Human society develops and operates on the basis of the countless decisions made by every one of its members. These decisions, in turn, are produced by the bundle of cells and chemicals we call the brain.
This very simple assumption is what has inspired many academics to turn to the flourishing field of neuroscience to answer the questions that have plagued social scientists and philosophers for centuries. The desire to understand these efforts and perhaps contribute to them has, in turn, inspired the founders of this society.
The LSE is an institution well-placed as no other to accommodate a society for the discussion of the implications of biology for society. As one of the world’s leading social science universities, it has long been at the cutting edge of social science research, and its Philosophy Department has long been dedicated to unravelling the scientific knowledge that natural and social scientists from all disciplines and all universities acquire. The society is a humble attempt by the founders to continue this tradition and bring together the growing presence of Behavioural Scientists at the LSE with the growing corpus of neuroscience researchers in the UK.
We are also proud to be what is perhaps the first dedicated student society in the UK or even the world for discovering the coming together of ideas from two as hitherto distinct branches of science such as neuroscience and the social sciences.
The aim of the society is to promote discussion along some of the following avenues:
a) The challenge neuroscientific insights pose to traditional assumptions in economics and how to accommodate the two.
b) The impact of neural processes on political beliefs and behaviour.
c) The implications of a neuroscientific understanding of decision making can have on the concept of free will and intent, and hence on appropriate legal judgement for various crimes.
d) Advances in the philosophy of mind.
e) The ethical considerations of bringing together neuroscience and social science in experiments and policy.
f) Insights on utilising neuroscientific understanding in marketing ideas and products and the running and management of organisations, both public and private.
LSE SU Neuroscience in the Social Sciences Society 