TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Do dogs dream? Do cats recognize their owners as unique beings or just something capable of providing food? Could it be that dolphins, elephants, and monkeys have mental capacities that are similar—or supersede—those of humans?
Dr. Colin Allen, professor of history and philosophy of science from Indiana University, will explore possible answers to these questions and the nature of non-human minds in his lecture, “Smart Animals, Dumb Humans? How Should We Understand the Evolutionary Continuity of Mind?” April 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the biology building on The University of Alabama campus. The talk is part of The Alabama Lectures of Life’s Evolution, or ALLELE, series.
Allen, an expert on animal behavior and cognition, has co-authored “Species of Mind” and is co-editor of “The Evolution of Mind,” “Nature’s Purposes,” “The Cognitive Animal,” and “Philosophy Across the Life Sciences.” He also is co-editor of a special issue of the journal Biology and Philosophy on animal cognition, in which he has a paper titled “Is Anyone a Cognitive Ethologist?”
He is the associate editor of the “Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,” co-author of a logic textbook, “Logic Primer” and co-developer of two logic instructional sites on the World Wide Web at http://logic.tamu.edu and http://www.poweroflogic.com. He has received grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Allen received his bachelor’s in philosophy from University College London in 1982 and his doctorate in philosophy from UCLA in 1989. He is a faculty member in Indiana University’s Cognitive Science Program and a member of the core faculty in Indiana University’s Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior.
The third year of the ALLELE series is made possible in large part by private gifts from Lou Perry of La Jolla, Calif., Eric Hopkins of Austin, Texas, and The Barbara and Frank Peters Foundation of Corona del Mar, Calif. In addition to private support, The ALLELE series is supported by UA’s College of Arts and Sciences; and the departments of anthropology, biological sciences, history, philosophy and psychology.
The lectures are designed for a non-technical audience and are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.bama.ua.edu/~evolution/alleleindex.html.
The College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All-American Teams.
Contact
Sarah Colwell, College of Arts and Sciences, 205/348-8539, sccolwell@as.ua.edu