Under the theme Imagine Consciousness this program provides an unusual look at what makes us human and the impact of mirror neurons in the social brain. We are joined by Prof Dr Christian Keysers, author of The Empathic Brain whose research will challenge our understanding of human nature. We feature a screening of the film One Hundred Mornings by Irish Director Conor Horgan, which looks at how people cope in a world without technology, the characters are saddled with completely conflicting worldviews and these are brought to bear as society begins to disintegrate. The characters each face a critical decision they never thought they’d have to make and the outcomes will influence our post screening discussion. https://web.mac.com/conorhorgan1/Site/Conor_Horgan.html
At 18.00 we screen the documentary Love Hate and Everything In-between by UK Director Alex Gabbay. The discovery of mirror neurons – the biological basis for empathy – has led to exciting new experiments, debates and studies about how such knowledge can be applied to understand and enhance human behaviour, whether it is to control violence, facilitate conflict resolution or treat behavioural disorders such as autism, policy makers have recognised the power of empathy to catalyse societal and political change. There will be a post screening debate on the themes addressed in both works with the directors and Prof Dr Christian Keysers, Professor for the Social Brain at the Medical Faculty of the University Medical Centre Groningen, Group Leader of the Social Brain Lab Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).
Link for more info: https://onehundredmornings.com/
Link for more info: https://vimeo.com/42112070
For more information visit https://www.ucdimaginescience.ie/programme/
