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CfA: RUB-LSE Workshop on Animal Minds

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Call for abstracts: Ruhr-University Bochum & London School of Economics joint workshop “Animal Minds: New Theories and New Observations”, 9th-10th of February 2026 in Bochum, abstract deadline: 01.12.2025

The interdisciplinary workshop “Animal Minds: New Theories and New Observations”, jointly organized by Ruhr-University Bochum and The London School of Economics, will take place on the 9th & 10th of February 2026 at Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany.

The workshop will combine discussions of new theoretical and methodological approaches with presentations of novel empirical findings about animal minds.

The following speakers are confirmed: Colin Allen, Kristin Andrews, Jonathan Birch, Thomas Bugnyar, Tomer Czaczkes, Rebecca Dreier, Leonard Dung, Albert Newen, Simone Pika, Sanja Sreckovic, and Daria Zakharova.

We are inviting contributions from philosophy, psychology, ethology, neuroscience, biology, and other relevant disciplines. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

  • What do we know about capacities such as reasoning, sentience, or social understanding in other species?

 

  • How do the cognitive and affective capacities of different species compare and contrast with each other and with human capacities?

 

  • What is the evolutionary origin of important human psychological features?

 

  • What are promising methodological frameworks and experimental paradigms for investigating animal minds?

 

  • Which theories about animal minds are supported by recent empirical findings?

 

  • What are the promises and limitations of multidimensional profile and signature testing accounts in comparative psychology?

 

To be considered for a talk (30 minutes + 15 minutes discussion) or poster presentation, please send an abstract of your proposed presentation of up to 500 words (excluding references) to: hilfskraefte-newen@rub.de. The abstract should be anonymous, allowing blinded review, and accompanied by a second Word or PDF file containing author name(s), affiliation(s), and contact details. The deadline for abstract submissions is the 1st of December 2025. We plan to notify everyone about whether their abstract is accepted within two weeks after the deadline.

    This joint event is organized by the following team:

    Ruhr-University Bochum:  Sanja Sreckovic, Leonard Dung, & Albert Newen

    London School of Economics: Jonathan Birch
    Please direct any questions to: leonard.dung@rub.de

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    Upcoming Events

    Full event calender

    03
    Feb

    <i>Psychology:</i><br>Leander Fester & Mustafa Yildirim (RUB)<br><b>Memories of a stressful episode with varying retrieval intervals</b>

    February 3
    4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
    View Details
    04
    Feb

    <i>Philosophy:</i> <br>Hanoch Ben-Yami (Vienna) <br><b>Libet's Neurononscence</b>

    February 4
    12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
    View Details
    05
    Feb

    <i>Philosophy:</i><br>Dylan Trigg (Central European University)<br><b>Atmospheres of pastness: On childhood nostalgia</b>

    February 5
    12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
    View Details
    05
    Feb

    <i>Neuropsychology:</i><br>Zita Patai (RUB)<br><b>Title TBA</b>

    February 5
    2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
    View Details
    06
    Feb

    <i>Neuroscience:</i><br>Fabrizio Londei (Neuroscience Institute, Spain)<br><b>Cell Assembly-Based Analysis of Neurophysiological Data</b>

    February 6
    12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
    View Details
    09
    Feb

    Joint Workshop<br><b>Animal Minds: New Theories and new Observations</b>

    February 9
    12:00 am - 11:59 pm
    View Details

    Relevant Publications

    For full list of selected publications, see the publications page

    Deceptive XAI: Typology, Creation and Detection

    Meske, 2024 Schneider, J., Meske, C. & Vlachos, M. (2024). Deceptive XAI: Typology, Creation and Detection. SN Computer Science 5, 81. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42979-023-02401-z

    When is learning “effortful”? Scrutinizing the concept of mental effort in cognitively-oriented research from a motivational perspective

    Roelle, 2024 Grund, A., Fries, S., Nückles, M., Renkl, A., & Roelle, J. (2024). When is learning “effortful”? Scrutinizing the concept of mental effort in cognitively-oriented research from a motivational perspective. Educational Psychology Review, 36, Article...

