At this Scientists in Synagogues lecture series at Temple Emanu-El in Providence, RI, the overarching goal will be for participants to consider multiple approaches to understanding themselves as agents: human beings who think, act, and take responsibility for their destiny.
This is first of four lectures – Habits and Awareness: A Neuroscientist’s Perspective, featuring Victoria Templer Rotkow, Ph.D.
Are humans on autopilot, relying on habits to navigate the world, or are we fully in control of our lives, actively deciding who we are and who we want to be? Relying on her personal research and advances in the field of neuroscience, Professor Victoria Templer will examine human and nonhuman animal behavior to examine the extent of how much agency we have in our lives and our capacity to change.
10:30 a.m. Brunch followed by Learning at 11 a.m.
Please register for brunch by January 25
Zoom Link will be sent to those who have registered ahead of time.
Victoria Templer Rotkow received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience & Animal Behavior from Emory University in 2014 and is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of Neuroscience at Providence College. In her research laboratory, she develops animal models of memory, learning, and attention that answer both behavioral and neurobiological processing questions. The goal of her research is to characterize cognitive and neural substrates of different memory systems implicated in human aging, disease, and mental health and inform cognitive evolution in the comparative cognition tradition.
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In partnership with Sinai and Synapses, we invite you to join us for a series of Brunch and Learns where we ask the fundamental question: “What Makes Us Human?”
Sinai and Synapses offers people a worldview that is both scientifically grounded and spiritually uplifting. It provides tools and language for learning and living to those who see science as their ally as they pursue personal growth and the repair of our world. We equip scientists, clergy and dedicated laypeople with knowledge and skills to become role models, ambassadors and activists for grappling with the biggest and most important questions we face. We believe that in order to enhance ourselves and our world, we need both religion and science as sources of wisdom, as the spark for new questions, and as inspiration and motivation. Through classes, seminars, lectures, videos and writings, it helps create a vision of religion that embraces critical thinking and scientific inquiry, and at the same time, gives meaning to people’s lives and helps them make a positive impact on society. |
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