Talk by Johannes Kleiner on Tuesday

[Seminar Mind-Matter Relation 2018]

Dear participants and speakers,

We hope this email finds you well! The next talk of our seminar series takes place on Tuesday. If you would like to join the session, simply follow the link below shortly before the meeting. (Beware that Europe has now switched to winter time, which is why we recommend you to use the "convert to your time zone" link below.)

 Johannes Kleiner (Institute for Theoretical Physics, Leibniz University of Hanover)
"Qualia and Symmetries"
Tuesday, 27 November 2018
17:30-19:00 CET, Login from 17:00 CET.
Convert time to your time zone.
Link to join meeting: https://www.gotomeet.me/basic-research

Abstract: In the context of formal approaches to the mind-matter relation, the simple question arises of which formal structure one is to impose for 'mind' (or 'qualia'), given a particular definition of the latter. In the first part of my talk I start with a very simple definition of 'qualia', inspired by Thomas Nagel's well-known 1974 article, which directly gives rise to a formal (mathematical) structure. Similar to other definitions, this definition discloses an explanatory gap which, following Chalmers' 1996 strategy, one might try to address by promoting the qualia, together with some of the known physical theories to "fundamental" quantities in a formal model of the mind-matter relation.
In the second part of my talk, I show that qualia, according to the definition under consideration, are directly tied to a notion of symmetry. The corresponding group is a symmetry group of the formal model in the precise sense of symmetries in modern physics. Next, I give a definition of the 'closure of the physical' in this context and show that under general assumptions, if the formal model under consideration does not postulate the physical as closed, the symmetry group cannot be a symmetry group known in contemporary physics. Finally, I show that if one assumes the influence between qualia and physics to be local in a very weak sense, the novel symmetry group implies the existence of a novel fundamental physical field (similar to the usual story in quantum field theory).

We are very much looking forward to the talk and to seeing many of you again!

With best wishes,
Robin & Johannes

Further information on how to join:

We will be online from 17:00 CET on and the talk will start at 17:30 promptly. Please login by 17:15 as logging in for the first time typically takes some time.

To make sure that everything goes smoothly, please read the following information before the talk.

1.) If you own a headset or headphones with included microphone, please use it during the meeting. This significantly improves the quality of discussions since the algorithms will do better in separating your voice from the environment (which is a non-trivial task with many participants in the meeting).
2.) If you have not yet done so, please check your system compatibility by following this link.
3.) In case you are running Linux on your machine, you have to use Chrome/Chromium as a browser (GotoMeeting does not work with other browsers).
4.) In case of unexpected connection problems, you can use your phone to connect. Phone numbers and the necessary access code can be found below.
5.) Apart from ensuring a reasonable internet connection, also closing other applications on one's machine often significantly increases the quality.

Trouble-Shooting:

• Typical problems:
  - If your system is compatible with the platform, but does not work on Tuesday, try to reboot your computer and/or to use a different browser.
  - If you can login but can’t hear us, check if your speakers are on and turned up.
• You can always check the GotoMeeting Customer Support for attendees or even call them. They have 24/7 support.
• Once logged in, use the chat window to let us know if you need help. (We can only offer support until 17:30 CEST.)
• If you can’t solve the problems, you can use your phone to dial in. Call the toll-free number of your country below and use the following access code. Note that the quality is not as perfect via phone, which is why we recommend to use your computer audio if possible.

To dial in using your phone:
Access Code: 478-262-005

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[Seminar Mind-Matter Relation 2018]

Dear participants and speakers,

We hope this email finds you well! The next talk of our seminar series takes place on Tuesday. If you would like to join the session, simply follow the link below shortly before the meeting. (Beware that Europe has now switched to winter time, which is why we recommend you to use the "convert to your time zone" link below.) In case you are receiving this email twice, please apologize, we have had issued with spam detection again.

 Johannes Kleiner (Institute for Theoretical Physics, Leibniz University of Hanover)
"Qualia and Symmetries"
Tuesday, 27 November 2018
17:30-19:00 CET, Login from 17:00 CET.

Convert time to your time zone: http://bit.ly/2PShqki

Link to join meeting: https://www.gotomeet.me/basic-research

Abstract: In the context of formal approaches to the mind-matter relation, the simple question arises of which formal structure one is to impose for 'mind' (or 'qualia'), given a particular definition of the latter. In the first part of my talk I start with a very simple definition of 'qualia', inspired by Thomas Nagel's well-known 1974 article, which directly gives rise to a formal (mathematical) structure. Similar to other definitions, this definition discloses an explanatory gap which, following Chalmers' 1996 strategy, one might try to address by promoting the qualia, together with some of the known physical theories to "fundamental" quantities in a formal model of the mind-matter relation.
In the second part of my talk, I show that qualia, according to the definition under consideration, are directly tied to a notion of symmetry. The corresponding group is a symmetry group of the formal model in the precise sense of symmetries in modern physics. Next, I give a definition of the 'closure of the physical' in this context and show that under general assumptions, if the formal model under consideration does not postulate the physical as closed, the symmetry group cannot be a symmetry group known in contemporary physics. Finally, I show that if one assumes the influence between qualia and physics to be local in a very weak sense, the novel symmetry group implies the existence of a novel fundamental physical field (similar to the usual story in quantum field theory).

We are very much looking forward to the talk and to seeing many of you again!

With best wishes,
Robin & Johannes

Further information on how to join:

We will be online from 17:00 CET on and the talk will start at 17:30 promptly. Please login by 17:15 as logging in for the first time typically takes some time.

To make sure that everything goes smoothly, please read the following information before the talk.

1.) If you own a headset or headphones with included microphone, please use it during the meeting. This significantly improves the quality of discussions since the algorithms will do better in separating your voice from the environment (which is a non-trivial task with many participants in the meeting).

2.) If you have not yet done so, please check your system compatibility by following the link we have distributed previously.

3.) In case you are running Linux on your machine, you have to use Chrome/Chromium as a browser (GotoMeeting does not work with other browsers).
4.) In case of unexpected connection problems, you can use your phone to connect. Phone numbers and the necessary access code can be found below.
5.) Apart from ensuring a reasonable internet connection, also closing other applications on one's machine often significantly increases the quality.

Trouble-Shooting:

• Typical problems:
  - If your system is compatible with the platform, but does not work on Tuesday, try to reboot your computer and/or to use a different browser.
  - If you can login but can’t hear us, check if your speakers are on and turned up.
• You can always check the GotoMeeting Customer Support for attendees or even call them. They have 24/7 support.
• Once logged in, use the chat window to let us know if you need help. (We can only offer support until 17:30 CEST.)

• If you can’t solve the problems, you can use your phone to dial in. Call the toll-free number of your country we have provided in previous emails and use the following access code. Note that the quality is not as perfect via phone, which is why we recommend to use your computer audio if possible.