The locked-in syndrome (LIS), in which persons are conscious but almost entirely paralyzed and voiceless, is one of the most dramatic states a human being can find himself or herself in. This interdisciplinary international workshop will bring together cognitive neuroscientists, care and neuro-rehabilitation professionals, brain-computer interface experts, individuals involved in LIS patients associations, philosophers, bioethicists, medical anthropologists and sociologists, and historians of the brain/mind sciences to discuss the impact this unique condition has on ways of understanding personhood at the theoretical and practical levels.

While the philosophy of personhood in the Western tradition since the late 17th century has emphasized cognitive capacities and self-consciousness, the experience of LIS contributes to open new ground for understanding how relationality, emotion, communication and phenomenal consciousness (the feeling of what it is like to be in a certain state) are constitutive of personal identity and the sense of self.

17 and 18 November 2016
Sala de Juntas, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras,
Autonomous University of Barcelona

PROGRAM

Thursday 17 November

10:00-11:00 h
Welcome. Organization and Introduction,
Fernando Vidal and Núria Terribas

11:00-11:30 h
The Self and the Person: A Distinction of Relevance for Patients with Locked-In Syndrome?
Dan Zahavi

11:30-12:00 h
Being Alive: An Enactive Approach to the Self,
Miriam Kyselo

12:00-12:30 h Discussion

12:30-14:00 h Lunch

14:00-14:30 h
Reconstructing and Realizing a Life Project in LIS: Conditions and Limits,
Véronique Blandin

14:30-15:00 h
Living with a Ventilator: A Japanese Perspective,
Yumiko Kawaguchi

15:00:15:30 h Discussion

15:30-15:45 h Break

15:45-16:15 h
The History of BCI (Brain-Computer Interface): From a Vision to Independent Home
Use by Locked-in Patients,
Andrea Kübler

16:15-16:45 h
BCI for Communication in Locked-in Syndromes: What is Needed to Match Users and Technology,
Donatella Mattia

16:45-17:00 h Break

17:00-17:30 h Discussion

 

Friday 18 November

10:00-10:30 h
Locked-in Patients/Lockedout Doctors: A History of Persistent States of Being There,
Stephen Casper

10:30-11:00 h
The Locked-in State as a Final Stage of Individuation: A Phenomenological and Qualitative Analysis of a Caregiver’s Narrative,
Yasuhiko Murakami

11:00-11:30 h Discussion

11:30-11:45 h Break

11:45-12:15 h
Which Factors Foster Resilience in the LIS?,
Marie-Christine Nizzi

12:15-12:45 h
Being Locked-In and the Paradox of Disability,
Bernabé Robles del Olmo

12:45-13:15 h Discussion

13:15-14:45 h Lunch

14:45-15:15 h
Locked-in Syndrome: The Soul Far From the Body,
Nicole Beaudoin

15:15-15:45 h
Life at Home Years After Hospital Discharge: “Bed of Roses” or “Rebel Without a cause”?
An Analysis of Breakdown Situations at Home,
Frédéric Pellas

15:45-16:15 h Discussion

16:15-17:00 h Break

17:00-17:30 h
Neuroethical Implications of Clinician’s Attitudes Toward the Locked-in Syndrome,
Athena Demertzi

17:30-18:00 h
Medical Decision Making by Patients with Locked-In Syndrome,
James L. Bernat

18:00-18:15 h Break

18:15-19:15 h Discussion + Closing