Alan Leslie Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Rutgers University Alan Leslie is a Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science at Rutgers University, where he directs the Cognitive Development Laboratory. A Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Professor Leslie investigates the developmental neurocognitive mechanisms and domain-specialized learning involved in abstract ideation emerging early in life such as cause and effect, enduring object, one, two, three, social agent, believing, pretending, desiring, purpose, and moral transgression. One of the principal authors of the research that discovered the ‘theory of mind’ impairment in autism, he also continues to study children with autistic spectrum disorder. Participant In: Altruism and Empathy Saturday, June 8th 2:30 - 4:30PM Past Event Watch the video » Is selflessness a necessary illusion? Are we condemned to weigh the costs (whether consciously or not) of the welfare of others against the benefits to ourselves ? We develop a “theory of mind” around age three, concurrently building our capacity to recognize emotions experienced by others. In other words, we begin to develop empathy, the… read more »
Altruism and Empathy Saturday, June 8th 2:30 - 4:30PM Past Event Watch the video » Is selflessness a necessary illusion? Are we condemned to weigh the costs (whether consciously or not) of the welfare of others against the benefits to ourselves ? We develop a “theory of mind” around age three, concurrently building our capacity to recognize emotions experienced by others. In other words, we begin to develop empathy, the… read more »