Events

Past Event

The Idea of Freedom of Choice in Neuroscience and History

October 13, 2016
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Event time is displayed in your time zone.
Fayerweather Hall (Room 513), Columbia University, 1180 Amsterdam Avenue, New York

Speakers:

  • Sophia Rosenfeld, Professor of History, Yale University
  • Sheena IyengaarS. T. Lee Professor of Business, Columbia Business School
  • David Barack, Presidential Scholar in Society and Neuroscience, Columbia University

Being “free to choose” has arguably become a stand-in for broader concepts of freedom in many parts of the world today. How did this happen? Meanwhile, neuroscientists and behavioral economists have steadily been collecting evidence that the human brain is often quite poor at making choices. Where does this leave us, in an age when choice has become a proxy for freedom?

Free and open to the public. This event is part of the Neuroscience and History Lecture Series sponsored by the Center for Science and Society and the Presidential Scholars in Society and Neuroscience Program.