Workshop: "Autopoiesis and Perception" - Call for Participation.

Thu May 14 12:02:00 EDT 1992

[The workshop announced below addresses an essentially cross-
disciplinary subject area, potentially involving philosophy, computer
science, engineering and biology - to name but a few.  It is therefore
being posted across a variety of forums (fora?): so my apologies for the
noise if you see it more than once!  All flames directly to me, please.
In case you wish to print out the plain ascii text, it has been
structured with 72 columns, 66 lines per page.  Please pass on the
notice to anyone else who may be interested.  If you require further
information, or wish to register, please follow the instructions below;
but note that, due to other commitments over the next fortnight, no
acknowledgements will be issued before May 27th. - Barry.]

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                       AUTOPOIESIS AND PERCEPTION
                    A Workshop within ESPRIT BRA 3352
                DUBLIN CITY UNIVERSITY: 25-26 August 1992

            ************  CALL FOR PARTICIPATION ************

A common sense idea of perception is that, through the information
processing capabilities of our sensory/brain system, we come to know
"the" objectively real, external, world. However, this "spectator"
paradigm has not proved very effective (so far) in attempts to build
artificial perceptual systems. It therefore seems appropriate to
critically examine this concept of perception.

One alternative idea is to take a participatory rather than a spectator
view of the relationship between "us" and "the external world". To
perceive is not to process sensory data, but to apprehend meaning
through interaction.

Autopoiesis is an organizational paradigm which can support such a
participatory view of perception. The concept of autopoiesis (lit.
"self-producing"), was introduced to characterise the organisation which
makes living systems autonomous. An autopoietic organisation is one
which is self-renewing (in a suitable environment); autopoietic systems
maintain their organisation through a network of component-producing
processes such that the interacting components generate the same network
of processes which produced them. In the autopoietic paradigm,
perception is an emergent phenomenon characteristic of the interaction
between an autopoietic system and its environment: the system responds
to perturbations in just such a way as to maintain its (autopoietic)
identity.

Structure:
----------

The key objective of the workshop is to allow for extensive, open,
discussion, and it has been structured accordingly. It will consist of a
small number of prepared papers by invited keynote speakers, punctuated
with extended discussion periods; it will run over one and a half days
(from 9.30 AM on 25th August, to 1.00 PM on 26th August). To
maximize the benefit of the discussion, the workshop will be
limited to 30 participants.

Invited Speakers (Confirmed):
-----------------------------

Prof. Francisco Varela    C.R.E.A., Ecole Polytechnique, Paris.
Dr. David Vernon          DG XIII, EC Commission, Brussels, and Computer
                          Science, Trinity College Dublin.
Dr. Dermot Furlong        Department of Microelectronic and Electrical
                          Engineering, Trinity College Dublin.

Further Information:      Barry McMullin, Electronic Engineering,
--------------------      Dublin City University, Dublin 9, IRELAND.
                          E-mail: <McMullinB at dcu.ie>
                          Phone: +353-1-7045432    Fax: +353-1-7045508

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                       AUTOPOIESIS AND PERCEPTION
                    A Workshop within ESPRIT BRA 3352
                DUBLIN CITY UNIVERSITY: 25-26 August 1992

              ************* REGISTRATION FORM *************

The deadline for receipt of registration information is Friday, 31st
July 1992.  Due to the limit to 30 participants, early registration is
advisable. However, postal services to Dublin are currently severely
affected by an industrial dispute.  Therefore, if you wish to register,
it is recommended that you return this form by E-mail or FAX as soon as
possible, paying the registration fee by Bank Transfer. Please advise if
you require information on hotel accomodation; campus accomodation will
be available at a rate of IRP 20 per night (approx.) - a separate
booking form will be provided on request. The DCU campus is situated in
the north Dublin suburb of Glasnevin, is less than 10 minutes from
Dublin International Airport, and has easy access to the city centre.
All correspondence should be directed to:

            Barry McMullin, Electronic Engineering,
            Dublin City University, Dublin 9, IRELAND.
 E-mail: <McMullinB at dcu.ie>  Phone: +353-1-7045432  Fax: +353-1-7045508

Name:...................................................................

Organisation:...........................................................

Address:................................................................

City:...........................      Country:..........................

Phone:...............  FAX:.................  E-mail:...................

Is your organisation a member of the BRA 3352 Working Group on Vision?

    YES___   NO___         If YES, which consortium? ...................

Registration Fee:    Irish Pounds 60 (or equivalent)

Payment Form: (Check One)

1)  Internal Accounting (working group members only)                ____
    Requires signature of partner representative listed
    in BRA 3352 Technical Annex:

    Partner Representative:................... Signature................

2)  Bank Transfer:                                                  ____
    Account Name:        Dublin City University Conference a/c
    Bank:                AIB Bank, 7-12 Dame St., Dublin 2, IRELAND.
    Account Number:      91765-215         Bank Sorting Code:   93 20 86
    (IMPORTANT: Quote your NAME *and* "Ref: 421/01/121 (Autopoiesis)"
     in all bank transfer documents.)

3)  Bank Draft (made payable to "Dublin City University"):          ____
    Equivalent of Irish Pounds amount in any EC currency drawn
    on a local bank -OR- DM, US$, or Sterling draft drawn on a
    UK bank. All charges to be bourn by the remitter.

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