Guest Lectures for “Introduction to Philosophy” (Phil 11) and “Brain, Mind, and Consciousness” (Cowell 39), co-taught by Rasmus Grønfeldt Winther, UCSC, Winter 2015.

Édgar Octavio Valadez Blanco is currently studying his PhD in Philosophy of Science at UNAM in Mexico City, with the project “Complexity and Transdisciplinarity: Theory and practice of cancer as a complex problem.” Octavio obtained his B.Sc. degree in Basic Biomedical Research at UNAM with his thesis work “Cancer as a complex disease: networks and levels of organization” (2008), with Germinal Cocho Gil as advisor. In 2010, he obtained his Masters in Philosophy from the UAM-Iztapalapa and was awarded the UAM academic merit medal. His thesis (advised by Mario Casanueva) addressed the scientific explanation of cancer based on the model of “part-whole science” proposed by Rasmus (Winther 2011, Synthese), which develops a pluralistic research horizon.

Octavio’s main academic interests are the complexity of cancer, as this problem cannot be understood, much less solved if we do not consider and articulate the philosophical, sociological, historical and political aspects involved. Octavio intends to contribute to a critical focus on the theories and practices in the scientific disciplines related to cancer research–especially the biomedical sciences–in which abstractions often turn into reifications of reality thus hampering the creativity and the possibility of a plurality of scientific views and practices. This critical approach has in part evolved from Octavio’s great concern for the deep contradictory realities prevailing in Mexico, which has also prompted him to undertake studies on politics and pedagogy, as well as to actively participate in novel scholarly projects, extra-curricular organizations, and general education.

Winter 2015 Lecture Series Schedule:

Robin Dunkin
Tuesday, January 27, Stevenson 175 @ 6:00
“Building Blocks of the Brain: Neuron and Glia Form & Function”

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Michael Anderson
Thursday, January 29, Stevenson 175 @ 6:00
“Neural Reuse and Hebbian Learning: Two Kinds of Neuroplasticity in the Brain”

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Nicolas Davidenko
Tuesday, February 3, Stevenson 175 @ 6:00
“The Suggestible Nature of Motion Perception”

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Janette Dinishak
Thursday, February 12, Humanities Lecture Hall @ 12:00
“Autism & Neurodiversity”

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Ray Gibbs
Thursday, February 12, Stevenson 175 @ 6:00
“Embodied Meaning, Thinking, and Communication”

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Craig Schindler
Tuesday, February 17, Stevenson 175 @ 6:00
“Enduring Wisdom, Mindfulness & Emerging Neuroscience”

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John Brown Childs
Thursday, February 19, Humanities Lecture Hall @ 12:00
“Transcommunality”

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Dada Nabhaniilananda
Thursday, February 19, Stevenson 175 @ 6:00
“Dragon Taming for Smart People”

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Natalia Carrillo
Tuesday, February 24, Stevenson 175 @ 6:00
“A History of the Action Potential”

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Doc Edge
Tuesday, February 24, Humanities Lecture Hall at 12:00
“Talking About Race: Geneticists, Philosophers, the Media, and the People”

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Brian Cantwell Smith
Thursday, February 26, Humanities Lecture Hall @ 12:00
“The Three R’s: Representation, Registration, and Reality”

Thursday, February 26, Stevenson 175 @ 6:00
“The Couch or the Bottle: Levels of Abstraction and the Anxious Mind”

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Octavio Valadez
Tuesday, March 3, Humanities Lecture Hall @ 12:00
“Co-Teaching and Revolutionary Teaching”

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Fabrizzio McManus Guerrero 
Thursday, March 5, Humanities Lecture Hall @ 12:00
“From Queer Theory to Teoria Cuir: Latinamerican appropriations of Gay Identities”

Thursday, March 5, Stevenson 175 @ 6:00
“Neuro-Biological Explanations of Sexual Orientation and Their Counter-explanations”