91˿Ƶ

Speaker in an auditorium

ճÉ is pleased to invite you to a book roundtable on Jonathan Birch’s  (Oxford University Press, 2024).

November 8, 2024 -16h00-17h30

School of Population and Global Health
91˿Ƶ
2001 91˿Ƶ College Ave.
12th floor, room 1201

The Edge of Sentience Book CoverSpeakers:

Jonathan Birch (London School of Economics)

Stevan Harnard (Université du Québec à Montréal)

Jonathan Kimmelman (91˿Ƶ)

 (Université de Montréal/É)

󲹾: (University of Oxford)

Book summary:

Can octopuses feel pain and pleasure? What about crabs, shrimps, insects or spiders? How do we tell whether a person unresponsive after severe brain injury might be suffering? When does a fetus in the womb start to have conscious experiences? Could there even be rudimentary feelings in miniature models of the human brain, grown from human stem cells? What about AI?

These are questions about the edge of sentience, and they are subject to enormous, disorienting uncertainty. The stakes are immense, and neglecting the risks can have terrible costs. We need to err on the side of caution, yet it’s often far from clear what ‘erring on the side of caution’ should mean in practice. When are we going too far? When are we not doing enough?

ճEdge of Sentience presents a precautionary framework designed to help us reach ethically sound, evidence-based decisions despite our uncertainty.


91˿Ƶ-UofT Wellbeing Research Seminar

The 91˿Ƶ-UofT Wellbeing Research Seminar Series is co-organized by Dr. Felix Cheung (University of Toronto) and Sofia Panasiuk (University of Toronto), Anthony McCanny (University of Toronto), and Dr. Chris Barrington-Leigh (91˿Ƶ). The seminar series is open to all and will be held online via Zoom.

in advanced, but is free.

Schedule Autumn 2024

Date/Time - November 12th (12 pm ET)
Speaker: Claudia Senik
Title: Is it possible to raise national happiness?

Date/Time - December 3rd (12 pm ET)
Speaker: Kelsey O’Connor, Claudia Senik
Title: Panel Discussion: The Easterlin Paradox


91˿Ƶ Centre for Climate Change and Health Launch

91˿Ƶ Centre for Climate Change and Health Launch posterNovember 20th, 2024 - 16h30-18h00

School of Population and Global Health
2001 91˿Ƶ College Ave. 11th floor
room 1140


Suicide Prevention as a Public Health Strategy: Historical Perspectives 

November 28th, 2024 - 12h00 to 13h00 EST

Hybrid - Room 1140 2001 91˿Ƶ College, 11th floor or on ZOOM

Speaker:

David WrightDavid Wright is Professor of History and Canada Research Chair in the History of Health Policy at 91˿Ƶ. A specialist in the social history of medicine, he has published widely on the history of psychiatry, children’s health, and the development of hospitals. His most recent book (with Sasha Mullally), Foreign Practices: Immigrant Doctors and the History of Canadian Medicare, was published by 91˿Ƶ-Queen’s University Press, in 2020.

Abstract:

The prevention of suicide has constituted a major public health concern in Canada for over half a century. Following the decriminalization of attempted suicide (1972), and the identification of suicide as a public health priority in the Lalonde Report of 1974, there have been multiple overlapping initiatives employed to address this tragic social phenomenon. Strategies have included crisis centres, volunteer-staffed telephone services, barriers at suicides “hot spots”, public awareness campaigns, and repeated calls for enhanced mental health services. This presentation looks back on the first generation of suicide prevention strategies, analyzing how and why they became a priority in the decade leading up to the Canada Health Act of 1984.

View the seminar poster here. PDF icon November 28 Seminar Poster


The Policy Talks Webinars were recorded on Zoom and uploaded to our .

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