We are pleased to announce a conference on the basic cognitive
processes that underlie creativity in general, and the emergence of new
ideas in particular. The conference, entitled "Conceptual Structures
and Processes: Emergence, Discovery, and Change," is being funded by
the American Psychological Association, and will take place on May
18-20, 1995 at Texas A&M University.
The impetus for the conference is that creative thinking is essential
for scientific, technological, artistic, and personal accomplishment, and
hence, cognitive psychology must begin to examine its nature. Where do new
ideas come from? How are discoveries made? How is old knowledge mapped onto
novel situations? How are old, incorrect representations replaced with more
accurate, innovative ones? Answers to these important questions are beginning
to emerge from careful analyses of basic cognitive structures and processes.
The conference will feature presentations and discussion by some of the
preeminent researchers working on these issues. The scheduled topics,
presenters, and discussants are:
Session I: Emergence of Novel Properties in Conceptual Combination
Session II: Metaphor Comprehension and the Creation of New Categories
Session III: Creating and Extending Concepts and Meanings
Session IV: Analogy, Mental Models, Discovery, and Change
In addition to the formal presentations on May 19 and 20, there will be
a reception on Thursday evening, May 18. The registration fee for the
conference is $25 and includes the reception. Please make checks
payable to the "Creative Concepts Conference."
Interested researchers are also encouraged to submit abstracts for
poster presentations consistent with the general themes of the
conference. Abstracts should be no more than 1,000 words, and should
directly address how the research relates to the conference themes.
Abstracts may be submitted by surface or e-mail, but in either case
they must be received by April 3, 1995. There will also be a poster
competition for graduate students. Eight graduate students whose
poster submissions are judged to be of the highest quality will be
given free accommodations on campus for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday
nights (May 18-20). Please specify on your submission if you are a
graduate student, and wish to be included in the competition.
Conference organizers are Thomas Ward, Steven Smith, and Jyotsna Vaid.
For additional information, or to submit an abstract contact Thomas
Ward, Department of Psychology. Texas A&M University, College Station,
TX, 77843, Phone (409)-845-2506, Fax (409)-845-4727, e-mail
TBW@PSYC.TAMU.EDU.
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From: stich@ruccs.rutgers.edu (Stephen P. Stich)
Subject: (2) Conference: Epistemology & Evolutionary Psych, Rutgers, Apr 21-22
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
CONFERENCE ON EPISTEMOLOGY & EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY
APRIL 21 & 22, 1995
The goal of the conference is to bring philosophers, psychologists and
anthropologists together to explore the implications of research in
evolutionary psychology for traditional epistemological issues
including the nature of rationality and the structure of human
knowledge.
The conference, which is sponsored by the Office of the Dean of the
Faculty of Arts & Sciences, the Department of Philosophy, and the
Rutgers University Center for Cognitive Science, will be open to the
public. There will be no registration fee.
For further information, contact:
Stephen Stich
Department of Philosophy
Davison Hall / Douglass Campus
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, NJ 08903
e-mail: stich@ruccs.rutgers.edu