Liam Kempthorne and Sean Dyde

Neuroscience and the Humanities: Where to from here?

Sean is a historian of science and medicine. Liam is a neuroscientist. Both aim to tell us something new and important about human nature, but their methods differ enormously.

To close the conference, and to open a more general discussion, we will discuss the themes touched upon during the previous two days, giving two distinct perspectives on the neurosciences and the humanities. We address the nature of neuroscientific research and the backgrounds of humanist critique, drawing out some of the underlying assumptions of both.

Finally, we discuss the neurosciences and the humanities for the future: whether both fields must go on their separate ways, or whether collaboration is possible. We address potential sources of conflict, as well as the roles which neuroscience and the humanities may play in each other’s research. Together, we hope to provide some practical direction for how both disciplines may come together to provide richer visions of humanity.