School of Ideas in Neuroscience 2024

Warsaw, July 9th – July 15th 2024

Application form

How the knowledge in neuroscience is accumulated? 

How can we make sense of the terabytes of empirical data we collect every day?

In everyday work, we often forget that every scientific endeavour is embedded in a broader theoretical framework. At the same time, most courses and workshops in neuroscience teach us experimental techniques, giving us more tools to gather more data. But, we are not taught how to develop ideas and integrate our research with the existing knowledge.

We believe that theoretical thinking and idea development are skills that can be trained just as new methodologies and data analysis tools. At our school, we aim to teach participants how to think theoretically to collect data that makes sense and to make sense of collected data. 

The school is explicitly impractical. Instead of striving for measurable outcomes, we slow down for a moment to share and discuss our ideas with others.  In a series of 3-hours, discussion-based workshops we learn from experienced theoreticians, pass our own experiences, and come up with new concepts and solutions. We strive to create a relaxed atmosphere free from daily distractions that provides you the rare commodity that is time to think.

Sessions held in the school are divided into three sections – frameworks, metatheory, and tools workshops.

In the first section, selected theoretical frameworks serve us as examples. Together with their authors, we discuss how those ideas can be applied in empirical research, and explore the paths of theory creation.

In the metatheory section, we invite philosophers and historians of science, and we look at how ideas are developed, and how we build understanding in neuroscience.

In the tools section, we investigate the theoretical assumptions of some of the popular formal toolboxes and research methodologies, which can easily get lost in the day-to-day business of doing research.

Confirmed speakers are:

Frameworks:

  • Anna Ciaunica
  • Patrick Haggard
  • Henry Yin
  • Anne von Philipsborn
  • Barbara Finlay
  • Gáspár Jékely

Metatheory:

  • David Barack
  • Mazviita Chirimuuta
  • Danielle Williams

Tools:

  • John Bickle
  • Hiba Sheheitli
  • Fernando Rosas

The school will take place in Warsaw, July 9th – July 15th 2024 in the famous historical building of the Polish Academy of Sciences Museum of the Earth, in the beautiful park area of the city. The fee is EUR 550, but we offer fee waivers and travel grants.

The application form can be found HERE. The deadline for application is March 29th

Organizers:

Łucja Doradzińska (Nencki Institute)

Wiktor Rorot (University of Warsaw)

Marcin Furtak (University of Osnabrück)

Mateusz Kostecki (Nencki Institute)

Aleksandra Piejka (Institute of Psychology PAS)

Natalia Rutkowska (Nencki Institute)

Justyna Wiśniewska (Nencki Institute)

Urszula Włodkowska (Nencki Institute)