IoC October 2024 Newsletter

Hi there, and welcome to Ideas on Consciousness! Ideas on Consciousness (IoC) is a student organization and DeCal at UC Berkeley. In this monthly newsletter, we will be sharing details about upcoming cafe hours, social events, relevant local news/events, resource recommendations, and more. For all information related to IoC, check out our linktree here.

Join Our Two IoC Club Events this Month:
1. Debate! “Is an artificial life equivalent to a human life?”

DeCal students, Club Members, and interested friends are welcome to join us for a debate at Wheeler 220, 6:00PM on October 10th. We’ll be splitting into the affirmative (artificial life is equivalent to human life) and dissenting (it is not!) groups to break into ideas surrounding:
1. Artificial Consciousness: Are we able to create artificial beings which possess phenomenal consciousness? With algorithms and/or with silicon?
2. Morality in the Next Age: If artificial beings (do or eventually will) possess phenomenal consciousness, how do we fit them hierarchically in our moral framework?
3. Emotions and Suffering in Non-human Beings: Even if artificial beings possess phenomenal consciousness, are they capable of suffering? If not, does that invalidate their moral value?

We’ll also be going to Jupiters afterwards for Pizza, BYOP (Buy your own Pizza)! Please RSVP if you plan on attending!

2. Lesson! “An Introduction to Neuroscience.”

A Facilitator for our DeCal, Trevor, will be giving an introduction to neuroscience! Join us at Warren Hall, 6:00PM on October 28th to get a general overview of what’s happening in your head! It’s an informal lecture, full of interruptions, questions, ideas, and random conjecture. Follow up on the RSVP link down below for more information.

We’ll be once again going to Jupiters afterwards for Pizza, BYOP (Buy your own Pizza)! Please RSVP here if you plan on attending!

Join us for this months Cafe Hours!

We have Cafe Hours on October 6th (this weekend!) and October 20th, join us to discuss consciousness, neuroscience, or whatever other topic arises!

1. October 6th: Join us at Cafenated Coffee Company this Sunday at 10:00 AM, our External Facilitator Trevor will be hosting!
2085 Vine St, Berkeley, CA 94709

2. October 20th: Join us at edmonds cafe on the 20th (Sunday) at 10:00 AM, our Dialogue Facilitator Kiana will be hosting!
2299 Piedmont Ave, Berkeley, CA 94720

Mind this Matter

Quote of the Month: “Behold the believers of all beliefs! Whom do they hate most? Him who breaketh up their tables of values, the breaker, the law-breaker:—he, however, is the creator.” - Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra.