Symbolic Systems Distinguished Speaker Ray Jackendoff

There has been a great deal of recent discussion of the "neural correlates of consciousness." This talk will address a related notion, the "functional correlates of consciousness" -- the formal structures in the mind that are relevant to awareness. I will look specifically at verbal awareness and verbal imagery, in the context of a fleshed out theory of linguistic structure -- the one mental domain where such a theory exists. A number of striking conclusions emerge that (a) call into question many of the popular theories of consciousness, (b) clarify the role of working memory and attention in consciousness, and (c) show how language enhances thought.

Ray Jackendoff is Professor of Linguistics at Brandeis University, where he has taught since 1971. He has been a Fellow of the Center for Advanced Studies in Stanford and the Wissenschaftskolleg (Center for Advanced Study) in Berlin, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2003 he is President of the Linguistic Society of America. His most recent book is Foundations of Language: Brain, Meaning, Grammar, Evolution. His CD, "Romanian Music for Clarinet and Piano", will be issued by Albany Records this spring.