Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Lecture on Development and Developmental Disabilities: Empathy and Morality Should Not Be Conflated
Jean Decety, Ph.D., Irving B. Harris Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago and the College, University of Chicago
Thursday, May 4, 2023, 12:00-1:00 p.m. **NOTE UPDATED TIME**
OMC 241, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center/One Magnolia Circle Building, and online
A limited number of boxed lunches (first come, first served) will be provded for this noontime lecture. Please register to attend.
Empathy provides information for moral decision-making. However, empathy is limited and fragile, thus not always a reliable source of information in moral decision-making. This conference integrates theory and empirical knowledge from evolutionary theory, neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral economics to demonstrate how various social and situational factors unconsciously and rapidly modulate empathy. Decision-making guided by empathy alone is not optimal when dealing with large groups, people from our tribe, or anonymous persons.
About the Speaker:Jean Decety is the Irving B. Harris Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago and the College. He received a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University Claude Bernard (France), and then completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in Sweden, at Lund University Hospital and at the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm in the Departments of Clinical Neurophysiology and Neuroradiology. Dr. Decety is head of the Social Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, and the Director of the Child Neurosuite.
For more information, call (615) 322-8240.
IMPORTANT: Construction has recently begun on the front steps of One Magnolia Circle Building. As a result, the entire front entrance, including the accessibility ramp, has been cordoned off until further notice. Faculty, staff, students, and guests can use the doors on either side of the building for entrance and egress, and individuals with accessibility needs are advised to use the bottom-floor Susan Gray School entrance to access the OMC bank of elevators.
NOTE: Clicking on the "Register" button on this webpage indicates that you are registering to attend IN-PERSON. CLICK HERE if you want to receive the Teams meeting link to view the lecture online.