[PhilPhys] Call for Papers - A Population Doctrine in Neuroscience Workshop on October 25 - 26 at the University of Pittsburgh - Deadline for submissions is June 15th

[Center for Phil Sci]

*A Population Doctrine in Neuroscience Workshop*
October 25 @ 8:00 am - October 26 @ 5:00 pm EDT

*Call for Papers*
We are pleased to announce an interdisciplinary 2-day workshop held at the
Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh. The
workshop will focus on topics related to a shift in neuroscience from the
investigation of *single *neurons to *populations *of neurons. The
investigation of single neurons has been supported by the so-called *neuron
doctrine*, which posits the neuron as the fundamental structural and
functional unit of the nervous system. As the focus moves away from single
neurons and toward populations of neurons, some have called for a new,
*population
doctrine*. But the conceptual and methodological commitments of a potential
population doctrine, as well as its significance, remain underexplored.
The goal of the workshop is to arrive at an interdisciplinary perspective
on the nature and significance of the population doctrine and its relation
to what came before. In particular, we aim to bring neuroscientists,
philosophers, and historians together to answer the following questions:
-What is the population doctrine? How is it related to the neuron doctrine?
-What are the conceptual, explanatory, ontological, and methodological
commitments of the population doctrine? For example,
-Are population level measures and analyses simply providing a more compact
representation of neural activity or are they providing unique insights
that are not otherwise accessible?
-What are the explanatory advantages of population measures over
single-unit measures?
-Does the form of explanation change or is the population doctrine just
“more of the same”?

Keynote Speakers:

   - Rosa Cao (Stanford University)
   - Rafael Yuste (Columbia University)


Conference Dates:
October 25th and 26th, 2025

Location:
Center for Philosophy of Science, Pittsburgh, PA

Format:
In addition to the keynote lectures, the workshop will include 30-minute
presentations (20 minutes + 10 Q&A) from contributed speakers and a
roundtable panel discussion.

Instructions for Submissions:
Anonymized abstracts of no more than 500 words (excluding references)
should be sent to *populationworkshop at gmail.com
<populationworkshop at gmail.com>* by *June 15th.*
*Please mark submissions with “Abstract” in the subject line.*

Visit the website for the most up to date information:
https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/event/a-population-doctrine-in-neuroscience-workshop/
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