    Foundation Models – A New Paradigm for Artificial Intelligence

    Meske, 2024 Schneider, J., Meske, C. and Kuss, P. (2024). Foundation Models – A New Paradigm for Artificial Intelligence. Business & Information Systems Engineering 66, 221–231. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12599-024-00851-0

    Prediction error processing and sharpening of expected information across the face-processing hierarchy

    Blank, 2024 Garlichs, A. & Blank, H. (2024). Prediction error processing and sharpening of expected information across the face-processing hierarchy. Nature Communications, 15, 3407.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47749-9

    Opposing serial effects of stimulus and choice in speech perception scale with context variability

    Blank, 2024 Ufer, C. & Blank, H. (2024) Opposing serial effects of stimulus and choice in speech perception scale with context variability. iScience:110611.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.110611

    Out of touch? How trauma shapes the experience of social touch – neural and endocrine pathways

    Scheele, 2024 Stevens L., Bregulla M., Scheele D. (2024). Out of touch? How trauma shapes the experience of social touch – neural and endocrine pathways. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews (in press)

    Prediction error processing and sharpening of expected information across the face-processing hierarchy

    Blank, 2024 Garlichs, A. & Blank, H. (2024). Prediction error processing and sharpening of expected information across the face-processing hierarchy. Nature Communications, 15, 3407.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47749-9

    Constructing a wider view on memory – Beyond the dichotomy of field and observer perspectives

    Peters, Cosentino & Werning, 2022 Peeters, A., Cosentino, E., & Werning, M. (2022). Constructing a wider view on memory – Beyond the dichotomy of field and observer perspectives. In A. Berninger & Í. V. Ferran (eds.), Memory and Imagination (pp. 165–190)....

    The ALARM theory of consciousness: A two-level theory of phenomenal consciousness

    Newen, 2023 Newen, A., & Montemayor, C. (2023). The ALARM theory of consciousness: A two-level theory of phenomenal consciousness. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 30(3-4), 84–105. https://doi.org/10.53765/20512201.30.3.084

    Profiles of animal consciousness: A species-sensitive, two-tier account to quality and distribution.

    Newen, 2023 Dung, L., & Newen, A. (2023). Profiles of animal consciousness: A species-sensitive, two-tier account to quality and distribution. Cognition, 235, 105409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105409

    Modeling the function of episodic memory in spatial learning

    Wiskott, 2023 Zeng, X., Diekmann, N., Wiskott, L., & Cheng, S. (2023). Modeling the function of episodic memory in spatial learning. Frontiers in psychology, 14, 1160648. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1160648

    Profiles of animal consciousness: A species-sensitive, two-tier account to quality and distribution

    Newen, 2023 Dung, L., & Newen, A. (2023). Profiles of animal consciousness: A species-sensitive, two-tier account to quality and distribution. Cognition, 235, 105409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105409

    Intuitive Expertise in Moral Judgments

    Horvath, 2022 Horvath, J., & Wiegmann, A. (2022). Intuitive Expertise in Moral Judgments. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 100(2), 342–359. https://doi.org/10.1080/00048402.2021.1890162

    The function of teacher dashboards depends on the amount of time pressure in the classroom situation: results from teacher interviews and an experimental study

    Rummel, 2022 Van Leeuwen, A., & Rummel, N. (2022). The function of teacher dashboards depends on the amount of time pressure in the classroom situation: results from teacher interviews and an experimental study. Unterrichtswissenschaft, 50, 561–588....

    Optogenetics reveals paradoxical network stabilizations in hippocampal CA1 and CA3

    Cheng, 2023 de Jong, L. W., Nejad, M. M., Yoon, E., Cheng, S., & Diba, K. (2023). Optogenetics reveals paradoxical network stabilizations in hippocampal CA1 and CA3. Current Biology. 33(9), 1689-1703.

