The overall mission of the Visions of Integration Conference Series is to bring together a group of scholars concerned with the fragmented nature of human knowledge to discuss various visions of integration from an analytical vantage point, while also to grappling with the larger sociopolitical and philosophical implications. The first Visions conference was held at JMU from April 19th through the 22nd in 2007. It brought together scholars with a particular interest in the fragmented nature of psychology and papers and discussion focused on ways psychology could be better unified and more effectively aligned with other disciplines such as biology and anthropology and the social sciences
The mission of Visions II is somewhat more specific than the first, focusing explicitly on the state of the art primate research, perspectives on human distinctiveness, and the broader philosophical, theological and sociopolitical implications of such research. Visions II will bring together an interdisciplinary group of 30 to 35 scholars and offer presentations and discussions focused on a number of interrelated issues, including but not limited to research on ape musical capacities, emotion and culture; perspectives on human distinctiveness; and video micro-analysis of ape and human social interactions. Consonant with the broad Visions theme, the broader philosophical, moral and theological implications of these lines of research will be reflected upon. Visions II is funded primarily through a STARS research planning grant. (To see the STARS research planning grant, click on “STARS Proposal” on the menu). STARS stands for Science and Transcendence Advanced Research Series and is a series of investigations launched by the Center for Natural Science and Theology.
The Visions Conference Series is being chaired by Gregg Henriques. He can be reached at henriqgx@jmu.edu.
