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World’s Leading Thinkers Discuss Human Origins at What Makes Us Human? Conference

Interdisciplinary scholars and researchers will cover what sets the human animal apart from the primates at LA Conference on April 28. 

Press Release
Listen to what the panelists are saying about this conference

for Press Registration Email: estepp@vision.org or phone 626 535-0444 ext 105. Include your name, title, media organization and any special requests or needs.

PASADENA, CA--Join today’s leading thinkers and researchers from around the world as they discuss current science events and present their views on the many facets of humanness at the interdisciplinary "What Makes Us Human?" Conference in Los Angeles, April 28 - 29, 2008 at Zipper Concert Hall at the Colburn School. Two days of panel discussions and question-and-answer opportunities will explore a diverse range of disciplines, including human origins, religion, psychology, biochemistry, social philosophy, neuroscience, humor, art and music. Topics range from what sets us apart to what the future may hold for humanity.

It is the age old question – What makes human beings unique? People have created an endless list of attributes and activities, including both positive and negative traits that distinguish us from other species including self-awareness and free moral agency, speech and symbolic cognition, humor, opposable thumbs, conscience and the capacity to imagine. Listen to what ordinary people think about what makes us human.

The conference will encourage interdisciplinary research and collaboration in seven sessions including Human Origins, Curiosity and Language, Religion and Belief, Humor and Emotion, Creativity, Biology and the Brain, and The Dark Side from experts in psychology, religion, culture, arts, philosophy, emotions, biological anthropology and human/animal behavior.

The keynote address will be given by animal behavior expert and biologist Dr. Frans B. M. de Waal, C. H. Candler Professor in the Psychology Department of Emory University and Director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Center. De Waal is best known for drawing parallels between primate animal and human animal behavior; however, he will focus on what sets the human animal apart from primates.

The opening session, Human Origins, will include talks from noted scholars and experts in archaeology and biological anthropology including Ian Tattersall, Donald Johanson, John Shea and Craig Stanford. Tattersall will lead a panel discussion focusing on questions: how did the simple human origins of our complex social structures, cultures, laws and politics develop through time and space into what we know today, and how do human origins differ from what we find in other species?

Audience members will have the opportunity to interactively question the speakers on related interdisciplinary research topics. The expert speakers include:

• John Allman, neuroscientist at the California Institute of Technology, recognized expert on primates, cognition and evolution.
• Miguel Angel Corzo, president and CEO of the Colburn School, known internationally for his advocacy in the arts and education.
• Antonio Damasio, David Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience and Director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California.
• Frans de Waal, Dutch-born ethologist/biologist known for his work on the social intelligence of primates.
• Marc Hauser, an expert on evolutionary biology and cognitive neuroscience and Harvard professor who aims to understand the processes and consequences of cognitive evolution.
• William Hurlbut, physician and Consulting Professor at the Neuroscience Institute at Stanford University who focuses on ethical issues associated with advancing biomedical technology and the studies in the integration of theology and philosophy of biology.
• David Hulme ,Chairman of Vision.org Foundation, focuses on international relations with an emphasis on the Middle East. Author of Identity, Ideology and the Jerusalem Question.
• Donald Johanson, a paleoanthropologist best known for his discovery of the Lucy skeleton, the widely studied fossil find of the 20 th century.
• Christine Kenneally, journalist and author of the book The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language, selected as a best read of the season by USA Today and Newsweek, among others.
• Bruce Lahn, professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago who studies human evolutionary genetics, epigenetics and stem cell biology.
• Barbara Lambert, biomedical scientist who uses art to express her ideas on life and society and runs workshops for children and adults with disabilities.
• Charles Pasternak, an Oxford biochemistry professor best known for his pioneering work on the surface membrane of animal cells, a key factor in the understanding of cancer and other infectious diseases.
• Arnold Schwartzman, a filmmaker and noted director of design for the 1984 Olympic Games who produced the Academy Award® winning documentary feature film, GENOCIDE (1981), among others.
• John Shea, an Associate Professor of Anthropology at New York’s Stony Brook University who has excavated Stone Age sites worldwide including Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and most recently West Lake Turkana, Kenya.
• Craig Stanford, an authority on human evolution and primate behavior who is Professor of Anthropology and Biological Sciences at USC and Director of the USC Jane Goodall Research Center.
• Ian Tattersall, prominent interpreter of human paleontology, is curator in the Department of Anthropology of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City who concentrates his research on the analysis of the human fossil record and the ecology and systematics of the lemurs of Madagascar.
• Bruce Weber, noted author of over seventy scientific publications and essays on evolution including the application of complex systems dynamical theory to problems of the origin of life and emergent evolutionary phenomena.

In celebration of the ability to create and communicate as humans, a nyone can enter the What Makes Us Human Photo Contest, using their ability to capture a glimpse of the human spirit and create a visual image that tells a story. Cash prizes will be awarded for photographs that best capture aspects of human uniqueness being discussed at the What Makes Us Human conference. A Grand Prize of $1000.00 is offered for one outstanding photograph from any of the entry categories, and prizes of $200.00 are offered for the first place winners in each of seven categories. Entry categories include: 1) Human Origins, 2) Curiosity and Language, 3) Humor and Emotion, 4) Creativity, 5) Religion and Belief, 6) The Dark Side and 7) Biology and the Brain.

The contest closes on April 23, 2008, and winning photographs will be featured at the What Makes Us Human conference and on the conference Web site.

The conference is jointly sponsored by the Vision.org Foundation and the Oxford International Biomedical Centre. For a limited time, the cost for registration to attend the "What Makes Us Human?" Conference in Los Angeles on April 28 - 29, 2008 at the Herbert Zipper Concert Hall is $99.00. For information about corporate sponsorship, or to donate without registering for the conference, please contact aabler@vision.org. For more information visit www.whatmakesushuman.info.

Contact
Edwin Stepp
www.vision.org
Vision Media Productions
476 S. Marengo Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91101
Phone (24 hrs): 626 535-0444 ext 105