    Minds, Brains, and Deep Learning: The Development of Cognitive Science Through the Lens of Kant’s Approach to Cognition

    Schlicht, 2022 Schlicht, T. (2022). 1 Minds, Brains, and Deep Learning: The Development of Cognitive Science Through the Lens of Kant’s Approach to Cognition. Kant and Artificial Intelligence.

    Endogenous oxytocin is associated with the experience of compassion and recalled upbringing in Borderline Personality Disorder

    Brüne, 2018 Ebert, A., Edel, M.-A., Gilbert, P., & Brüne, M. (2018). Endogenous oxytocin is associated with the experience of compassion and recalled upbringing in Borderline Personality Disorder. Depression and Anxiety, 35(1), 50–57....

    Reading words hurts: The impact of pain sensitivity on people’s ratings of pain-related words

    Stress-Mediated Abnormalities in Regional Myocardial Wall Motion in Young Women with a History of Psychological Trauma

    Brüne, 2023 Aweimer, A., Engemann, L., Amar, S., Ewers, A., Afshari, F., Maiß, C., Kern, K., Lücke, T., Mügge, A., El-Battrawy, I., Dietrich, J. W., & Brüne, M. (2023). Stress-Mediated Abnormalities in Regional Myocardial Wall Motion in Young Women with a History...

    When numbers are not exact: Ambiguity and prediction in the processing of sentences with bare numerals

    Werning, 2018 Spychalska, M., Kontinen, J., Noveck, I., Reimer, L., & Werning, M. (2018). When numbers are not exact: Ambiguity and prediction in the processing of sentences with bare numerals. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition....

    Drohen mit dem Einsatz von Künstlicher Intelligenz neue Menschenwürdeverletzungen?

    Weber-Guskar, 2021 Weber-Guskar, E. (2021). Drohen mit dem Einsatz von Künstlicher Intelligenz neue Menschenwürdeverletzungen? In R. Kipke, N. Röttger, J. Wagner, & A. K. v. Wedelstaedt (Hrsg.), ZusammenDenken: Festschrift für Ralf Stoecker (S. 227–247). Springer...

    Foundation Models – A New Paradigm for Artificial Intelligence

    Meske, 2024 Schneider, J., Meske, C. and Kuss, P. (2024). Foundation Models – A New Paradigm for Artificial Intelligence. Business & Information Systems Engineering 66, 221–231. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12599-024-00851-0

    Toward improved audio CAPTCHAs based on auditory perception and language understanding

    Kolossa, 2017 Meutzner, H., Gupta, S., Nguyen, V.-H., Holz, T., & Kolossa, D. (2017). Toward Improved Audio CAPTCHAs Based on Auditory Perception and Language Understanding. ACM Transactions on Privacy and Security, 19(4), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1145/2856820

    Reflecting (on) Replica. Can We Have a Good Affective Relationship with a Social Chatbot?

    Weber-Guskar, 2022 Weber-Guskar, E. (2022). Reflecting (on) Replica. Can We Have a Good Affective Relationship with a Social Chatbot? In: Social Robotics and the Good Life: The Normative Side of Forming Emotional Bonds With Robots. (2022). transcript Verlag....

    A Model of Semantic Completion in Generative Episodic Memory

    Wiskott, 2022 Fayyaz, Z., Altamimi, A., Zoellner, C., Klein, N., Wolf, O. T., Cheng, S., & Wiskott, L.. (2022). A Model of Semantic Completion in Generative Episodic Memory. Neural Computation, 34(9), 1841–1870. http://doi.org/10.1162/neco_a_01520

    Modeling the function of episodic memory in spatial learning

    Wiskott, 2023 Zeng, X., Diekmann, N., Wiskott, L., & Cheng, S. (2023). Modeling the function of episodic memory in spatial learning. Frontiers in psychology, 14, 1160648. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1160648