

Sessions

Scientific Methodology
Kristin Andrews: The history of the science of animal consciousness
Jonathan Birch: The marker method for studying animal consciousness
Moderated by David Chalmers

Vertebrate Consciousness
Noam Miller: Evidence regarding consciousness in reptiles
Anna Wilkinson: Evidence regarding consciousness in amphibians
Becca Franks: Evidence regarding consciousness in fishes
Moderated by Kristin Andrews

Invertebrate Consciousness
Alexandra Schnell: Evidence regarding consciousness in cephalopod mollusks
Robert Elwood: Evidence regarding consciousness in decapod crustaceans
Lars Chittka: Evidence regarding consciousness in insects
Moderated by Jonathan Birch

Public Policy
Cleo Verkuijl: Public policy at the global level
Katrina Wyman: Public policy at the local level
Moderated by Jeff Sebo